This site is primarily used for buying and selling books and papers concerning mollusca, both recent and fossil, although some geology and general natural history subjects are also handled. This operation has been going for many years with a loyal customer base. Now that this web site is added we hope our customer satisfaction can be maintained and increased.
There is usually a large stock of scholarly works and in most cases we give a full citation of the items. Antiquarian and more popular molluscan works are also handled. The bulk of the stock consists of out-of-print items and usually only single copies will exist when listed. We try to update the lists as much as possible. When buying items, please keep in mind the abbreviations used in the lists and the terms of sale and delivery. We have a specially built ERP system managing all functions of the business, from inventory management , invoicing, automated generation of book lists, historical data retention, and management of customers' 'wants' lists. As a result of our very low overhead we can often offer premium prices for books and yet keep the selling price affordable.
Except for very expensive items we do not mention owners' names, library stamps, bookplates or minor marginal markings. All books are “pre-owned” with few exceptions. Any books may be returned for full credit for any reason within ten days of receipt. Listed prices do not include postage or insurance. There is no charge for packing. Until you have established yourself with us, books will be shipped after payment is received. After an order is placed, an email will be sent which will include an invoice detailing prices, postage, and any customer requested insurance charges. Unless advised otherwise, all items will be sent by the least expensive method. Non U.S. customers please note that for larger orders the least expensive method is via Economy M-bag where delivery times can range between 6 weeks and 3 months.
We accept check, postal or money order, and PayPal for payment. We also now accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express; please contact us to arrange payment. For more expensive items other payment options may be considered.
For U.S. customers using PayPal for payment, a surcharge of 3% of invoice is levied. For non U.S. customers using PayPal a 4.5% of invoice amount is levied.
You can always send us your wants and we will keep the details in our system. If in the future a requested item is obtained, we will send you a ProForma invoice offering you the item. Requests for the same item are handled in the order the 'wants' request was received. When sending us your 'wants' the more detail the better. Ideal requests would include author(s), publication date, title, and serial details if applicable. We can also handle some more generalized subject requests such as: all items with author: Dall, W.H. and publication date after 1900, or all publications handling Liguus. Please be as specific as possible as that helps us.
Due to our low overhead we can offer good prices on books and reprints. Please offer us your duplicates on molluscan, paleomolluscan and geological subjects. Single items to entire libraries are welcome. Institutions please consider sending us your duplicate material; terms can be cash or a credit can be built against future purchases.
The following abbreviations are used in these lists (among many others):
HB, B = bound; usually, but not necessarily new cloth
L, LB= leather bound, usually either ½ or ¼
OB = original binding
CB = cheaply bound (boards with cloth spines, etc.)
O/W = original wrappers
S/B, SB= softbound
P/B = pamphlet binder
DJ= Dust jacket
8vo = Octavo size (usually about ½ of letter size)
4to = Quarto size (about letter size)
Folio = considerably larger than letter size