FAQs

Safety: How does Bookelphia ensure safety during Covid times?

What safety measures is Bookelphia taking?

We are taking additional precautions to ensure safety for our members.

Use of protective equipment like facemask, gloves and hand sanitizer by team.
No contact delivery - Our logistics team member will connect over the phone with you and schedule the pick up/ delivery, time and place. Books may be placed at your designated collection spot (including your society security / reception), while our logistics team member will observe from a distance, if required, while you collect/ drop the book(s).

How safe is the book that I borrow to read?

We keep the books in isolation for four days between its pickup and delivery to you. This is as per currently understood isolation time required for paper and books.
The books are transported in sealable sanitized book bags. Each book bag is sanitized appropriately before delivery.

How safe is my book when it comes back from a Reader?

We keep the books in isolation for four days between its collection from the borrower Reader and return to you. This is as per currently understood isolation time required for paper and books.

I do not want to exchange any money for book charges. How do I pay now?

We have switched to online payments only. No cash please. For your convenience, payments can be made through our website, while placing the book request.

General: About Us

What is Bookelphia?
Bookelphia is a crowdsourced book sharing platform. A network of reading enthusiasts where members lend to, and borrow books from, each other.

What kind of books do you have?
Our collection includes books from genres across Biography/ Autobiography, Fiction – Romance, Crime/ Thriller, Philosophy, Others - Self Help/ Inspirational, Business & Management, History, Health and Fitness, Food and Cooking, Religion and Mythology, Politics, Short Stories, Children & Young Adults… and so on.
Also included in our network are some of the best Hindi classics. We have recently started sharing books in Marathi also.

What are the languages in which books are available?
We have books in English and Hindi languages currently. We have recently started sharing books in Marathi also.

What cities does Bookelphia operate in?
We are currently operational in Mumbai and its suburbs including Navi Mumbai, and Thane.

May I buy books from Bookelphia?
We currently do not sell fresh / pre-owned books. But you can always borrow from us to read 😊

May I donate books to Bookelphia?
As book lovers, we know you love your books and would like to keep them with you. However, for any reason, if you wish to donate them to Bookelphia, we would be happy to receive them.
To donate a book, please call/ sms / watsapp us on +91 998 775 9025 or write a mail at connect@bookelphia.com
While donating a book, please consider the following

The book is well maintained and is in a reasonable reading condition
The book is not banned in India
It's not a copy that violates any copyrights / piracy rules

Please note that we may not be able to return the books donated to us. Hence, please donate only those books that you may not need to recall later.

Joining In

How may I become a member at Bookelphia?
Becoming a member is simple. Just visit our webpage www.bookelphia.com/register to register yourself and join the world of shared books.

How do members benefit?
Bookelphia members get access to a vast collection of books pooled into the network by all the members. As a member, you can share books with others and request for books shared by other members in the network. Bookelphia facilitates doorstep pick-up and delivery of books between the members so that you can manage everything from the convenience of your home / office.

Sharing: How does sharing work at Bookelphia

Is my book safe during lending? What happens if my book gets damaged / lost while it was lent within the network?
We make all reasonable efforts towards ensuring that the books are carried and maintained well within the network. This includes dedicated covers, well-trained personnel for book-handling, and thorough maintenance checks of books before each leg of transit.
However, in the event we find that the book has been damaged / lost, we will replace the book or refund the cost of the book to you.

How may I share my books with other members?
On becoming a member, you may add books to your bookshelf from the "My Accounts > Bookshelf" page. Books added to this section are, after validation by Bookelphia admin, added to the shared pool of books. In addition, should you wish so, we may also send a member of our team to make the list out of your bookshelf.
Once we receive the list, we'll put it under the available set of books in the network. When a reader in the network requests for your book, we will get in touch with you and pick up the book from your place as per your convenience

What is book credit point?
For every three books that you lend to someone to read through Bookelphia, you may borrow a book -without borrowing charges – from Bookelphia. Please note that only books with a borrowing fee less than INR 100 may be borrowed against credit points.

What to do if I am going out on holiday and cannot share books in that period?
We do not confirm availability of books to a network member before checking out with you for each instance. That said, for convenience of other network members, it is always good to intimate us in advance by sending us a mail at connect@bookelphia.com so that we can update the status of your books as "temporarily unavailable". Similarly inform us when you are back.

How do I order a book from the network members?
You can browse and order books directly from the website. Just search for the book by its title / author name in Search box on the home page. Then click on the book to order.
In case you do not find the title among the search results, feel free to use the “Request a Book” page on our website [ https://www.bookelphia.com/request_a_book] for asking us to look out for the title for you.
In addition, you may select books to order from our personal recommendation mail list. In the latter case, you may just write to us atconnect@bookelphia.com.

How many books can I order at a time?
You can order up to three books at a time. In addition, if you have already ordered three books from the network, you may queue up more books in your reading queue under your login. Books from the reading queue will be delivered after you return the books borrowed from the network.

How do I know if my order has been confirmed?
You will get a mail on order confirmation status and we will call you to fix the delivery schedule.

Can I cancel a book request? How?
You can cancel an ordered book till we have not confirm its availability to you on mail and / or phone. We confirm availability only when the book is picked up from its owner for you. Hence for cancellation at this stage only 50% of the book charge will be refunded.

How long may I keep a borrowed book?
Since the books are borrowed from other members, and there may be other members waiting to read the book, we urge borrowers to return the book as soon as they finish reading it. The outer limit for keeping a borrowed book is four weeks. In case you wish to extend the borrowing duration, please let us know at the earliest. You may get it extended for another 2 weeks at a nominal rate of 25% of the book charge.

