FAQ
Here’s where we’re going to answer questions! Please either leave questions in the comments or email Gavin and Michael @ weightlessbooks@gmail.com.
Q. Do I need to sign up for an account before I can buy books?
A. No! Just add titles to your cart, then click Check Out. However, signing up for an account does get you access to some special features, such as My Library.
WHERE/ON WHAT DEVICE CAN I READ THEM?
Q. Are these titles encrypted so that I can’t read them on anything but my one ebook reader and which will fill me with regret when I need to buy a new one?
A. No! We sell DRM-free non-encrypted ebooks in PDF, epub, mobi, and .lit formats because we believe those who buy ebooks here should be able to move them around between their devices at will. Please be kind to these independent publishers and don’t pirate these titles, thanks.
Q. Where’s my book?
A. Once you have bought your book(s), the site takes you to the Thank You page, which has encoded links you can click on to download the books. It also emails the same links to the email address you entered at checkout and adds them to your Library page. If you don’t receive the email, please check your spam folder in case it has been sent there and add orders@weightlessbooks.com to your email approved senders whitelist. After that, please email us at the above address.
Q. Where’s my Library?
A. You can find it in the Navigation menu on the top right hand side just under your profile name.
Q. I misplaced/lost/deleted my ebook by mistake! Can I get another copy?
A. Yes! Sign up for an account with Weightless Books using the email address where we sent your order confirmation, then go to My Library, where you will find live download links to all the books you’ve purchased.
Q. I bought my ebook in the wrong format by mistake/got a new ereader. Can I have a different format instead?
A. Yes! My Library lets you change your preferred ebook format anytime (though the format options are limited to those made available to us by the publisher). Choose the format you want from the dropdown list, click Update Preferred Formats, then click the links to download the new version.
Q. I downloaded an EPUB (or MOBI) file. How do I read it?
A. Some of our titles, such as Lightspeed Magazine, are only provided in EPUB and MOBI formats. You can download these programs so that you can read your books on your computer:
- Bookworm: http://bookworm.oreilly.com/
- Calibre: http://calibre-ebook.com/
- Sigil: http://code.google.com/p/sigil/
- If you use Firefox as a browser, you can get this add on: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/epubreader/
- A good MOBI reader, but only for the PC: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/ProductDetailsReader.asp
- iBooks (free app from Apple)
Q. I bought a book in HTML format but all I got was a lousy ZIP that won’t expand on my Mac. What do I do?
A. Try using a different archive utility such as The Unarchiver (it’s free and open-source).
Q. Can you email my ebooks directly to my Kindle (or other device)?
A. We can! Sign up for an account and provide your Kindle’s (or other device’s) email address in the Ebook Delivery Options section at the bottom of your profile. Then whenever you buy a new book, or a new issue of a magazine you’re subscribed to is released (assuming it’s in a format compatible with your reader and small enough to be safely attached to an email), the site will send your book files straight to your device. You may also need to add @weightlessbooks.com and weightlessbooks@gmail.com to your Kindle approved e-mail list.
Q. Can I order ebooks as a gift?
A. Yes! How nice of you. After you add some ebooks to your cart, you’ll see a checkbox labeled This is a gift order just above the Checkout button. Check the box, fill in your gift recipient’s name and email address, then proceed with your order as normal. They’ll get an email with the download links and the opportunity to sign up for My Library just as if they’d bought the books themselves.
Caveat: Your browser must allow JavaScript and cookies for gift orders to work. The NoScript plugin for Firefox and Chrome’s built-in script blocker will cause your order to go through as a regular purchase and your gift information will be lost. If this happens, just let us know and we’ll fix it.
Q. Can I buy someone a gift certificate?
A. Indeed you can. Buy a gift certificate!
Q. Can I get a refund on a subscription?
A. Yes. You can cancel your subscription at any time by emailing us at the address above. If you cancel within 60 days, you will be refunded your payment minus the issues you have received. If you cancel after 60 days, you will be refunded your payment minus the issues you have received and also minus the Paypal fee.
At some point you will also be able to cancel (and extend) subscriptions on the My Library page.
Q. What happens if the magazine/book I have subscribed to stops being published?
A. We will refund your payment for the issues you have paid for but not received minus the prorated amount of the Paypal fee, as above.
Q. How do I renew or extend a subscription?
A. Every time a new issue of a subscription is sent out, the email includes the number of issues remaining on your subscription and a link to renew or extend your subscription. You can also see how many issues are remaining on the My Library page. To renew: buy the subscription again. (You can do this any time.) The number of issues in the renewal (4,6,12, etc.) are automatically added to the number remaining, so you’ll never get charged twice for the same issue (unless you buy the same subscription with two different email addresses and don’t tell us about it).
