How much is shipping? 

Shipping costs are included in the price of the books for all books shipped to the U.S. 50 states and the District of Columbia. Please contact us at help@firstbook.org to discuss shipping fees for Puerto Rico and other U.S. Territories.

If any delivery is unsuccessful due to customer error, a delivery surcharge will be assessed before the Marketplace can ship out the books again. Customer error includes, but is not limited to: providing an incorrect shipping address, providing a Post Office Box as a shipping address or providing shipping address that is not available during normal business hours.

Can books be resold? 

Books purchased through the First Book Marketplace may not be resold, used for fundraising purposes, or given to other organizations.

Why can’t everybody purchase books? 

Books on the First Book Marketplace are not available to the general public because First Book's mission is to provide books to children from low-income families. Publishers sell these books to First Book with the express knowledge that the books will only be provided to children from low-income families.

An organization (non profit, for profit, school, or government entity) is eligible to purchase from the First Book Marketplace if they:

• Are a Title I or Title I eligible school, OR predominantly serve children from low-income families (at least 70%).
• Do not discriminate based on race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin or physical or mental disability.

First Book only serves established programs and schools.  We encourage individuals who are interested in First Book services to bring our information to the attention of eligible programs and schools that your child is attending.

When will I receive my books? 

Orders are shipped weekly via FedEx and UPS Ground. Your books will arrive in 8-14 days from the date you place the order.  Limiting the shipping options is just one of many ways we work to keep the book prices amazingly affordable for so many schools and programs.

You will receive tracking information by e-mail when your order ships.  Please see the maps below for the approximate time that it will take your First Book Marketplace order to reach your organization from that ship date:

FedEx:

UPS:

Will my shopping cart be saved? 

If you are logged in to the First Book Marketplace then your shopping cart will be saved by the Marketplace for 30 days and will be available to you the next time you login – even if you login from a different computer. 

Why is the minimum order $100? 

This minimum order amount allows us to leverage economies of scale in order to ensure that we are able to offer our recipient groups the highest quality titles at the lowest possible prices – typically 50-90% off of retail prices.

Can I request a large quantity of a specific title? 

If you are interested in purchasing a large quantity of books (1,000 books or more), please complete this form and we will work to accommodate your request.

What payment methods are accepted? 

• Grants – Many of our partners provide grants to local organizations to purchase books on the First Book Marketplace.  These grants will be listed in your account after you login.
• Credit Card
• Check – Please note your order will not ship until after payment is received.
• Purchase Order – Legally binding purchase orders are accepted. Your order will ship once the purchase order is received and approved.
• Third Party Payments – Specific partners may provide payments.  Currently this is available for Local Advisory Boards and RIF programs.

Ordering Instructions for RIF groups 

First Book is a national nonprofit organization that has distributed more than 85 million new books to RIF and other programs serving children from low-income families.  The First Book Marketplace has been a RIF-approved source for books and educational materials since 2009, enabling RIF programs to stretch their budgets by providing highest-quality books at 50-90% off retail prices.

Follow these simple steps to select books from the First Book Marketplace:

1. Register your RIF program with First Book at www.firstbook.org/register.  Registration is free and takes just a few minutes. In addition to receiving books from the First Book Marketplace, you may also be eligible to receive free books from the First Book National Book Bank and other First Book programs.
2. Choose your books. You may use this site, www.fbmarketplace.org to view available titles and make your selections. To purchase, simply add books to your shopping cart.
3. Payment. Select the payment option that is appropriate for your program. Please read through all details below as some payment procedures have recently changed.
    
   • Option #1 - Payment by RIF local funds only. If you wish to pay for your entire order using funds from your local RIF program (with no additional funding from RIF’s national office) please have a credit card ready to finalize your order at checkout.
   • Option #2 - Payment by RIF local and RIF national funding. If a portion of your order will be paid for through additional funding from RIF’s national office, please select the “Third Party Payments option at checkout. You will need to select RIF and enter your RIF provided account number.  Please send the local portion of your payment to First Book at the following address:

     First Book
     Attn: FBMP Payments
     1319 F Street, NW
     Suite 1000
     Washington, DC 20004
     

4. Order processing. After you complete your order you will receive an email invoice from the First Book Marketplace. Your books will be shipped within 8-14 days.
5. Questions?
   
   • For questions regarding accessing RIF funds for invoice payment, please contact your RIF representative at 1-877-RIF-READ or contactus@rif.org.
   • For other questions regarding your First Book Marketplace order or your First Book Marketplace Invoice, please contact First Book’s Help team toll free at 866-READ-NOW (732-3669) or help@firstbook.org

What is the return policy? 

In order to offer books at significant discounts exclusively to programs serving children from low-income families, the First Book Marketplace does not accept returns. We encourage customers to research titles before purchasing them, for instance by entering the book information that we provide (title, author, ISBN) into an online search engine for descriptions and reviews. If you have questions about a specific book, please contact the First Book Help Team at help@firstbook.org before you place your order. All sales are final.

Why was I charged sales tax on my order? 

By default, we collect state sales tax on orders placed by organizations located in Arkansas, DC, Hawaii, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia. If your organization is located in one of these states and is exempt from state sales tax, please contact the First Book Marketplace at help@firstbook.org or at 866-READ-NOW (or 866-732-3669), Monday through Friday from 9AM until 5PM Eastern Time. We will work with you individually to process your order without sales tax.

The following is a listing of documents, by state, that qualify as proof of tax exempt status.

• Arkansas: Must pay state sales tax. See below for more information.
• District of Columbia: DC Tax-Exempt Status (Form 164)
• Hawaii: Must pay state sales tax. See below for more information.
• North Carolina: Must pay state sales tax. See below for more information.
• Rhode Island: Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption
• Tennessee: Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate
• Virginia: Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption for Non-Profits (Form NP)

Who to contact for additional help? 

For assistance please contact the First Book Help Team

• Call us at (866) READ-NOW or (866) 732-3669 from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm Eastern Time (except for major holidays)
• Send an email to help@firstbook.org or use the form below to send your email.