Buyer Terms & Conditions
Applicable from: 14 July 2026
This page explains, in plain language, what happens after you place an order on Bookaao — who's responsible for getting it to you, when a delay leads to an automatic refund, when and how returns work, and how we handle payment issues. It also explains Bookaao's role as a marketplace, so there's no confusion about who sets what.
Contents
1. Delivery & Bookaao's Responsibility
Once you place an order, it becomes Bookaao's responsibility to get it delivered to you — not just the seller's.
- We mail, message, and call the seller repeatedly until your book is shipped, so your order doesn't sit unshipped without us following up on it.
- Once your order is confirmed, Bookaao commits to delivering it within the delivery deadline shown at checkout.
- If there's any delay, you'll see it directly on your order's tracking page — you'll always know the real, current status of your order, not a generic "processing" message.
2. Automatic Cancellation for Unshipped Orders
If your order has not been shipped within 3 working days of being placed, it is automatically cancelled and fully refunded. You don't need to request a cancellation or raise a ticket — it happens on its own.
3. Returns — Bad Quality, Wrong Book, or Missing Item
We allow a return whenever something has genuinely gone wrong with what you received:
- Bad quality — the book is damaged, defective, or in materially worse condition than described.
- Wrong book — you received a different book than the one you ordered.
- Missing item — part of your order didn't arrive in the parcel.
This applies to second-hand and new books fulfilled by an individual seller (as opposed to Bookaao's own shopkeeper-fulfilled stock). Here's exactly how a claim is handled:
- Record before you open it. Before opening the parcel, start recording a continuous, unedited video that shows the sealed parcel and then you opening it. This video is your proof, and it's required to raise a claim under this section.
- Report it the same day. You must notify Bookaao on the same day your order is delivered. This keeps every claim fresh and verifiable — for you and for the seller.
- We verify. Bookaao reviews your unboxing video against the seller's listing and the courier's delivery proof, and asks the seller to respond.
- A three-member ticket decides. For quality or mismatch disputes, three independent members of the Bookaao team jointly review the evidence and determine where the fault lies.
- Return and refund follow the finding. Once fault is established, your return and refund are processed accordingly, at no extra cost to you if the seller or Bookaao is at fault.
An unedited video, started before the parcel is opened, is the only proof that reliably shows a parcel's real condition and contents at the moment it reached you. It protects you from a wrongly rejected claim, and protects a seller from a false one.
4. Returns — Any Other Reason
You can still return a book for any reason beyond bad quality, a wrong book, or a missing item — for example, if you simply changed your mind. In this case:
The return is allowed, but the delivery charge for that order is not refunded and is payable by you.
This is because Bookaao runs on some of the lowest delivery pricing in the market to keep books affordable. That delivery cost is a real cost already paid to get your order to you, so outside of a genuine quality, wrong-item, or missing-item issue, that cost isn't one Bookaao can absorb.
5. Payment & Transaction Issues
Money deducted, but order not placed
This is almost always a delay on your bank's or the payment gateway's side, not a lost payment.
- In most cases, the amount is automatically reversed to your original payment method within 5–7 working days.
- If it isn't reversed within that window, raise a ticket at bookaao.com/support with your transaction ID/UTR and a screenshot, and we'll trace it directly with our payment gateway partner.
Duplicate charges
If you're charged more than once for the same order, the extra charge is refunded automatically once verified. Flagging it to us at bookaao.com/support speeds up the verification.
Failed or unclear transactions
If a payment fails partway through, or you're unsure whether your order actually went through, don't retry the payment blindly — check your order history first, or contact support with your transaction reference so we can confirm the status before you pay again.
To protect genuine buyers and sellers, Bookaao may briefly verify unusual or disputed transactions (using order, payment, and delivery records) before releasing a refund. This is a safeguard against fraud, not a way to delay legitimate refunds — verified refunds are released promptly.
6. Bookaao's Role as a Marketplace
Bookaao connects buyers with independent sellers — it does not set, control, or take discretionary rights over the listed price of a book or its delivery price.
- Every book's listed price is set entirely by the seller who lists it. Bookaao has no rights over, and does not adjust, that price.
- The delivery price shown to you is calculated automatically from the book's weight through our freight calculator — it isn't something Bookaao sets on a per-order basis.
- Once a sale is complete, settlement of that money goes directly to the seller (net of Bookaao's platform commission). Bookaao does not hold rights over, or control the disbursement of, the seller's listed price or delivery price beyond facilitating the transaction between you and the seller.
- Bookaao's responsibility is to make sure the transaction, delivery, and dispute-resolution process runs smoothly, fairly, and transparently for both sides.
7. Seller Terms
If you also sell books on Bookaao, the seller-specific rules — commission, delivery charges, RTO, and payouts — are laid out in full separately.
Read the full seller terms at bookaao.com/sellertoc.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
When does the delivery deadline start counting?
From the moment your order is confirmed. You can always see the current delivery deadline and any delay updates on your order's tracking page.
What happens if the seller just doesn't ship my book?
We chase the seller by mail, message, and call until it ships. If it still isn't shipped within 3 working days of your order, it is automatically cancelled and refunded — you don't need to request anything.
Do I really need to record a video before opening my parcel?
Yes, if you want to raise a bad quality, wrong book, or missing item claim. An unedited video starting before you open the sealed parcel is the only proof we can verify a claim against, and it protects you as much as it protects the seller.
What if I report a quality issue two days after delivery?
Claims must be reported the same day your order is delivered. This is because condition-related claims become very hard to verify fairly once time has passed, for both you and the seller.
I just don't like the book I received — can I still return it?
Yes. Returns are allowed for any reason, not just quality or mismatch issues. If the reason isn't bad quality, a wrong book, or a missing item, you'll need to cover the delivery charge for that return, since it's a real cost already paid to get the order to you.
Money was deducted from my account but my order isn't showing. What do I do?
This is almost always a bank/gateway delay, not a lost payment. It typically auto-reverses within 5–7 working days. If it doesn't, raise a ticket at bookaao.com/support with your transaction ID and we'll trace it with our payment partner.
Does Bookaao set the price of the book or the delivery charge?
No. The book's listed price is set entirely by the seller, and the delivery charge is calculated automatically by weight through our freight calculator. Bookaao doesn't control either, and doesn't hold the seller's settlement money — it goes straight to them.
How fast will Bookaao respond if I raise a support ticket?
Our team responds to every ticket raised at bookaao.com/support within 12–24 hours with a resolution or next step.
9. Contact & Support
Need help with an order, a return, or a payment issue? Reach us any of these ways:
Email: info@bookaao.com
Call: +91 9142086689
Support tickets: bookaao.com/support — generate a ticket and our team will respond within 12–24 hours with a resolution.