These terms describe how I sell. They sit alongside the store policies, which carry the formal detail: the refund policy, the collection policy, the terms of service, the privacy policy and the legal notice. Nothing here removes or limits your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
Condition and description
Every book is a unique physical object, often of considerable age, and is catalogued individually. Descriptions are written to be accurate rather than flattering. I would rather describe a book too severely than too kindly.
Faults are stated plainly: wear, loss, staining, worming, repair, restoration, and anything lacking. Where a work is part of a set, the description says exactly which volumes are offered.
The photographs form part of the description
This is not a formality. The photographs show the book as it is, and they carry as much weight as the words. Please study them before buying. Wear and defects that are disclosed in the description or visible in the photographs are characteristics of the book as sold, not faults, because they have been drawn to your attention before purchase.
Further photographs of any leaf, at any magnification, will be sent on request.
How a sale works, and when we have a contract
There is no basket and no checkout on this site, and nothing can be ordered or paid for here. The price shown is the price at which the book is offered. It is an invitation to treat, not something you can accept by any action on this website.
A sale is made like this:
1. You write to me about a book, and we correspond. Questions are welcome and are never a nuisance. I would far rather answer a question than process a return.
2. If you decide to buy, I send you a written confirmation by email, setting out the book, the agreed price, and the arrangements for payment and collection.
3. The contract is formed when I send that confirmation, and not before. Nothing you say while enquiring binds you, and nothing I say binds me, until it is sent. Until then I may decline to proceed for any reason, including that the book has been sold elsewhere.
4. You pay the agreed price. I do not take card payments and will never ask you for card details.
5. Collection is arranged once payment has cleared. Title and risk pass to you at the point of collection, after you have satisfied yourself.
That confirmation email also carries the pre-contract information the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 require, including the cancellation right and the model cancellation form. Read it before you pay.
Price and offers
Prices are in pounds sterling and include any tax due. Towers Rare Books is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged and none can be reclaimed. There are no sales, discounts or promotions. Offers on an individual book are considered on their merits; please write.
Collection in person
Books are sold for collection in person in London only. For books of this age and value I believe a face-to-face handover is the right way to sell. You may examine the binding, the paper and any inscriptions at leisure, and satisfy yourself fully, before the handover is completed. I will allow as much time as you need.
Because payment clears before collection is arranged, at the handover I hold the money and you have not yet received the book. If it is not what you expected, say so then and I will refund you there and then.
My market is the United Kingdom and my prices are in pounds sterling, but the books are offered to collectors and institutions anywhere. The constraint is where collection happens, not who may buy. If you are abroad, please write: collection can be made by an agent or shipper acting for you, by prior arrangement.
Postage
Postage is not offered. There is no despatch option and no delivery charge, because there is no delivery. In exceptional cases I may agree to despatch a book by separate written arrangement; it is never assumed, it is not a service I offer as standard, and it would change the terms on which the book is sold. If it is ever agreed, I will set those terms out in writing at the time.
Cancellation and returns
If you are buying as a consumer you have a statutory right to cancel within 14 days of taking possession, without giving a reason. So that this is never in doubt, I grant the same 14-day right as a term of every sale to a consumer buyer, whatever the circumstances in which the contract happened to be concluded. The refund policy sets out how it works, including how returns are handled in person and when a refund may be reduced for handling.
If a book is materially not as described, I will take it back and refund you in full, including reasonable costs of returning it. That undertaking applies to every buyer without exception.
Where you are buying in the course of a business, including libraries and members of the trade, the statutory cancellation right does not apply and I do not grant it, but my undertaking that a book is as described stands in every case.
Who you are dealing with
Towers Rare Books is the trading name of Ugur Saglik, a sole trader established in the United Kingdom. Not a registered company, so no company registration number applies. Not registered for VAT.
Email: towersmacro@gmail.com · Telephone: +44 7721 149216
The registered geographic address is given in full in the legal notice.
Complaints
If you are dissatisfied with anything, please write to me first and I will do my best to put it right. I aim to respond within two working days. I am not a member of a trade association and do not subscribe to an alternative dispute resolution scheme; if we cannot resolve matters between us you remain free to take the matter to court, and a consumer may wish to take advice from Citizens Advice first.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you are a consumer resident in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the mandatory consumer law of your home nation still protects you and you may bring proceedings in your local courts.