Frequently Asked Questions

Below we have listed frequently asked questions about our store. This information is also available in our Guide to the Online Bookstore which explains what’s new, how to shop in the store and hints for using electronic files. This is available as a PDF for you to download and print.

General

Shopping in the Bookstore

Buying Online

Electronic Books

Books to Be Shipped

Still have more questions? E-mail us at bookstore@ozvpm.com

General

How do I access my account?
You can download electronic books ordered in the past two weeks, print a receipt, or change your password and contact information by going to the “Your Account” area shown on the top bar of every page in the Bookstore.

About our partnership with Energize
OzVPM is committed to the development of volunteerism in the Australasian region. We also recognise that it's crazy to re-invent the wheel, so we have teamed up with Energize to help to bring the very best volunteerism resources to Australasia.

Energize and its President Susan J Ellis are respected internationally as leading players in volunteerism and the partnership between OzVPM and Energize offers us the chance to bring a wealth of new resources and knowledge to our region.


Why do I have to give you my e-mail address and a password?
Using the power of the Internet, we can now give our customers instant access to their account information – kept secure and confidential through a password that you select yourself. This means that the system will store such things as your shipping address without making you re-enter it every time you make a purchase.

You can browse the Online Bookstore without logging in but, once you want to buy something, the program will ask you if you are a returning customer or a new one.

If you are already registered with us, all you’ll have to do is insert your e-mail address and password and – voila! – your contact information will show on the screen. You can edit this at any time, keeping it updated as necessary. Another feature is that you will be able to review any orders placed within the last two weeks.

If you are a new customer, the first time you buy something you will be prompted to complete standard information about you and your shipping requirements.

We guarantee that your information will be kept private and secure. We never sell or loan our customer list to other businesses! You will be asked whether or not you wish to receive product updates or other information from OzVPM and we honor your choice.

How do you select books for the Online Bookstore?
As a well-established provider of volunteerism information, most publishers send Energize review copies of new books, each of which is carefully reviewed by their President, Susan J. Ellis. Susan then shares this information with OzVPM Founder and Director Andy Fryar, who in turn makes an assessment of the new material for the Australasian market. Both Andy and Susan also discover new material as they travel, which is why the Online Bookstore includes items produced on three continents.

We are always on the lookout for new books and other resources, so YOU can help to identify possible items for us to sell. We would love to hear your suggestions, whether of books that you have found useful in the past (electronic publishing may allow us to resurrect and update older titles) or newly-produced items. This includes materials produced by national or local organisations for their internal purposes, but with equal value to a wider audience.

Remember, our focus is volunteerism – most specifically, how to be an effective leader of volunteers doing the hands on work of an organisation, whether in a nonprofit, government or all volunteer setting. This means that, as a rule, we do not offer materials on fundraising, board development, or other general nonprofit management issues (unless the book offers a substantial amount of information on volunteer involvement).

Each title in the Online Bookstore is shown on its own page, with a color picture of its cover, a full description, the complete table of contents, and a short excerpt of the text to give you a flavor of the writing style. We also want to share comments from our customers and welcome you to post your opinions of any resource to help potential buyers make up their minds.

Is there help available if I have problems or questions?
Yes, we are committed to serving customers on our Web site. But we understand that some questions cannot be answered through standard forms and procedures. Please feel free to e-mail us at bookstore@ozvpm.com with any special issues or comments. We promise to respond as promptly as possible. (Please note, however, that we are a small company and can't answer e-mail 24 hours a day - so if you e-mail, give us a brief grace period in which to answer!)

For those of you in Australia, you are also welcome to telephone our Director Andy Fryar on 0413 515 851. We will not take individual orders on the phone, but we will be glad to answer questions you may have about any of the materials and to provide whatever assistance we can if you are learning to use electronic books.

Shopping in the Bookstore

How can I find the books I need?
There are a variety of ways you can identify and preview books. On the right side of the bookstore home page (and on all the individual pages) you provides a place to search and access pages By Topic, By Author and other options.

The bookstore home page will always let you know what’s new in the store.

