now open irl Tues-Sat 12-7pm, closed sundays + mondays

Many books are not in stock at our store (our site has about 9 million books, and we carry about 200-300 at our storefront). 

Welcome to our online store! If you stumbled upon this page but haven't visited our main site, please do so here: Third House Books. There you can find what events are happening at the store and other announcements like book club picks & sales.

On this page you have access to over 9 million titles currently still in print. Depending on the the title's availability, it will either drop ship directly to you, or we will fulfill it ourselves. If we need to fulfill it, it may take a little extra time to get to you, but get to you it will. 

Why should you buy online from us rather than Amazon or another non-local bookseller? The answer is pretty simple. Money spent with us stays within our community. First and foremost, it helps us pay rent and other bills that help keep our doors open. And if we can keep the doors open we can continue to provide a safe and valuable community space for Gainesville. We are able to provide fun, creative, and educational events that are usually free and open to the public. We get to continue to help Gainesville grow and remain a special and unique community in this weird and wonderful state of ours. Your tax dollars go towards maintaining and improving vital infrastructure and services that make our lives easier and more fulfilling. Anyhow, thank you for stopping by and we hope you can find exactly what you're looking for.

 

Basic FAQs

What's the best way to reach you with questions?

Please email us at questions@thirdhousebooks.com if your question isn't answered below.

When I look up this title, I get a Out of Print/Backordered menu. What's up with that?

You may get a "This book is out of print or backordered and can't be ordered right now" prompt when searching for a book on our site. This means the book is something we can't order -- this could be due to a temporary backorder, or the book is out of print, or a textbook on an academic press. In the case of a backorder where the book is definitely still in print, keep checking back! For out of print titles, your best bet would be sites like Thrift Books or eBay, and for textbooks/academic press exclusives, reach out to the press directly and they'll be happy to help you. 

What's the best shipping method if I need the books next week? 

Not media mail! According to the USPS, Media Mail takes 7-10 business days on average. While the special tier of shipping helps us (it's heavily discounted), we understand that sometimes you need your books sooner. Please select Priority Mail if you're on crunch time, especially with the upcoming holidays and USPS already experiencing delays. 

I have a gift card and there's no field to enter it at checkout. What gives?

You probably have a Square gift card, and you'll notice our Indielite isn't powered by Square, but fear not! Send us the ISBNs (make sure none of the books have the OOP/Backordered menu -- we can't get those in while the message appears) in an email with your name, gift card amount, and the best email address to send a Square invoice to. You'll be able to pay the Square invoice securely online with your gift card and your books will be on the way! No need to do anything further. You could also come into the store and use this gift card instead.

I'm interested in a book that just came out -- why isn't it in paperback on your site? / There's a book I'd like, but I don't see the version I want on your site. Can I order it? 

Most books are released in hardcover initially and it can be a year or more before publishers make a paperback available. If the format you're looking for isn't on our site, it's likely because it's not out yet or it is not in print in the United States. Indielite is essentially a domain indie bookstores use to sell books online, and it pulls from a large book database. If it's not listed here, we can't order it in, and it may not exist -- at least not here. 

I'd like to buy some notebooks, pins, cards, stationary, stickers, etc. They were in your storefront pre-COVID! Where are they? 

On our Indielite, only books are listed. If you're interested in these other items, please browse our store in person.

Can I come pick up my book at the store? 

Yes! Just select in-store pick up when you place an order. We got you.

Where is my tracking number? / How do I know which address I sent my book to? / What edition of the book is in my order?

Please login to view your order confirmation and details. There we send updates on orders as frequently as we can so you are in the know. When your book is shipped, we update your order here on our site with a tracking number, send you an email confirmation, and you will also receive an email from the USPS. 

My book was lost in transit!

Unfortunately with so many variables out of our hands, once a book is handed to USPS for delivery we can not be held responsible for any lost or missing packages. Refunds/Replacements are not offered if an item is lost in transit. Please contact your local carrier for additional help!

I want to place a preorder, but when I select the book, there's no button that allows me to purchase it. Can you please enable preorders?

We love when folks place preorders, it helps us know if we should stock up on a title, but you may be too early. The "Preorder Now" button appearing is an automated feature initiated by the publisher themselves when they're ready for folks to start putting those preorders in. Keep checking the site. It usually becomes available on Indielite around the 3-4 month mark. 

I'd like to get a gift receipt/my order gift wrapped but the option isn't listed. Help?

Most of our orders ship out directly from our warehouse (which means FAST shipping!) because they have far more books on hand so these books are seldom held by us at all, therefore giftwrapping isn't an option we can promise. Giftwrapping is a better possibility for preorders and signed copies which typically come from our brick and mortar inventory. If an order is shipping directly from our warehouse, we are not able to intercept their packaging and remove the packing slip that is included with each order.