Frequently Asked Questions

Hi, and welcome to Garratt Publishing’s website.  Thanks for visiting.

We often get asked a range of questions on the phone, in person, through emails or just about any other way you could think of, even by old fashioned mail.

So to help you, and us, on this webpage you will find a range of answers (sometimes a little ‘tongue in cheek’) to those frequently asked questions we get asked.

And if you have a question we haven’t answered here, touch base with us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au, and we will endeavour to answer it as best we can, and perhaps even include it on this page to help others.

Who is Garratt Publishing?

For over 20 years Garratt Publishing has been at the forefront of publishing and distributing premium Catholic resources all over Australia.

We proudly publish our own resources, and distribute quality titles from internationally renowned publishers with a strong emphasis on serving the needs of Australian Catholic school students of all ages; and the needs of their teachers with learning resources, lesson plans, activities and the like.   We also support the needs of wider Catholic community by making available books, CD’s, DVD’s, artwork, cards and other products sought after by Parishes, Priests, theologians, Sisters, Brothers and of course, individuals seeking to explore, strengthen or deepen their faith.

Our own titles are always created in consultation with Australia’s most highly respected theologians, teachers, academics and authors.  Our international resources are ‘hand-picked’ by our experienced and knowledgeable staff from the world’s leading religious publishers.

Feel free to head over to our official About Us page to know more about Garratt Publishing.

Are you owned by the Catholic Church?

No, we are an independent, privately owned and operated small business. We maintain great relationships with those throughout the various Catholic Dioceses, Catholic Education Offices, pastoral offices and other Catholic institutions, but we do not ‘work’ for the Catholic Church, nor are we the official publisher of the Australian Catholic Church.

Are you just Catholic?  Or can I get other Religious Resources?

No we are not just ‘Catholic’. Although we predominantly publish Catholic books and resources and distribute Catholic products from selected international Catholic publishers, we pride ourselves on having strong relationships with other local and international Christian publishers. This means that we can often supply Christian based resources, (other than Catholic). For example, we have an extensive selection of current, quality Anglican, Presbyterian and Lutheran resources.

Feel free to head across to our Partner Page too.  There you will see a range of great local and international partner publishers we have close ties too.

In addition, we also have a number of interfaith resources for the spiritual and pastoral needs of different faiths and religions.

If you’re looking for a religious product or resource, check out our website in the first instance. If you can’t find it, contact us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au and we will try to help you find it. 

How and when can I contact Garratt Publishing?

We’d love to hear from you. We hope we can make it easy to contact us through these various ways.

·         Email us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au

·         Write to us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/garrattpublishing

·         Mail us at PO Box 43, Sandown Village, Victoria 3171

·         Phone us on 1300 650 878

·         Visit our showroom in person located at 32 Glenvale Crescent, Mulgrave, Victoria.

We are open 9am – 5pm Monday – Fridays AEST (or AEDST depending on the time of the year!).  Whilst our phone lines can get busy helping other customers, someone is generally available to speak to you in person, else feel free to email us or indeed send a good old fashioned letter (we read those too).  We will generally reply within a day or two.

We do encourage feedback in relation to our service levels or products.  We use all feedback we get to improve our efforts to serve you better.

Can you tell me how to use the Garratt Publishing search engine?

We make continued efforts to improve our web site search functionality.  You can now search the products on our entire website by simply typing in a keyword. A keyword can be a title of a book, an author, a specific ISBN or a subject. The search engine will then look through our product catalogue and display the results that are relevant to the keyword that you were searching for.

To search for products is very simple. Just position your cursor on the search bar at the top right of our site and type in your search keyword or keywords and hit the enter key. There are many ways of searching for products:

• If you know the title of the book or parts of it, then type it in the search .e.g. Bible.
• If you want to look for an author, then type in the author's name or parts of it. e.g. Bishop Geoffrey Robinson or simply Robinson.
• If you want to search for a subject, then type the subject into the search box.

The most relevant results for the keyword you searched for will be displayed on the page. On the left of the screen, you can further narrow your search by choosing a category, or sub category, price etc.

