Mandarin Books is located in Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, normally referred to as "the Big Island" and also known as the "the Volcano Isle" or "the Orchid Isle." Hilo, besides being the 2nd largest city in Hawaii is also on record as the rainiest city in the USA, somewhere around 150 inches per year. However, in-between those tropical rain showers you will find lots of sunshine, flowers and island flora.

Just indoors from our own ld Hawaiian Garden/I>, tucked away in Waiakea Uka, the hills behind Hilo town, we take pride in offering our customers a consistent selection of rare and collectable books, printed art and ephemera of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. The old books, the lovely floral prints, the occasional 80-year-old tourist guide, are not just our merchandise, they are our passion.

We are proud to announce the opening our On-line shopping site at www.mandarin-books.com in addition to our ever expanding eBay Store. Please do stop by for a bit of "window-shopping."

The On-line display of many of our items, most of which are vintage, some quite rare, has offered its own unique challenge. By presenting a thorough graphic display and assessment of the physical characteristics of each item, we hope to enable you to responsibly determine the value of that item to you personally and thereby place a bid or make a purchase at a level comfortable to you.

Mandarin Books, enjoys making available collectible floral and scenic prints for display. With the assistance of one of our local frame shops, we are able to offer many of these prints to you professionally matted in stock sizes. Generally, our printed art is sold in the ready to frame configuration due to the increased shipping costs (3 to 4 times higher) involved in transporting the heavier more fragile framed item. Thus we allow you to choose the frame at your leisure.

Our objective at Mandarin Books is not merely to process transactions, but to care for your new treasures just as though they were still our own. Without exception, we wrap and pack our parcels utilizing shipping boxes and/or bubble wrap in an effort to protect your items from even minor shipping damage. All of our rolled prints will be delivered in our complimentary 3" substantial shipping tubes. Without exception. our items are always protected against moisture damage. In recent months we have begun to utilize the USPS postal labeling system and are pleased to be able to offer free Tracking Numbers and Delivery Confirmations on all of our Priority and Express Mail items. Please never hesitate to mention should you have any specific concerns. Your questions and comments are always welcome and specially requested items will be pursued tenaciously.

To our Hawaiian and Hawaiian-at-heart friends, near and far, mahalo for the opportunity to be of service to you. We look forward to increasing our inventory in the future; always carrying everything "UNDER THE HULA MOON" including Jocelyn Fujii's very own "MOON".

Aloha From Mandarin Books Hawaii

here the moon is singing silver

And the sun is laughing gold. - Don Blanding

INSURANCE CLAIM PROCEDURE (updated 9/12/04)

Beginning on September 14, 2004, Mandarin Books Hawaii will be utilizing an alternate insurance carrier for coverage of USPS shipments insured for $100 or less on tubes and $300 or less on books and matted prints. The rate will be identical to those charged by the USPS (i.e. $1.30 for coverage up to $50 value and $2.20 for coverage up to $100 value, $3.20 for coverage up to $200 and $4.20 for coverage up to $300.)

DAMAGE CLAIMS: All claims will be addressed promptly. You will be forwarded via email a simple, self-explanatory form that can be printed, completed and returned to Mandarin Books for submission and processing. Damaged books must be returned with the completed claim form. DAMAGED PRINTS: Matted Prints should be removed from their matting and may be folded to envelope size and included with your claim form, the matting need not be returned. Large Art Prints need not be returned in their entirety. An acceptable portion of the print, a 6x 6piece of the image area) to include the artist signature will suffice rather than incurring additional expense in order to return the whole damaged print. The completed claim form also must accompany the image clip.

With respect to damage claims: We are required to replace rather than reimbursement, substitutions can not be made. However, should an identical copy not be in stock or not be available within the next 30 days, then a full refund to include your original shipping and insurance expense will be immediately forwarded to you. We do have multiple copies of the majority of our prints and new books and in that case, the replacement would be shipped within 1 to 2 days of receipt of the paperwork.

LOST CLAIMS: We are now shipping all of our Domestic Mail with Delivery Confirmations. Just the same as the USPS, that confirmation will determine whether a parcel is ostor not. There is a Waiting period of 30 days before a claim for a lost item may be submitted. During this period however, do not hesitate to check with your local Postal Unit either in person or via telephone, furnishing them with the assigned Confirmation Number. Actual losses are extremely rare and an inquiry can often result in locating a parcel that has taken the scenic route but inevitably arrives safe and sound at its intended destination.

We are hopeful that this alternative Insurer will allow us to better serve our customers by replacing damaged items very promptly, without the run-a-round or waiting periods of undetermined length. We feel that this simplified manner of claims submission will also be less intimidating and abrasive to our customers. But, as always, INSURANCE COVERAGE MUST HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN YOUR PAYMENT FOR THE PURCHASED ITEM. The seller is not responsible for damage or loss to uninsured parcels. And of course, although we strive to maintain perfect records, the Buyer is urged to also maintain their own record of the Paypal or eBay transaction, or written or emailed instructions, just in case.

Presently, Insurance on tubes in excess of $100 and others in excess of $300 continue to be handled through the USPS as they have in the past and claims submission of these items will continue to receive our utmost assistance and support. Should you have any question or concerns at anytime, please do not hesitate to contact us.