What if I damage or lose a Bookelphia book?
We are a network based on trust and respect for each other. We invite only passionate book-lovers to join the network and we trust that our members will take the best care of books in the network.
Despite your best efforts, however, if you end up misplacing or damaging a book, please reach out to us at the earliest at connect@bookelphia.com.
At the sole discretion of Bookelphia, we may request you to pay for a replacement fee in such cases. The replacement fee may be arrived at as the price at which a fresh copy of the book is available at online/offline bookstores.

Logistics: How do pick-ups and deliveries work

How is the book pick-up process managed?
We have dedicated pick-up and delivery team members who will handle the pick-up. We will fix up convenient time with you when you are home and schedule the pick-up accordingly.

How do I pack the book for pick up?
You do not need to make any specific arrangements for packing the book. That's what we are for :)
Anyhow, you may find the following information helpful
1. For books that you are lending, our pick-up personnel will bring bags used for carrying the book(s).
2. For book(s) which you had borrowed from Bookelphia, please keep the same ready in the bag in which it was delivered to you.

What should I do, if I have to suddenly go out of house when a pick up is scheduled?
We try to schedule the pick-up date and time as per your convenience. The schedule will be finalized only after we have positively received a confirmation from you regarding the same.
However, should you need to step out at the confirmed time-slot, immediately let us know through an sms / whatsapp message on +91 900 435 9025 with an alternative date and time-slot.
You may also, on your judgement, wish to keep the book at your neighbor / any alternative place close to your residence. If informed in time, we may arrange for a pick-up from the alternative location as well.

How is the book delivery process managed?
We have dedicated pick-up and delivery personnel who will deliver the book to you. We will fix up convenient time with you and schedule the delivery accordingly.

What should I do, if I have to suddenly go out of house when a delivery is scheduled?
We try to schedule the delivery date and time as per your convenience. The schedule will be finalized only after we have positively received a confirmation from you regarding the same.
However, should you need to step out at the confirmed time-slot, immediately let us know through sms / watsapp message on +91 900 435 9025 with an alternative date and time-slot.
You may also, at your discretion, wish to direct us to deliver the book to a neighbor / any alternative place close to your residence. If informed in time, we may arrange for the delivery to the alternative location as well.

How do I place a book return order when I have finished reading?
Please put the book return request through the book return webpage https://www.bookelphia.com/user/current_read accessible through the My Account section from your login.

How will Bookelphia take the book back?
Our dedicated pick-up and delivery personnel will manage the pick-up when you wish to return the book. We will fix up convenient time with you when you are home and schedule the return accordingly.

What cities is Bookelphia operating in?
We are currently operational in Mumbai and its suburbs. We plan to roll-out in more cities soon. Till then, you may consider recommending friends and family in Mumbai to join us :)

What are the book pick-up and delivery charges?
The charges for different books are based on their relative availability and demand within the network. The charge for each book is mentioned on the website. There is no other charge.

Pricing: What are the charges?

How much do I pay to become a member?
You just need to pay a one time registration charge of Rs 699 only when you register with us as a member.

What is the security deposit that I have to pay?
We trust that our members are reading enthusiasts and that, as a member, you will take full care of the books that you receive through the network. In short, there are no security deposits - that's just how we are.

Are there any charges for pick-up and delivery?
Yes. There are charges for pick-up and delivery of books. The charges depend, among other things, on the relative demand and supply of the book in the network. Typically, though not always, they are in the range of INR 50/- to INR 150/-. The charge for each book is mentioned on the website. We recommend that you check the charges on the website before ordering any book.

Do I get any pricing discounts for sharing books in the network?
Every time a book is borrowed from your bookshelf, you get a credit of 1 Bookelphia Point. You may use your credit points to order books from the network. For every three credit points, you may order a book from the network absolutely free of charge. Please note that this is valid for books with a borrowing fee upto INR 100.

What are the available payment modes for book borrowing fee to be paid?
You may pay the book charges online at the time of borrowing request of book.

Is there any late fee?
Yes, there is. The outer limit for keeping a book is four weeks. In case there is a delay, please let us know at the earliest. You can extend the duration for another two weeks at a nominal rate of 25% of the book charge, subject to a minimum of INR 10/- only. Any further extension will be treated as a new order.

Others

Does Bookelphia provide Corporate Reading services as well?
Yes. Please contact us at +91 998 775 9025 or write to us at connect@bookelphia.com for more details.

Do I get any benefit out of referring friends to Bookelphia?
Of course. What better than introducing friends to good habits.
Yawn !
Oh, and yes... you do get credit points for introducing friends to the network. Lazy as we are, we'll soon (shortly!) put up the details in this regard in our Pricing section. To make up for our laziness, we'll give the credits retrospectively as well :)

May I donate books to Bookelphia?
While we would want you to retain your books with yourself, if you wish to donate books to Bookelphia, we would be glad to receive the same.

Does bookelphia.com provide e-books/ audio books?
For now, we are working on paperback books only. Please do return to this space to know more about our additional services that we plan to introduce soon.

Why focus on physical copies when we can read ebooks?
Well, many of us still like things the old, relaxed way.

How do I refer my friends to the network?
You may refer your friends to join us through the 'Refer a Friend' link on the website.
Alternatively, just send the contact details of your friend(s) to us. We will connect with your friend(s) and confirm back to you once they become a member. Equivalent credit points will be added to your kitty soon-after.
For referring your friends, you can send a mail to connect@bookelphia.com