What is ‘Sophia’? When browsing products on your website, I notice that many of your products have Sophia prices listed against them.

Sophia refers to our Sophia Book Club.  Membership is open to everyone, both individuals and institutions alike and offers a range of benefits much like a loyalty program. An annual fee applies which entitles Sophia members to discounts off RRP prices, exclusive offers not available to non-members, and some other preferential benefits that the general business.

We recommend that schools, parishes, individuals or others who are likely to spend more than $200 per year with us join as a Sophia Book Club member.  The savings are incredible.

You will find more information on our Sophia Book Club here, or contact us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au

Is the item I wish to purchase available?

We make considerable effort to have stock in our Melbourne warehouse that will meet expected demand, and as such our site indicates, to the best of our ability, stock availability.  When purchasing an item from our website, you can check the Stock Availability on the individual Product Page.

The following classifications are used to let you know if we have stock available.

·         "In Stock" - This item is in our warehouse and is ready to ship.

·         "Limited Stock" - This is a stocked item in our warehouse that, due to its popularity, our stock levels are rapidly depleting.  In many cases we would have probably already ordered more stock from our supplier. We do recommend that you place your order regardless so that you ‘do not miss out as stock that is due to arrive will be allocated to the orders in the system.

·         "Out of Stock". This item is not in our warehouse.  In most cases it may be a popular item that is being reprinted, or already on order.  In rare instances, an item may ‘jump’ from Limited stock to Out of Stock quite quickly.  When ordering either limited or out of stock items, expect to hear from us, usually by email, shortly after you place your order and we will advise you on the status of your order.  Remember in these circumstances we may or may not charge your credit card immediately, as we do not wish to disadvantage or inconvenience you in any way.  Details of how we charge credit cards are outlined below.

·         “Pre-order” – Items marked as a pre-order are about to be published. These may already be on their way to our warehouse, or may be a number of weeks off.  We endeavour to do our best to notify you of the date the item is to become available, and you will find those details on the product page.  We highly recommend pre-ordering, as your order will be allocated on a ‘first-come-first-served basis’.

Of course, should a book or other item you wish to purchase not be on our website catalogue, that does mean we could not find it for you!

We would be pleased to help you find a product that you would normally think we might stock.  Our team are specialists in finding the most hard-to-get titles, discovering if titles are in or out of print, or, if we can’t get it, pointing you in the right direction to someone who might.

Email us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au or phone us on 1300 650 878 and we will help you as best we can.  In these circumstances, if you could provide as many details of the product, such as Title, Author, Publisher, ISBN or the like, we can get our search underway for you.

Can you help me purchase books that are not listed on your website?

Yes we can assist you to find and purchase books that may not appear on our website. As you would appreciate, there are millions of books relating to Christian beliefs, churches, spirituality and faith – too many to list on our website. Our expansive global network of local and international suppliers means that we can be of great assistance should you be looking for a specific publication that we’ve not listed.

Our very experienced and knowledgeable staff, are specialists in finding the most hard-to-get titles, discovering if titles are in or out of print, or, if we can’t get it, pointing you in the right direction to someone who might. We will be only too happy to discuss your needs, help you find what you’re looking for, or suggest similar, alternative titles you might like to consider. Email us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au or phone us on 1300 650 878 and we will help you as best we can.  In these circumstances, it would really help if you can provide as many details of the product, such as the Title, Author, Publisher, ISBN or the like, which would help us get our search underway for you.

Why do I need to set up an account online, and why is the site asking me for a username and password?

Like most online stores we require you to set up an account when ordering online at garrattpublishing.com.au.  Your account will provide us with the necessary information to be able to supply the goods you have ordered.

You only need to set up a Garratt Publishing account once, and your details are kept, securely, behind a username and password that you can choose.  Should you forget your details, you can use our ‘Forgot your Password’ function to retrieve them. 

You will be able to track your order history in your account.

Why do I need to provide all my personal details when trying to buy from you?

We require certain details from you to fulfil any order.  Obviously we need to have your address so we can send the goods you purchase to you.  Your email and phone details are required to ensure that we are able to contact you if, in rare circumstances, there is an issue with supplying your purchases, or there is an issue with payment.

