New (N): Just like it sounds. A brand-new, unused, unread copy in perfect condition. In original protective wrapping. Book with any labels attached, may not be listed as New (N) condition.

Like New (LN): An apparently unread copy in perfect condition. Dust cover is intact; pages are clean and are not marred (stained) by notes or folds of any kind. Spine has no signs of creasing.  All supplementary materials are included and all access codes for electronic material, if applicable, are valid and/or in working condition.

Very Good (VG): A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. The spine remains undamaged.

Good (G): A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes, no highlighting, and the copy can include “From the library of” labels, Book Club or previous owner inscriptions.

Acceptable (A): A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The dust cover may be missing. Pages can include considerable notes–in pen or highlighter–but the notes cannot obscure the text.

Poor (P): Describes a book that has the complete text but is so damaged that it is only of interest to a buyer who seeks a reading copy. If the damage renders the text illegible then the book is not even poor. This copy may be soiled, scuffed, stained or spotted and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.

Student Owned (SO): Those books have the hallmarks of being used by students. As a result, there may be underlining or highlighting in the text, and older editions of a title may exhibit more wear and tear than the average used textbook. Also, student owned textbooks may or may not include the original access codes provided for access to websites related to the book

• Audio books with the following defect, errors or missing items cannot be listed;
  • Missing or incorrect discs
  • Copied or Pirated discs
  • Discs without all the original packaging, artwork or instructions
  • Discs with cracks or deep scratches
  • Items with an ISBN or barcode number different than that on the packaging even if the title is the same
  • Cracked cases
  • Items which look like have been chewed on

• It is good customer service to answer any questions you receive from potential buyers about your item. Communicating with them establishes trust and rapport. The all communication between buyers and sellers only be done through Hellobooks’ messaging system before the sale is finalized.
• We notify both parties by email when the buyer has completed checkout. The seller and the buyer must then arrange the delivery of the goods between them and complete the service. Try always offer fair and reasonable shipping rates, include insurance and provide assistance to the buyer in tracking parcels if need be.
• Package the book(s) in such a manner to ensure that it isn’t damaged during transit, as the seller you are responsible for the purchase reaching the buyer in the listed condition. If will be rejected upon arrival by the buyer the return of the purchase is for the seller’s account if the purchase is not in the stated condition.
• Send the order to your buyer as soon as possible, and within the delivery time you specified.
• Hellobooks have an agreement in place with The Courier Guy Company (door to door courier) to provide delivery facilities to sellers. Any seller can sign-up to use this service. If the buyer uses the option, the system will provide the buyer upon checkout of the order with the pricing of the delivery. The total commission to be deducted from seller account will be 25% should the seller make use of Hellobooks courier delivery facilities. The seller and the buyer will be notifying of the transaction and received the tracking number. The seller must make arrangement for Courier Guy Company to pick up the parcel only.
• If you are unable to fulfil a buyer’s order, please inform the buyer as soon as possible of the cancellation. Please also ensure that you cancel the order in your seller’s dashboard. Any cancellation fees, including payment, courier and packaging, due to the seller being unable to fulfil the order, will be for the seller’s account. A R10.00 cancellation fee will apply to all cancelled transactions on hellobooks.co.za as well.
• Payments to sellers for completed sales will be finalised on the 15th of every month for all sales concluded prior to the 5th of that same month. All payments for transactions completed after the 5th of the month will be finalised on the 15th of the following month. Payments will be only be released to sellers once the buyer has confirmed receipt of his/her order.

How many of us love to walk into a public library or an old book shop and get the instant impression of throw back sensations or maybe the feelings associated with the scent of old books that have been sitting on our shelf at home? The smell is not colourful, not bright, not full bodied, not loud in any way. It’s linear, flat, matt, quiet but airy.  A wonderful creation of yellowing pages.

Some generations that literary grew up  “with books” they would recognise that smell immediately. The books are everywhere around us, just like their aroma. Used and abused, loved and not so loved but for all those years the scent has lived in our memorise as the smells re-ignite memories both good and bad. So sometimes it can be brought up and appreciated over and over again.

Neurologists think that smells trigger memories because the olfactory nerve, which carries messages from the nostrils to the brain, and is located very close to the amygdala and hippocampus, the areas of the brain connected to our emotional memory.

Dr John McGann, author of the paper published in the journal Science, suggested the results will transform the way neurologists think about smell. He said scientists had previously assumed that sensory organs, including the eyes, nose and ears, are simply detectors, and that the brain works out what the messages mean. In the old model the eye is like a camera, the ear like a microphone, the nose like a chemistry lab, and the job of the brain is to analyse all this information,’ Dr McGann said.

The new research, however, suggests that smell sensors work independently of the brain.

Back to the “Why We Love the smell of old books”. A very interesting and successful collaboration connecting perfumer Geza Schoen and the famous fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, has been established. It has resulted in a new fragrance ideal for fans of books! The new and unique perfume Paper Passion was created with the intention to reinterpret the characteristic scent of freshly printed books while accentuating passion for paper and combining several arts – literature, design and perfumery.

The perfumer succeeds with the help of four or five ingredients including ethyl linoleate and woody components to accentuate dry wood chord in the composition. Geza Schoen manages with this particular fragrance to place his vision of simplicity!

Collaboration on the creation of the “scent of fresh books” fragrance as spiced successfully by designer Karl Lagerfeld who created the outer carton and named it PAPER PASSION. Lagerfeld also came up with the idea for the outer packaging that is book-shaped and it opens like a book.

The scent of Paper Passion is an oddly subtle yet distinct scent. Congrats to the Geza and Karl but how about old books or odour of a musty-dusty library?  Or maybe cocoa, wood, rusks – every book has own distinctive smell. And each smell says something about how and when it was made, and where it has been. I have no words to describe this but I am sure it is an old factory treat. And somehow it’s comforting to know that, as long as there are books, especially musty ex-library books, this smell will linger on. So, what’s your smell?

“Engraved” by Anna Howcroft, founder of Hellobooks.