Books, Books and More Books.

Don’t be fooled by our name—the University Book Shop has books in abundance for all ages and interests. Whether your tastes run to modern painters or ancient history, classical music or computer programming, crime fiction or New Zealand poetry, spirituality or sports, there’s always something special for you at Dunedin’s finest book shop.

Although we employ all the latest technology in our operations, we are first and foremost a real book shop—a place where you can lose yourself for an hour or two, meet friends, pick up and page through the books and discover unexpected treasures. But if you don’t live in Dunedin, and can’t take in the warmth & charm of our ‘physical’ premises, then we hope our web site will at least enable you to have access to one of the best book shops in New Zealand.

Oh, and if you feel this site is somewhat plain, that’s deliberate. We didn’t want to waste your time (and money) with slow loading ‘features’—so there aren’t any. We trust you approve.

Textbooks

Despite what is sometimes predicted, books remain central to a good education. Textbooks help enhance and clarify lectures. They are the foundation of your personal library and are an essential source for essays and research projects.

We stock textbooks for courses offered at the University of Otago, as well as textbooks for some courses taught at the Otago Polytechnic and Dunedin College of Education. We aim to have the lowest prices possible and a 10% student discount applies to virtually all textbooks.

For the first few weeks of the academic year, undergraduate textbooks are sold directly from our bulk store on the upper floor. For the rest of the year they are shelved in bays around the perimeter of the ground floor. We endeavour to have all textbooks available for as long as their courses are being taught, but the greatest demand is at the commencement of each semester. If you know what courses you will be taking and wish to obtain your books without having to endure the ‘Rush’ period, [click here] to go to Textbook Lists, where you can view your course textbook requirements, and order your books via e-mail.

At the beginning and end of each academic year, we produce a ‘Buy-Back’ List of those textbooks which we are buying back from students. If you have books which you no longer need [click here] to check our Buy-Back details.

Children’s Books

It’s never too early to introduce children to good books. Our Children’s Book section is known for an impressive range of high quality titles to entertain, educate and excite children of all ages. From the classic children’s stories we all remember to modern classics by today’s authors, our staff have built a treasury of the imagination.

Stationery

We stock all the basic stationery needs for study, home, and office. We also carry an excellent range of greeting cards, gift-wrap, calendars, diaries, and gift items. Students with ID receive a 10% discount on all of these lines.

Special Orders (New Zealand Residents)

As large and eclectic as our book selection is, there will always be books which need to be ordered especially for you. We do this for you at no extra charge. Books which we have to import for you are shipped to us in weekly airfreight consolidations. Delivery times are comparable to those offered by most internet booksellers but without the extra cost or credit card security worries. Orders may be placed using our order form [click here] , or by selecting from our current database [click here] . If you would like to simply confirm the price and availability of a book [click here] . (Our database on this site includes only books which we have recently stocked, have currently in stock, or are waiting for stock to arrive. Unlike some internet booksellers, we do not provide web site access to a books-in-print catalogue. However our own catalogues are actually broader in coverage than those made available on the internet and we will carry out searches for you.)

For price and timeliness, we aim to equal or better all of our competitors, local or off shore—and generally we succeed. If, as can happen occasionally, we can’t match the opposition, we’ll tell you up-front—no nasty surprises.

Special Orders (Foreign Residents)

You are most welcome to use all our facilities, but remember we are located in New Zealand. It will make little sense for us to supply you with a book published in your own country—though we are happy to do so! As we don’t have a standard per book freight charge (these inevitably mean high costs for small orders), we recommend you use our price and availability service [click here] .

If you are looking for a New Zealand published book, we have one of the largest selections available—and of course if we haven’t got what you want in stock, and it is in print, we can obtain it for you.

The Boring Stuff

University Book Shop (Otago) Ltd is a privately owned book shop, situated in Dunedin New Zealand. Our owners are the Otago University Students Association. Though not owned by the University of Otago, we enjoy a close association with that institution.

This web site, for security reasons, does not provide on-line access to our own computer facilities, but is externally maintained as a stand-alone service. All orders or communications are routed to us by e-mail via our internet service provider.

Prices appearing in this site are full retail prices, expressed in New Zealand dollars, and include 12.5% Goods & Services Tax (GST). Any student or other discounts which may apply are deducted at the point-of-sale. As this site is updated periodically, prices listed may sometimes not be current. For this reason we recommend checking with us before placing a firm order. Prices will not reflect availability of second-hand textbooks, ‘specials’, sale-priced items or remainders.

Freight is charged on all orders sent outside our own city area. Unless otherwise requested, consignments are sent by a courier service within New Zealand and by air mail outside New Zealand.

New Zealand Delivery Charges

Overseas Delivery Charges

Except for organisations who have arranged credit accounts with us orders must be paid for in advance or by credit card.