What do you do with my details I give you?

Your details are kept securely in our system to fulfil and record your transactions and interactions you have with us.

Like you, we are also consumers.  We don’t like the thought of organisations we deal with in our day-to-day lives misusing our personal information.  So we treat your details in the same fashion we would like ours to be kept.  That is:

·         Your details are never provided or sold on to any third party organisation. 

·         Your credit card details are not recorded, except to process your transaction.  We work with organisations with industry leading PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) protections to ensure your card details are protected from ‘prying eyes’ or misuse.

·         Layers of firewalls, encryption systems, protect our systems and other processes that we spend lots of money with IT boffins to maintain, enhance and continually improve.

·         When ordering online, our secure server uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to connect to our website, which encrypts all the information sent from your computer or device. The following indicates that you have entered a secure session and will be present when you are requested to enter your credit card details: The "https" in place of the usual "http" in your browser address box, and or a small padlock either at the bottom or top of your browser (this will depend on the browser you are using)

However, we do use your details from time to time to send you more information about Garratt Publishing, including promotions and special offers, we think you may be interested in.  If you do not wish to receive these, then simply tell us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au and we will stop sending these to you.

Like the majority of Australian businesses, we have a formal Privacy Policy, which you can read here if you so wish.

What payment options are available?

Hopefully we have made it easy for you to pay us!

We offer a range of payment options most convenient for you.

Online we accept payment with Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

Offline we accept those above as well as cash or direct bank deposit (call us for our bank details)

Certain organisations can also set up an account with us.  Those businesses with an account can pay on invoice.  Contact us at sales@garrattpublishing for further details on how to set up an account with us.

Finally you can also redeem Garratt Publishing Gift Certificates as payment for orders. If wishing to redeem your gift certificate for online purchases, submit your order without any payment details. Once your order confirmation has come through, contact us on 1300 650 878 with the web order reference number and the Gift Certificate value and number and we can apply this payment manually for you. Credit card details can then be provided if required.

We do not accept PayPal.

How do you charge my credit card?

Due to the nature of Garratt Publishing’s range of products, their availability and indeed where we source them from, how we charge your credit card may differ depending on the availability of your product. We will onlydebit your credit card when we despatch your product/s, so if the products are available straight away, your card will be charged immediately. If the item/s need to be ordered in, your credit card will only be charged when the item/s are being despatched from our warehouse.

Therefore, specifically when purchasing online:

• eBooks and Sophia Book Club Memberships are charged immediately.
• Products that are in stock in our warehouse are charged immediately.
• Pre orders are charged immediately.
• Any order containing products that are flagged as limited stock may delay your credit card being immediately charged during the online purchasing process. 
• Any order containing products that are flagged as out of stock may delay your credit card being immediately charged during the online purchasing process.
• Where eBooks, Gift Certificates, or Sophia Book Club membership are included in an order with products that are in or out of stock, or indeed we have flagged as having limited quantity:
• eBooks, Gift Certificates, and Sophia Book Club membership components of the order will be charged immediately.
• Items that are in stock, out of stock, or indeed we have flagged as having limited quantities, may not be charged immediately.

Your credit card may not be immediately charged as we are reviewing your order. We want to get your order right.  We want to make sure we can secure the products you have ordered (for instance if they are out of stock and we need to secure them from overseas, or indeed if they may take some weeks to receive them).  We think it better to hold on a moment, check everything out and then confirm back to you we can secure the goods, in the timeframe you may want them and the like.  So you may hear from us, via email or phone before we process any credit card charge.

Offline, should you order via the phone, fax, and order form or via email, much the same applies.  We will check that we can get the products to you promptly, process your order and advise you as quickly as we possibly can that we have charged your credit card.  This generally happens in a business day or two after we receive your order.

Be assured we will only charge your card for items or goods that are actually supplied at any given time.

What happens if I order more than one product and one is in stock and the other is out of stock?

