Welcome to Brain Lair Books Online!
New Customer?
Thanks for choosing Brain Lair Books!
The search bar and the shopping cart (a little shopping bag) are above the menu.
Important Menu Items
My Account - you need an account to buy books. When you first create your account, It will say your password is wrong, but it really just wants you to click reset it. I don’t know why it’s weird. Computers. You know how they can be.
Staff Created Book Lists - here you’ll find topical lists that we put together. Right now we add 1 or 2 a month but hope to increase our frequency.
Sidebar
Here you can find our upcoming events and a link to our e-gft card.
Need help? Text us at 574-207-6514 and we will try to assist you. You can also email us at orders@brainlairbooks.com
Local Pickup
We are happy to provide local pickup service. Please be advised, it can take anywhere from 7 - 15 days for us to get the books in, longer if the book is out to stock.
If you need the book quickly, ground shipping directly to you is faster. But, if you don't mind the wait, we got you!
Happy Shopping!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
My Gift Card Number isn't working, what do I do?
When you are checking out
- Go to "Payment Method"
- "Online Only Gift Code".
- In the box under "Do you want to pay with your online only gift code?" type your gift code.
What does "Order Received" or "Payment Received by Store" mean?
- Both statuses mean we have received your order. We are looking into the quickest way to get your items fulfilled and to you, whether it be pulling from our shelves, ordering from our distributor, or a combination of both.
What is the average time to process a order?
- If we have the items on our shelves, it may take several business days due to the high volume of online orders.
- If we have to request the items from our distributor, it takes seven to ten business days on average to get to the book to us.
- If the item is on out of stock, it may take much longer for us to receive the items from our distributor. We really can't guess on a date.
What does ships in 1 - 5 days mean?
- It will take 1 -5 days of shipping, after we process your order, before you receive the package on your doorstep if you choose Ground Shipping. For Media Mail it has been taking up to 15 days and, in some cases, 20 days.
Your website said the book is in stock at your store. Why isn't my order ready?
- Sometimes, that item has been sold to a customer before you place your order because our website hasn't updated the sale from the store yet. If that happens, we need to order it from our distributor. If we are able to retrieve the book from our shelves, it may take several business days due to the high volume of online orders.
I never received an email telling me the status of my order.
- Make sure to check your junk and spam folders, just in case that has an email pertaining to the status of your order. If you have any additional questions about your order, not answered on this page, you can email orders@brainlairbooks.com
I have several gift cards I want to use for my order but the ordering system only allows me to put in one card.
- You can always use the Notes field to enter additional gift card numbers and we will apply them to your order.
What does backordered mean?
- If the distributor has put an item on backorder, that means they are waiting for the publisher to print more copies of the book. As such, it may take a bit longer to get to us. Sometimes, the distributor puts an estimated date on their website, but unfortunately, that's not always guaranteed. Sometimes the publisher decides not to print more copies, making the book out of print and unavailable for us to order. If that happens, we will contact you to let you know your book is out of print and unable to be ordered.
How will I know when my order is ready for pick-up?
- Keep an eye on your email. Customers are notified via email from our ordering system when the order is ready for pickup. Pickup currently takes a minimum of 7 to 15 days to be ready. You can request a particular day/time but we cannot guarantee fulfillment.
- We send you instructions when your order is ready for pickup.
I cancelled my order and don't see a refund on my credit card.
- We only authorize your credit card when you place the order but we do not charge your card until we ship the first book. Many credit card companies show a "pending" or "temporary hold" on your card for this authorization. We have not received any money from you. When we cancel your order, this "pending" charge just disappears off your card without ever charging it. This may take several days after you cancel your order.
I only received one book. Why was I charged for the whole order?
- If we send one book, we commit to completing your entire order. Instead of charging your card for each book, we charge the whole order and ship as we receive the books.
Preordering books?
Please place preorder books in a separate order as we will ship your books when the last item is available. Want to get books as they come in? Leave us a note and keep an updated card on file and we will bill you the shipping charges as items arrive. We will try to use the least number of packages to get these out to you.
My question isn't on this page. Who can I contact?
- You can email us at orders@brainlairbooks.com if you need help placing an order or finding a book not listed on our website or anything else ordering related! You can also call/text us 574-207-6514 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9am - 6pm, Saturdays from 10am - 2pm, and Sundays from 12p, - 4pm.