Book Details
Every title in the Online Bookstore has its own page on which you will find the book cover, a description of the contents, a short excerpt, and the full table of contents. Customer comments will also be shown when available.

How do I place an order?
Look for the yellow buttons and shopping cart icon throughout the bookstore. They look like this:

Simply click on the option you want and the item will be added to your shopping cart. Australian visitors should be aware that the prices listed are GST exclusive. GST is added later in the ordering process.

How do I complete an order?
When you have finished making your selections, you’ll click on “Check Out.” Depending on what you have selected, you will be guided through different parts of the order process.

If you placed items in the shopping cart for purchase on our site, the ordering process follows:

Step 1: Log-in with e-mail address, password and payment method.

To start the order process, you will be asked to provide your login e-mail address and password. New customers will have a chance to provide their unique e-mail address and password at this time to set up their account.

Then you will be asked your payment method. You can select "Credit Card" or "Purchase Order or Pre-Paid." For the pre-paid option, a printable invoice will be generated for customers who need to be billed and pre-pay their orders by cheque. Your order will be fulfilled after we receive your payment.

Step 2: Contact, Billing and Shipping Information and Preferences

  • Repeat Customers
    After you log in, you will be asked to verify your contact information. If you have selected that you want a different shipping and/or billing address, you will be asked to verify these as well.
  • New Customers
    You will be asked to complete your contact information and preferences for e-mail and catalog distribution. If you have selected that you want a different shipping and/or billing address, you will be asked for this information as well.
  • Selecting your shipping option
    Here you will be able to determine how you want your books sent. Choices vary according to your location. If you are purchasing only electronic books, this screen will not appear.

For credit card orders: Step 3 and 4: Verify Your Order and Receive Order

Review your purchase information and enter credit card information:
You will see a final order form, showing everything you are buying and all the costs involved. It will also include the necessary addresses. You can make changes if needed. After you have reviewed the necessary information, you will need to enter your credit card information. OzVPM accepts Diners, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Australian BankCard credit cards. Then click the "Next" button. Your credit card will automatically be processed and your order finalised.

Get a receipt and receive instructions for obtaining your purchases:
As soon as your credit card has been processed, you will see a screen providing you information about your products. (You will also be sent a receipt by e-mail.) Depending on what you ordered, you will see:

  • Download buttons allowing you to access your electronic titles immediately (see more details below.)
  • A list of printed books to be shipped to you (more details below).

OR
To receive an invoice: Step 3 and 4: Verify Your Order and Receive Invoice

You will see a final order form, showing everything you are buying and all the costs involved. It will also include the necessary addresses. You can make changes if needed.

Click "Next" to finalise the order. You will then receive a screen with a link to your invoice. Print out the invoice and return it to us with your payment. Please recognise, however, that we cannot fulfill an order before receiving payment. As soon as payment is received on the invoice generated, we will e-mail you instructions on how to obtain your electronic books and/or ship you the printed books you have bought.

Can I get a printed receipt?

Yes. If you need documentation of your purchase to show to your accounting department or for tax purposes, you will be able to print a paper copy of your transaction details after completing the purchasing process. If you misplace this receipt or do not print it out, you can log-in to your account to view and print all receipts from the past two months.

What is the OzVPM refund policy?

For printed books shipped by OzVPM, we permit full refunds (minus shipping costs) if the book is returned in re-saleable condition within 60 days.

For electronic books, because there is nothing that can be "returned for re-sale," we will give full price credit toward future purchases, providing the request to "return" is made within 14 days after download.

Buying Online

Which credit cards do you accept?
OzVPM accepts Australian BankCard, Visa, MasterCard, Diners and American Express credit cards.

Is it safe for me to use my credit card on your site?
Yes. The credit card information you enter on our form will automatically be processed online using St George merchant banking facilities and NetRegistry gateway solutions. These are both thoroughly-tested and completely secure credit card authorisation companies. It will take only a few moments for your card to be authorised. As soon as you have paid, a screen will give you instructions for downloading your electronic books. You will also have a printable receipt, showing printed books to be sent to you.

Are you going to store my credit card information?
No. This is transmitted directly to NetRegistry, a thoroughly-tested and completely secure Internet credit card authorisation company . Your credit card information is not stored by OzVPM and is not accessible to OzVPM at any time.

