Managing Local Government for Improved Performance: A Practical Approach

AbeBooks processes payments throiugh the use of bank and credit cards; this is for both orders received from customers residing in the US as well as customers from outside the US. We do not have separate credit card services. If you would like to use some other means for paying for your purchases we accept Paypal, checks, cash and money orders (applies to US residents). For international orders we accept Paypal, American currency (cash) and International Postal Money Orders, all in American dollars.

We are entirely focused on serving customers from the Internet; we have been associated with AbeBooks since 1999. We currently have almost 15,000 books listed online. We are located in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, but all of our sales are normally processed through the Internet; our store's sales are fulfilled through mail order; we do not have a brick and mortar store. For persons living in close proximity to Birmingham, we welcome telephone inquiries for possible local pick up of items selected. Any such potential pick ups would need to be arranged in advance by telephone.

Our inventory is largely aimed at the non-fiction market, although in terms of fiction we do have some available; we do have some old and rare books also. Some examples of the non-fiction categories we feature include the following: American Civil War, Southern History, American and World History, Military and War, Political Science, Religion and Theology, Philosophy, Social Science, Ideology (consersvatism, liberalism, socialism, communism, etc.), Hobbies, Americana, specialized how-to books, Reference, Bibliographies, Biography, Sports, American and British Literature, Drama, Literary Criticism, many more areas of interest.

Orders usually ship within 2 business days. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required. For orders to residents in the US, we have a standard media mail fee of $3.99, with $1 per book for each additional item. Standard priority shipping is $7.35, with an additional $2 for each additional item added to the order. We will include insurance on any purchase amounting to $50 or more. In terms of packaging, we generally use several layers of packaging to protect the items from damage. In some cases we will add cardboard or boxes for additional protection. Most book orders weigh roughly one to three pounds, except in the cases where multiple books are ordered. With regard to orders destined for addresses outside the US, we offer two choices--international first class and international priority. The weight limit on international first class is four pounds. If your order weighs more than four pounds or otherwise does not fit with US Postal Service regulations then your only other option is international priority. Concerning priority shipping, the rate charged varies from one country to the next. Items that are heavier or otherwise larger than normal will of course cost more to ship. We will advise you of any potential increases in shipping rates before proceeding any further with fulfillment with your order.