Frequently Asked Questions

A. If you wish to order by credit card, we suggest you order over the internet. You may initiate an order for an item from web pages with merchandise on them or directly from the shopping cart by clicking on the shopping cart button. When you check out you will enter your personal and credit card information, and then the order is sent to us by encrypted email. It is not stored on the server. You must have a reasonably up to date browser with javascript and cookies enabled to use the shopping cart. If you have problems with the shopping cart, you can use the Secure Order Form (accessible from the initial shopping cart page) instead. See Q & A 4. for other payment options.

If you wish to order by mail or fax you can download one of our catalogs and use the order form it includes. Or you can make an order on our website without entering your credit card and send us a check instead. Send it to Van Cott Information Services, Inc., PO Box 9569, Las Vegas, NV 89191.

A. You must have cookies turned on for your shopping cart to work!

Our web site uses both non-secure and secure servers. This makes the most common method of ordering a two step processes.

First you click on the graphic for the item you want. This loads a page that displays the item you have selected and general information on payment options and shipping. On this page you can increase the quantity if you want more than one. To confirm your order YOU MUST CLICK THE Confirm BUTTON  You will see a dialog box confirming your order. You have not put the item in your shopping cart unless you have clicked the Confirm button.

When you are ready to check out click on START CHECKOUT at the top of the same page with the confirm button. This will take you to the page for entering shipping information. You can make changes in your order, including deleting or changing the quantity of items. You can check the cost of shipping and you can go back and add more items to your cart if you wish (a limit of 16 per cart). If you need more than 16 items, submit multiple orders and we will combine them.

A. We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express credit cards. We accept checks and money orders drawn on US banks and payable in US dollars (this includes Canadian and International Postal Money Orders if payable in US dollars). All checks must have the bank and account numbers printed (in magnetic ink) on the bottom left of the check.

We can accept bank to bank transfers from the Euro zone, UK, Canada and probably some other areas. Credit cards probably have a better exchange rate, but if you have a purchase of more than $200 and no other way to do it, contact us for details.

We accept US cash (registered mail suggested from overseas).

A number of customers have sent us money by Western Union. While this is an expensive method, it is available and is faster than any option except credit cards. It is important that all addresses details are correct or we will have difficulty getting the money.

We do not use PayPal or collect on delivery (COD).

All orders must be paid in advance except for US based university libraries, music departments, book stores and similar. For these orders we must have an official purchase order mailed or sent as an email attachment.

A. We now stock more than 5000 items. We generally have at least 98 percent of them in stock. However, we do sometimes have delays in restocking popular items due to temporary out of print conditions and slow supplier response to orders. Contact us by email, use our form for requesting information, or by phone to inquire about specific items.

A. Please ask about anything else you are looking for. There is sometimes a delay between the time items are received and listed on the web site so we might already have it. We are also happy to try to find other items.

A. To the US we offer Media Mail shipping (this was previously named book rate). It is $5.25 for the first item and 50 cents for each additional item. As identified in the catalog, some small items are free as additional items and a few others are heavy so the postage is based on the weight. However, you will always be charged at least the $5.25 minimum. If you are paying by a credit card, shipping on orders with 8 or more items or items marked as heavy in the catalog, may be computed at the USPS shipping cost plus a $2.00 handling charge at our discretion. If you want to pay by check, ask us in advance and we will tell you how much the shipping will be. Media Mail can be slow.  About 95 percent of orders are delivered within 8 days but that means the others take longer, in a very few cases to 4 weeks. We have recently modified the shopping cart system to charge cost plus the $2.00 handling charge for Media Mail orders which include an item marked [Heavy].

For Priority Mail shipments paid by credit card we charge cost plus a $2.00 handling charge. Our shopping cart computes the rate automatically for your location. If you want to pay by check, ask us in advance and we will tell you how much the shipping will be. The postal service has flat rate envelopes and boxes that we use when appropriate. We have incorporated the Flat Rate Box into our rate calculations where we think it is most likely to apply. Most Priority Mail orders are delivered in 2-3 days. Please use Priority Mail if you are in a hurry or have a deadline.

On rare occasions we use FedEx or UPS for some shipments. Please ask us about this if you think it might be better for your order. The Flat Rate boxes are usually less then the FedEx or UPS ground, which is why we rarely use these carriers.

A. Our shopping cart computes estimated shipping on international orders to most countries from which we have ever received orders. Shipping may be slightly less than shown and infrequently more. If shipping is more or has not been computed, we will inform you of the shipping charges prior to processing your order. Insurance can be computed by the shopping cart but is not available for all countries. Surface shipping is no longer available through the postal service.

For order up to a maximum of 4 pounds we use First Class International. The USPS international rates are much higher than they used to be. There are currently four rates: Up to 8 ounces, 9-32 ounces, 33- 48 ounces, and 49-60 ounces. The best value is for packages that are slightly less than 2 pounds (32 ounces). Some tracking information is available for First Class International Orders. See answer 12. 

Other overseas shipping options such as UPS and FedEx are very expensive (typically four to five times the postal charge) and will only be used it they are charged to the customer's account with these carriers.

A. We only offer insurance through Endicia.com which we use to print our mailing labels. We have found this to be easier in every way than USPS insurance and it is also cheaper.

Important information on Insurance Claims: If your insured shipment is lost or damaged you must complete and sign a simple form that we will send you so we can file the insurance claim. This is required for you to be reimbursed or have the items replaced at no charge and must be done within the time limits specified by the insurance company.

In the US, insurance is $1.20 per $100 of valuation. So insurance for a package valued from $1.00-100.00 would cost $1.20 and for $100.01 to $200.00 would be $2.40, etc.  For Canada the rate is $2.30 per $100 of valuation.

Insurance for international shipments using this insurance is $2.30 per $100 of valuation. This insurance is not available to: Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Burma, Congo, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire), Liberia, Nigeria, North Korea, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela. Any location that would be in violation of any U.S. economic or trade sanctions including OFAC Restricted Countries. For shipments to Russian and other Commonwealth of Independent States countries (includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan) coverage ceases upon touchdown of the aircraft at the airport of destination or upon discharge from the overseas vessel at the destination discharge port.