What if I do not have a credit card?
You can automatically generate a tax invoice and print or save it from your computer. Please recognise, however, that we cannot fulfill an order before receiving payment.

As soon as we receive your payment, we will e-mail you all electronic book instructions or post the book out to you.

All payments must be payable to “OzVPM” in Australian dollars via an International Money Order or in the form of a cheque payable on an Australian bank.

What if my organisation requires a tax invoice or purchase order?
OzVPM is happy to accept purchase orders for books in our Online Bookstore. Or if you must or prefer to pre-pay by cheque via an invoice, you can do that, too. We provide the capability to automatically generate an invoice for you through our shopping cart process. Just select this option and continue through the order process. Once you have approved your information, you will receive a link to print out an invoice. Please recognise, however, that we cannot fulfill an order before receiving payment. As soon as payment is received on the invoice generated, we will e-mail you instructions on how to obtain your electronic books and/or ship you the printed books you have bought.

How soon after I order will I get my book(s)?
Electronic books will be downloadable immediately or any time within the two weeks following your purchase. Printed books will be shipped by whatever method you select. So delivery time can range from one to two weeks in Australia, or up to eight weeks if you are in another country and select surface shipping.

What if I am not in Australia?
OzVPM is also happy to serve international customers. In fact, we think that our electronic books will be of special value to anyone who wants to have immediate access to materials and save on shipping costs, which can be substantial (especially if you need the books sent by air). Printed books can be sent anywhere in the world at regular shipping costs.

We only accept payment in Australian dollars and a credit card is the simplest way to place your order. However, you can ask to be invoiced when you start your order. All payments must be to “OzVPM.” via an International Money Order or in the form of a cheque in Australian dollars payable through an Australian bank. Electronic bank transfer information available upon request.

Electronic Books

What is an electronic book?
A PDF is a file electronically published in a Portable Document Format, which can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat software. A PDF file is advantageous to the non-technological world in that it can allow us to view documents without the software, operating system, or hardware used to create the documents. For example, you can view a newsletter that was created with Adobe PageMaker without having to own the expensive software. Once the original document has been converted to PDF, anyone with access to the Internet can view the newsletter using Adobe Acrobat Reader, a FREE software program downloaded from the Web.

All copyright restrictions that apply to a printed book also apply to PDF files. You purchase the right to read and print-out one copy only, unless you arrange and pay for additional distribution privileges.

Other advantages of PDF documents include the low cost of the material, the speed of acquiring the material, and the lower impact on our earth’s resources. In addition, PDF files have been compressed in file size from their original form. Therefore, PDF files can be more easily transferred electronically than the original document and can be conveniently stored on hard drives, floppy discs, CD-ROMs, etc. Imagine the library of the future: a small shelf of books on CD, safe from water and oxygen damage.

PDF files can be read by both Windows and Mac operating systems.

How do I download an electronic book?
The final screen you will see after completing your payment will show the titles of each electronic book you have bought and a “download now” button :

Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you aren't sure, go ahead and try to open your electronic book. If it doesn't work properly, you should install the latest version. To upgrade Adobe Acrobat Reader, see “What if I don’t have Adobe Acrobat Reader?” below.
Step 2: Click on one button at a time to begin downloading the file to your computer.
Step 3: You will be asked if you want to “Open” or “Save” your file after download. We suggest you choose “Open.” Your electronic book will download and automatically open. Be patient. Some downloads take longer than others, depending on the size of the file, on your Internet connection, and on your computer system. You can watch the progress from the bar on the bottom of the screen.
Step 4: After you have opened your book, make sure to save your book to a folder on your computer. We suggest creating a folder just for your electronic books so you can easily find them whenever you want. Repeat step 2-4 for each electronic book you have ordered.
Step 5: When you have finished saving all your files, you can open your books at any time from your computer. Just open Adobe Reader (if you can't find Adobe Reader on your computer, just open your browser), go to "File" then "Open." Browse to the folder containing your books and open any book you want to read.