Q. How do I use a coupon?
A. Add the book(s) you want to your shopping cart. A new field, “Enter Coupon Code:”, appears at the top of the left sidebar, just below the list of books in your cart. Enter your coupon code and click “Apply”. The prices in your shopping cart should reflect your coupon discount. Now click “Check Out”!
Q. When will you add more publishers?
A. There is more info for publishers here. We are slowly adding more publishers but won’t be open for general additions until we are comfortable with the way everything works. There is a lot that could (should?) be automated and we’re still working on that. So, thanks for stopping by, reading, buying, spreading the word, and proving there is interest in the concept!
Q. Hey! My session logged out.
A. If you log in to Weightless and check the “Remember Me” box then you will be logged in for a year(!). If you don’t check the box you are logged in until you navigate away from the site.
Q. I am an incredibly skilled WordPress person and I want to help out.
A. Where have you been all our lives? However, at the moment as the site grows we cannot afford to hire you. If you are an enthusiastic volunteer-type, please contact us. If you’d like to work for us, come back in a few more months.
Q. The download links in my email are missing!
A. If you use the NoScript plugin for Firefox, Chrome’s built-in script blocker or any similar script-blocking software, please deactivate it before shopping as your download links may not display correctly.
Q. Is my information safe?
A. Absolutely. Weightless does not ask for or store any financial information. Credit cards are processed securely via PayPal. We do store some minimal information about you in order to send you your books (your name and email address, and any preferences you set when you sign up for an account), but this information is kept private. The only time we ever share information is with publishers whose ebooks you subscribe to, and only upon request. Read the privacy policy boilerplate fine print here.
Q. Isn’t this FAQ page getting a little cumbersome?
A. It certainly is! Please bear with us–we’re going to turn it into a searchable, commentable blog one of these days.
Advice, tips, interesting reading, &c:
- How to download a DRM free ePub formatted ebook and get it onto your iPad for reading through iBooks.
- iPhone/iPad/Ipod Touch app for expanding ZIP archives (good for opening bundled ebook packages, such as The Rifter Subscription)
- The Digital Reader.
Hello Weightless Books
I’m from Italy so before I dedcide to buy the books I’m looking I wanted an information. Some sites just need and american credit card and an american address is this the same for you?
I’m waiting an answer,
Thank you
Hi Andi, we use Paypal through which I believe you can use any credit card of yours. We have readers all over the world so I think it should work out ok for you. Please email me (weightless books at gmail dot com) if you have any problems.
Hello!
I have a question regarding the size of the font on the .pdf versions of your ebooks. How large is the font size?
Thank you.
Hi Raph, the fonts in ebooks are generally the same same size as the printed version. However, you can usually increase or decrease the size of the font on your ebook reader under something like preferences.
Hi, I have been trying to purchase a book using my Israeli credit card and billing address. However the Paypal interface refuses my details claiming that I haven’t entered a valid phone number. I entered the phone number in the correct format for Israeli numbers, and there is no explanation of what about it is invalid or what a valid phone number looks like.
Hi Abigail, I’ll email you in a moment. Sorry about this! We use Paypal because for the most part it’s the simplest of the credit card interfaces. Since they are US-based, you could try entering a phone number in this format ###-###-#### and see what it says. Otherwise I’ll contact Paypal and see what they say.
Best,
Gavin Grant
Hello again!
I have another question: If I buy an ebook, will I have access to only the format that I have chosen or will I be able to switch formats with no additional cost after purchase?
The reason I ask is because I have a Sony PRS and inasmuch as I love my ebook reader, I find that it sucks when it comes to changing font sizes on .pdf’s–the formatting goes all wonky and makes the ebook kind of hard to read (for me, at least). (And I know that your store sells books in .epub format, but I’m not too happy with that format in general. That’s why I’m asking about .pdf’s.)
Apologies for being a bother, and thanks for your patience!
Raph:
We’re working on new features for the My Library page that will let you have any format you like any time you want. For now, the format you first purchase is the one you’ll get and the one that will appear in your My Library–but you can always email us and request a change of format.
–edit–
It’s now possible to change formats whenever you like via your My Library page–see above, fourth question from the top!
Hello
I would like to know if it’s going to be possible to just use a card or are you going to just use paypal, i don’t like it so never use it.
thank you
Hi Edwige, I’m sorry, we don’t have any plans to move to another credit card service at the moment. The one thing in Paypal’s favor for those who don’t like it is that you can use your credit card through Paypal without actually joining. I hope that works for you and if not, I apologize. The site is growing fast and Paypal saves us from having to deal with credit card companies.
Cheers,
Gavin
Just made my first purchase after enabling delivery direct to my kindle, but it didn’t work. I added my kindle email address to my profile and I added one of your addresses to my kindle email list, but I just got the books as a download to my computer. Do I need to add BOTH Weightless addresses? I’m fine doing the drag & drop, just curious. Thanks.
