FAQs

This section answers the questions that we are asked most frequently. By looking through these questions and answers you may find what you need to know. If not, please email us at customerservice@hive.co.uk.

My profile

How can I change my details?

Your personal details can easily be changed by logging into your profile. To login or register for a profile, please use the sign in link at the top of the site. Once logged in you can change your name, contact details, password & any newsletter preferences. If you wish to delete your account altogether please email customerservice@hive.co.uk and this will be done for you.

Forgotten your password?

If you have forgotten your password visit the forgotten password page and enter your email address into the box to have a new password sent to you. Please ensure that your password is kept securely.

How do I update my credit card information?

To update your card details log in to your profile where you can amend or delete payment details or add a new card to your account. Please check that you also enter the correct billing address for each card.

My order

How to cancel your order

To request cancellation of an order please email customerservice@hive.co.uk giving your order number. Please note: if your order is in the process of being dispatched it cannot be cancelled.

How long will my order take?

A delivery estimate is provided on each product page. Delivery times will vary depending on which products you have bought. These dates are a guide to how long you will wait for items not currently held in stock by our suppliers. Please see the delivery information page for detailed information on delivery times and costs.

If an item is currently unavailable at our supplier we will endeavour to source this as quickly as possible and will update your order history with the latest information. If you place an order with titles with differing availability and want these despatched together, the whole order will be held until all items are available. Your credit card will not be charged until the order is despatched.

How will you let me know that my order is ready to be collected from my local bookshop?

If you have opted to have your order delivered to a bookshop, we will send you an email advising you when it will arrive. Once your order has arrived at your chosen shop, a member of the staff there will contact you to advise that it is ready for collection.

Where is my order?

You can track your order via the order history section of your profile. From here you can check the status of your order including whether it has been dispatched. If your order has not yet been dispatched you can email us to obtain an update from our Customer Service team on its progress.

Once your order has been dispatched it should arrive within 2-3 working days. Please note: this does depend on product availability, your location and delivery selections. For more information on this, visit our delivery information page.

If your order has not arrived within the expected time frame and was sent via Royal Mail, please allow 10 working days for it to arrive before contacting Customer Services. If your order has been sent with a courier service and has not arrived after 3 working days, please email us so that we can investigate.

Why was my order cancelled?

Before we cancel an order we will make every effort to contact you to advise which items from your order will be cancelled. Sometimes we are informed by a supplier that an item is no longer available and they have automatically cancelled the order. This could be due to a book title going out of print, or a DVD or music CD that may have become deleted.  

Delivery

Do you deliver overseas?

Hive does dispatch orders to EU countries. For full details of costs and delivery times, visit our delivery information page.

Please note: we are unable to send orders to countries outside the EU.

Can I change the delivery address on my order?

Not currently. Your order will be dispatched to the delivery address entered when you placed your order. If you would like to change the delivery address you will have to cancel your order and place a new order with us.

Which address will my order be delivered to?

Your order will be dispatched to the delivery address entered when you placed your order and confirmed in your order confirmation email.

Payment, pricing and refunds

Are prices inclusive of VAT?

Items that are subject to VAT have the 20% rate reflected in their RRP. Please note, books are not subject to VAT, however for items where partial or full 20% needs to be applied the VAT is included in the selling prices reflected on our website. Full VAT items include eBooks, eReaders, DVDs, Music CD's, games and other non-book products.

Do you offer bulk discounts?

The prices on our website are already discounted, however for bulk orders we will consider offering additional discount, where possible. Please email your details and as much information regarding the products you require along with their quantities, to our customer services team.

Do you accept Book Tokens?

Yes, we do and we sell them too.  Visit our Gift Card page. National Book Tokens are accepted by 1000's of bookshops in the UK. For a full list of where you can buy and spend National Book Token Gift cards please click here. 

You can only redeem one National Book Token in our checkout. However, if you have multiple National Book Tokens and would like to consolidate the balances onto one Gift Card, please contact National Book Tokens directly and they will do this for you.  You can contact them by email Egiftcard@booktokens.co.uk or call them on 202 7421 4653 Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm.

You can also check the balance on your Giftcard by visiting the National Books Token website

Why are online prices different to those in a shop?

The costs associated with a web business are different to those of a high street shop-based operation and as a consequence different prices can be offered. While we try to ensure that all prices on our website are accurate, errors may occur. If we discover an error in the price of goods you have ordered we will inform you as soon as possible and give you the option of reconfirming your order at the correct price or cancelling. Please refer to our Terms and Conditions for full details.

What is 3D secure?

We want to protect you when you shop with us and this is an additional check when you enter your credit card details to help protect you against fraudulent use of your card. There are two schemes; Visa's is called 'Verified by Visa' and MasterCard's is 'MasterCard SecureCode'. These are both collectively referred to as 3D Secure.

3D Secure authentication requires the cardholder to register their card to take advantage of this service. This is a one time process which takes place through the card issuer's website and involves the cardholder answering several security questions to which only the card issuer and cardholder will know the answer. The cardholder selects a password and agrees on a secret phrase, which will be used by the card issuer during each online transaction.

3D Secure can be thought of as an online version of 'chip and pin' technology. Instead of entering a pin number you will be asked to confirm the password registered to that specific credit card.

We only accept credit/debit cards issued by UK Banks.

How can I get a refund for an item bought online?

Items must be returned within 30 days of receipt and returned to Hive and not to a Hive Network retailer, even if the order was originally delivered to a bookshop for collection.

Please see our returns and exchanges section for full returns information and instructions as well as our terms and conditions. Some items (DVD's and Music CD's ) cannot be returned once the security seal has been broken, unless the item is faulty. 

If we've made an error, supplied the wrong item or the item is defective, we're very sorry, and we'll refund the cost of any return postage as well as replace the item free of charge.  Please contact customerservice@hive.co.uk so we can rectify the error as quickly as possible.

Products

I am an author / publisher/ studio - how do I get my product on your website?

The titles listed on Hive are based upon the stock catalogue of our suppliers, so may not cover everything available in the UK. However, if you would like to have your title/s listed, please email content@hive.co.uk and we will forward your enquiry for consideration.

If you have any issues with how your product is listed on the website please contact content@hive.co.uk with full details of the issue and we will forward to the relevant department to resolve. 

I can't find what I'm looking for

Please check our Search Tips. If you have tried entering the ISBN/EAN and this does not return what you are searching for, it is likely this item is not in our database as it could be out of print or discontinued. We are happy to search on your behalf. Email customerservice@hive.co.uk and we will try to locate a copy for you.

What products can I buy?

We offer books, audio books, eBooks, stationery, DVDs & Blu-rays and music CD's.

The information is incorrect

If you notice any errors or incorrect information, please let us know so we can correct them. Please click here and complete the online form.

How can provide feedback?

We'd love to hear from you and get your views on our site and service. To provide feedback on our website please click here to contact us

Stores

How do I join the Hive Network?

If you are an independent bookseller or have an existing business and are considering selling books or DVDs, we would love to hear from you. Please complete the online form and one of our sales team will contact you.

Where will I find a list of participating bookshops?

Visit our Hive Network information page and search either by postcode or bookshop name.