In case where you have ordered items that are in and out of stock, you will receive an email from us advising you that:

We have not charged your credit card, except if eBooks, a Gift Certificates and/or a Sophia Book Club Membership were also included in your order.  In those circumstances the value of the eBooks, Gift Certificates and Sophia Book Club Memberships will be charged immediately.

We are reviewing your order and verifying that we can obtain the out of stock item(s)

We will be in touch with further information shortly.

We hold the order to verify it for a variety of reasons, as we want to get your order right.  For instance the item that is out of stock may also be out of print, and we had not previously been advised by our partner.  Or the title may be at reprint stage and several months away from being delivered.

We feel it better to know for sure.  Only when we know from our own supplier that the item you have ordered that we flagged as out of stock can be delivered will we advise you.

Once we have done that we will charge your card for the items we can supply, and they will be shipped shortly after that.  We will only charge your card for the out of stock items when we get stock of that item and ship it to you.  You will only be charged one for postage.

How long will my order take to arrive?

Postage and shipping is always a little tricky to predict precisely!

In the majority of cases we rely on Australia Post to deliver your orders. We cannot guarantee how long items may take to reach you after it leaves our warehouse.  However Aussie Post has broad guidelines on how long items take to reach the various parts of Australia.  See the page here…

What we can guarantee is that we ship your orders as soon as we possibly can.  When though does depend on what you have ordered, its stock availability, where the product originates from, and the like.  Let us elaborate a little:

·         E-Books

o    E-books will be ‘delivered’ immediately after we have processed your payment.  This will normally be in a matter of a few minutes, via email.

·         Gift certificates

o    Gift certificates will be ‘delivered’ immediately after we have processed your payment.  This will normally be in a matter of a few minutes, via email.

·         ‘In Stock’ items

o    Generally items that are in our warehouse are picked, packed, sent and delivered within 10 working days

·         ‘Limited Stock’ items

o    These are likely to popular items that we have limited stock of.  In many cases we will have stock and the items will be delivered within 10 days.  However, in some rare instances, as we process orders on a ‘first come- first served basis’, by the time you place your order, the item or items may have shifted from limited to no stock.  In these circumstances we will advise you as soon as we practically can and let you know the status of your order.

·         ‘Out of Stock’ items

o    Again, we will advise you of an expected delivery time frame when you place an order for an out of stock item.  Depending on where we source the product from, this may take anywhere from two(2) to six(6) weeks.  Again in these circumstances, we will not process a payment on your credit card until your items are posted to you.

·         Mixed Orders

o    If your order has items that are in stock and out of stock, then we will ship what we can to you within 10 business days.  We will then ship the out of stock items to you when they become available, and again you should expect to receive them within 10 days.

We monitor our stock levels very closely and order from our suppliers frequently.  However if you wish or need your item or items to arrive quickly, contact us and we will explore express delivery options, if they are available.  Additional charges may apply in these circumstances.

For international orders times may vary widely, and we recommend you contact us for more information.  We can be contacted at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au or on 1300 650 878 or +61 3 8545 2911 (if outside Australia)

What are your shipping rates and charges?

We attempt to keep the costs of getting your products to you to a minimum.  Whether purchasing online, or offline, shipping rates are applied to your order, so you know the total costs of purchasing items from Garratt Publishing.

Our general shipping and handling charges are as follows:

Shipping within Australia

We like to keep things simple so the rates are applied based on the value of your order, regardless of the number of books purchased. Accordingly our shipping and handling charges are as follows:

• $7.95 for orders under $10.
• $9.95 for orders between $10 and $50.
• $14.95 for orders over $50 but less than $80.
• $16.95 for orders over $80 but less than $100.
• $19.95 for orders over $100 but less than $200.
• $30.00 for orders over $200 but less than $300.
• $35.00 for all orders over $300.

If, due to stock availability, we need to send multiple shipments to you, you will only be charged the one shipping and handling charge per order.

Please note:  Bulk bible orders of 8 or more copies will be charged at actual shipping costs.  Our staff will contact you with a quote to confirm the shipping costs before despatch.  If you have any questions regarding the costs for shipping bibles, please contact us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au or on 1300 650 878.