Well I added the other address and the book showed up. Don’t know if it was the address or if I just needed to be more patient. Anyway….never mind.
I thought kindle could take prc files too, tho. No? Or will I need to convert with Calibre?
Thanks again!
I believe it just takes a bit more time to process – I definitely had that experience when setting up my kindle.
Yes, Kindle should be able to read PRC.
But PRC isn’t sent direct to the kindle? ‘Send to Device’ was not an option for the book I bought in that format.
Aha! There you are right: I did not have PRC listed as an allowed format. I have fixed it so Send to Device should now be available for titles in PRC format. Thanks very much for pointing this out!
Hi. When I try to send Locus magazine from my new subscription to my Kindle, I get the following error message:
“Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 83886080 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 24246349 bytes) in /home/lcrwnet/public_html.weightlessbooks/wp-includes/class-phpmailer.php on line 1495”
Any help you can provide so I can start reading Locus would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Patty
Patty,
I’m aware of this problem and am working on it!
In the meantime, please download the file to your computer using the download link provided in your email, then send the file to your kindle address as an attachment.
what is my kindle email address? is it the address that my kindle is registered to, so my email address, or something else?
Rebecca,
Your kindle’s email address probably starts with your kindle username and ends in @kindle.com. You can find it by logging into Amazon and looking on the Manage Your Kindle page. See their support page about it here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200767340#s2kemail
I used the wrong email address for my Kindle. How can I change it to be delivered to a corrected address?
Scott,
Log into your account and change the Device Email setting to the correct address. Then go to My Library and click the Send to Device button for the book or issue you missed.
Let us know if you have any trouble!
Hi, a book I want to buy is available in both a low-res and a high-res version. Because there is such a huge size difference in the files, is there anyway I can see a sample of a page in both versions to decide which one I want to buy?
Melanie,
The hi-res version is intended to be printed out; the lo-res version is for reading on screen. But you don’t have to choose one or the other. Once you buy the book, you’ll be able to download either or both versions by going to the My Library page and choosing a different format from the drop-down.
I do not want Paypal to take over my transanctions and so will not be using your service.
Charles.
Hi Charles, we can understand that but you don’t have to deal with Paypal. Once you add a title to your cart and choose “Check Out with Paypal” you can then select “Pay with your debit or credit card” instead, which makes it just like any other site.
Best,
Gavin
Hi, I don’t know much about ebooks so this might be a stupid question. Anyway. I don’t have a kindle, but if I buy a PDF version of a book will I be able to read it on my computer? Do I need a special program apart from a PDF reader?
Ash, you don’t need a special program–all you need to read a PDF on your computer is a PDF reader such as Adobe Reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/reader.html
Hi there, I was just wondering if there is an Android app for WeightlessBooks, or if one is in the making? It would be cool if I can stay on my phone and buy stuff that would directly download onto my phone.
Good question. There is not currently an app. I think you should be able to use the site via a mobile browser and download books to your phone that way–I’ve done it on my iphone. It would be great if we could have an app. I do not have the skillz to make it happen myself, but I’ll look into it at some point. Thanks for the suggestion!
HI :)
I noticed in one of your replies above that you should be able to ‘Pay with your debit or credit card’; however, I can’t see that option – the page seems to want me to join PayPal, which I’m just not comfortable doing. Help, please?
Many thanks in advance,
orannia
Orannia, are you in New Zealand? PayPal, it seems, has been quietly forcing people from certain countries to sign up for an account in order to use their service. We have not found a workaround, I am sorry to say, though if it happens to enough people I’ll go to Bitcoin or something. This screenshot shows what the checkout screen is supposed to look like. If it’s different for you, you may be out of luck.
One workaround you could try if you wanted to put in a little extra effort: use a proxy browser such as Tor to hide the country you’re connecting from. https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en
I live in Sweden. I am another person who would like to buy from you but Paypal is demanding an account and I won’t make one, even a tor-throwaway. They demand mobile phone numbers, your age and all sorts of things in addition to an email account. It is quite nasty. We’ve moved our credit card processing for our own websites …. (we sell a bookkeeping system with a built in web shop…) to Stripe http://www.stripe.com years ago. It got rid of big brother and was cheaper for us to use. Dirt simple to set up as well. I do not know if it would be cheaper for you but worth checking out, I think.
Wishing you a Happy and Prosperous 2017,
Laura Creighton
Ps. please let me know if your payment options change. I’d really like to use your service to get magazines delivered to my android tablet. As Amazon won’t do this for European would-be subscribers to US magazines … (unless you are a UK resident and use the UK site) there is a real market for this service.