 

How long will it take to download?
We cannot predict how long it may take you to download an electronic file because there are many variables, including the size of the file, the type and age of your computer system, and the way in which you connect to the Internet. Please be patient!

Some browsers display a task bar at the bottom of the window where you can monitor the progress of a download.

Can I download my books at another time?
You will be able to access the download buttons for two weeks after your purchase by accessing your account information and selecting “review an order from the past two weeks.” You will receive an e-mail with a link to your account information. There are also links to your account in the left-hand column of each page of the online store. This means that if you do not have time to complete a download at the time of purchase or you encountered any problems in the download process, you can try again at your convenience during the next two weeks.

What if I can’t open my electronic book?
In most cases, downloading or updating the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader will resolve any issues with downloading and opening a PDF file. Go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html to download the latest version.

If you still have difficulties, please call us at 0413 515 851or email us at bookstore@ozvpm.com.

What if I don’t have Adobe Acrobat Reader?
If you have Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later or Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, Adobe Acrobat Reader is already part of your browser and you can open any PDF by opening the file from your browser.

How do I get support for installing or working with Adobe Acrobat Reader?
For answers to questions about downloading, installing, or configuring Acrobat Reader, go to the official Adobe support page for Acrobat Reader at www.adobe.com/support/products/acrreader.html.

Why am I unable to download an electronic book even though I know I have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader already installed on my computer?
Some larger organisations take security measures (such as installing firewalls) which could include limiting the users’ ability to download. Check with your IT department or network specialist to see a list of approved sites or to get special permission to download from our site. Don’t worry though, you have access to download your electronic books through our Online Bookstore for two weeks from the date of purchase. If all else fails, access your account from a different computer off the network, download the book there, save it on a disk and bring it back to work. (Not sure how to access your account? Go to: How do I access my account?)

Can I read electronic books on a PC or a Mac?
PDF files can be read by be read by both Windows and Mac operating systems.

Can I print out my electronic book?
Absolutely! See the helpful section of our guide that we’ve provided to teach you about using electronic materials. Click here to download.

Can I share the electronic book with others in my organisation?
You can print out the electronic book and loan the print-out just as you would loan your copy of a regular book. However, you may not make multiple copies of the electronic file nor of the printed file without purchasing the right to do so. Please see our Terms of Use for electronic books purchased from OzVPM.

If I have trouble downloading, will I have to pay for the book again?
No, you can return to the download page at no cost any time during the two weeks following your purchase. If your problems continue, OzVPM staff will be glad to assist you by e-mail (bookstore@ozvpm.com)

Can I still get hard copies of the electronic books?
Some of the titles in the Online Bookstore are only available in electronic form. When a printed option is available, both choices will be shown on the product page. Other titles can only be bought electronically on this site, but may still be available elsewhere in printed form.

Are electronic books available in other languages?
As of today, no. But we are hoping to produce translations of popular titles in the future. We welcome submissions of material in other languages already available in PDF form to review.

Have the contents of the electronic book been changed from the hardcopy?
Generally no. There may be some “tweaking” of the look of the electronic document to adjust for page sizes and other formatting issues. If the electronic book is a revision of an older title, that will be stated in the product description on the site.

Books to Be Shipped

How are books shipped?
Books are shipped by regular Australia Post surface mail in Australia (allow up to 2 weeks) or postal surface mail outside Australia(allow up to 8 weeks). If you want your books shipped by air or differently, enter a note in the box we provide on the contact page under "Additional Information Needed." We will try to meet your shipping needs.

What is the cost of shipping/handling?
At the present time, our shipping rates are based on the dollar value of your order.

For postage and handling in Australia

If you order totals: Your shipping/handling will be:
$5.00-$30 AU$5.50
$30.01-$60 $7.95
$60.01-$100 $11.00
$100.01-$200 $12.50
$200.01-$500 $18.00
   

For postage and handling to New Zealand

If you order totals: Your shipping/handling will be:
$5.00-$30 AU$8.50
$30.01-$60 $10.50
$60.01-$100 $12.50
$100.01-$200 $18.00
$200.01-$500 $22.50
   

For postage and handling rates to other parts of the world, please email bookstore@ozvpm.com for a quote