Shipping Internationally

New Zealand Customers: Please contact our distributor, Pleroma Christian Supplies, to place orders for our products. Their website is: www.christiansupplies.co.nz or phone 0508 988 988 (within New Zealand).

All other Countries: Orders to international destinations will be charge upon weight.  We will advise you of the shipping and handling charges, at which time you may give us the OK to continue with your order, or alternatively advise us if you wish to cancel your order.

I have input the wrong address when ordering online, what can be done?

Send us an email or phone us immediately at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au or on 1300 650 878.

We will do our best to ensure the information you have input is accurate (we usually review all orders as we process them). However, we cannot guarantee that your order will arrive at its destination if you have not provided correct details and as much information as possible to assist the couriers/post office when delivering e.g. company name, level, suite etc.

If the item has not left our warehouse we can certainly help in amending your delivery address. However, if your order has left our warehouse we cannot guarantee changing your details and getting the goods to you on the first attempt. Unfortunately, you will be liable for any costs incurred in return to sender parcels if the information you provided was inaccurate, and additional shipping charges to get the goods to you.

How can I check the status of my order?

Sadly we do not have the online functionality to check the progress of your order online at present.  We hope to bring this function to you as soon as we possibly can.

However, soon after you order online you will receive some details on the status of your order.

If you have any questions regarding your order, we recommend ‘the old fashion personal touch’ to help you get your answers.  Email us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au or phone us on 1300 650 878 and we will help you as best we can.

What happens if my product is damaged or not what I expected when I receive my shipment? (Or some information about our approach to Returns and Refunds!)

We take great care and pride in ensuring that all products leave our warehouse in an excellent condition. Occasionally, items may be damaged, defective or incorrectly shipped. If this is the case, we’d like you to contact us within 7 days of receiving the unsatisfactory product/s, and we will gladly replace them.  You can contact us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au or on 1300 650 878.

We will always comply with the Law in relation to returned goods, and indeed we will try to go the extra mile for you, but please note the following.

In instances where products are defective, incorrect or damaged.

In those cases that any product or products are found to be defective, incorrect or damaged, we ask that you contact us within 7 days of receipt the product.  We will then ask that return the products to us within 30 days (we will tell you how).  We will then make arrangements to replace the defective incorrect to damaged item or items, and let you know when you can expect top receive them.  You will not be charged for returning the items, nor will you be charged any additional shipping to get your purchases to you.

Products that are unsuitable or do not meet your needs.

We take great care in providing accurate and detailed information about our products so that our customers can make informed product selections.  We provide product descriptions, images and wherever we can, additional information such as videos, sample chapters and testimonials.

If you select a product that, when you receive it, is vastly different to what you expected, we are happy to discuss this with you. We ask that you contact us within 7 days of receipt. We will consider each situation on its merits and will either find a more suitable product for you or arrange a refund/credit of the purchase price. To receive a refund/credit the item/s should be returned to us within 30 days of the date of your invoice.  You can contact us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au or on 1300 650 878.

Please note the following:

• All computer software, CDs, DVDs or other media may only be returned for refunds/credits if UNOPENED. If opened, they may be returned only for replacement, with the same item, if faulty.
• You will be required to pay the shipping costs for returning these item/s.

All returned products are to be mailed to:

Garratt Publishing
Attention: Returns Department
PO Box 43
Sandown Village Victoria  3171

Products should not be returned without contacting us at sales@garrattpublishing.com.au or on 1300 650 878. Refunds/credits and replacement products will only be provided if discussed and agreed to by a member of our team before the item/s being returned.

The cover image of the Book I purchased is different.  What can I do about it?

The images on our website are intended as a guide only. From time to time cover images that we receive from our supplier for display may differ from the stock we receive. Publishers can have various cover designs for one ISBN so images can change without notification.

I have written the greatest religious book ever (aside from the Bible), will you publish my book?

Fantastic news and we hope that we can bring your ‘tome’ to the wider general public.

When we publish a book, it’s based on extensive research, analysis and the needs of its target audience.  However, on rare occasions we may explore publishing what we call unsolicited manuscripts.

At this time we are not accepting manuscripts or submissions.