Help and Information

This page aims to answer the most common questions people have. If your question isn't answered here, please send us an email.

You should also consult the site Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

How to order

Ordering Mary's books is easy. Simply browse the list of Mary's 5 books. Click on the one you want to order, and choose "Add to Cart". Continue shopping, adding other titles, and View Cart at any time to change the quantity of each book or remove something from your shopping cart.

Once your cart contains the books you want, click "Checkout". You'll be taken to the checkout page, where you enter your address and choose how you want to pay. Click "Review Order" to get a final chance to review what you're about to order. Finally, click "Submit Order" to place your order.

You'll be sent an email with details or your order. See below for information on when you can expect your books, and how you can track the progress of your order.

Delivery Charges

Postage is charged at cost.

During checkout, after you enter the delivery address, you'll be shown the different shipping options and what each will cost. This is estimated, based on the weight of your order, and includes the cost of packaging and payment processing.

When Books are Delivered

Liz Oakley sends out Mary's books in her spare time; we do not have full time employees. Books are sent out as soon as possible after ordering, usually within a week. Because of holidays and other commitments, it may take us up to 3 weeks to dispatch your books. If you need them by a particular date, please contact us before ordering to discuss whether this will be achievable.

We will send you an email to let you know your books are being prepared for dispatch, and then another email once the books have been posted.

Oversees Customers

We welcome orders from outside the UK. At checkout, simply choose the country you want the books to be sent to, and postage will be calculated at cost. If the "country" drop-down box does not include the country you want, please contact us; if at all possible, we'll add that country into the checkout options.

Most countries do not charge import taxes on books. However, if you should be charged, you would be liable for any taxes and associated handling charges. If you wish to check this, please check with your country's Customs and Excise before ordering. If you are charged import duties, please let us know, as this may help us advise other prospective customers.

Paying for my Order

You can pay for your order by cheque or by card.

If you pay by cheque, please make your cheque payable to "Mrs E A Oakley", and send it to 5 Star Carr Road, Cayton, Scarborough YO11 3DZ. Your order will not be processed until the cheque has cleared.

If you pay by card, this is completely secure. If you pay us directly, your card details are passed directly to Stripe, our payment processor, and do not touch our servers. If you pay with PayPal, you will be taken to their website to complete payment. Either way, you pay for your order at the time of ordering.

Cancellation and Refunds

If you wish to cancel your order before we start preparing it for despatch, please contact us. We will refund the full amount you paid, sending you a cheque if you paid by cheque, or refunding your card payment. Once we have begun the despatch process, it may be too late to stop the books from being sent to you.

If you wish to return books that you have received, please contact us before doing so. If we made a mistake, we will give you a full refund. Otherwise, we may allow you to return the books at your expense, and we reserve the right not to refund postage costs. We are very accommodating, and want you to be fully satisfied with your order, so please get in touch if there are any problems whatsoever.

Online Account

When you place an order, an account is automatically created for you on this website. This allows you to log in, to view the progress of your order, and to view your order history. The website also remembers all the postal addresses you've previously used for ordering, so you can place a fresh order without having to re-enter your details. If you wish to place a new order, you don't have to log in first; if you order with the same email address, the new order will be automatically linked to your account.

If you forget your password, simply use the "Password Request" link from the login page, and you'll be sent a one-time link. This allows you to log in, so you can reset your password to something you'll remember.