Frequently Asked Questions

• ISBN
• Price
• Title
• Description
• Author
• Publication Date
• Stock Level
• Categories
• Cover Image

Timber will scan the database used by your in-store point-of-purchase system every two minutes for:

• Changes in stock levels
• Changes in titles/descriptions/categorization
• New books added to the system/old books removed from the system

If Timber finds any changes to your in-store system, it sends updated information to your Web site.

Automatically. Timber uses an on-line Web service to retrieve cover-images and dimension data when a book is added to the system, based on the title’s ISBN. If information is not available for a book, you can easily update it manually.

Timber will send an email alerting your staff that the quantity has reached zero.

Many bookstores prefer to oversell an item and drop-ship from their wholesaler than lose a sale. Other stores prefer to cap off sales when physical on-hand items reach a specific stock level during very busy in-store times to prevent the over-sale of an item. Additionally, many stores chose to include all inventory from Ingram Books and drop ship titles from Ingram after their own stock levels have been depleted or to accomodate a student request for an item the store does not normally stock. We will work with your store to find the best match for your needs.

During installation, Herkimer connects a highly secured “Data Vault” to your network. The Data Vault’s primary functions are:

• To provide a secure connection between your point-of-purchase system and online store
• To scan the database of your point-of-purchase system
• To shuttle information to and from your on-line store

To prevent attempts to compromise your in-store network: the Data Vault is programmed to respond only to requests from your Web site -- this insulates your point-of-purchase system from the rest of the Internet.

Timber maintains a backup copy of your stock levels at all times. In the event that your in-store network goes down, your Web site will continue to function uninterrupted. When your in-store network is re-booted, Timber will notify you of any Web sales.

Yes. By adding a single letter to the ISBN number in your point-of-purchase system (usually U, R or C) Timber will differentiate between each type of book, and make them available as separate items on your Web site.

Yes. Timber integrates with your point-of-purchase system, and looks for any additional categorization information that you enter. Then, Timber places a list of those categories in a prominent location on your Web site. When your visitors “click” on a category they will see all of the books that you have assigned to it.

College bookstores have the option of adding a course hierarchy to help students select their books for all of their courses with a few simple clicks. (see "Is there a way to show students their required class materials?")

• UPS, Fedex, US Postal Service, In-store Pickup
• Credit Cards through major payment gateways similar to Authorize.net, Touchnet, Payware and Paypal (*we can connect with any Web-based payment gateway system, however, extra fees may apply.) 

• If your bookstore has a UPS account, Web customers will receive real-time shipping estimates before they checkout.
• If your bookstore does not have a UPS account, Timber will display standard US Postal rates.

• Timber sends the bookstore staff an email alert with the sale information, and prints a packing list.
• The customer receives a confirmation of their purchase.
• The bookstore staff imports all customer and sales data into the point-of-purchase system, a process that takes, on average, 10 seconds.
• The bookstore staff views the order, prepares the shipment, and then uses the Timber control panel to "complete" the sale.
• The customer is notified that their order has shipped.

Experienced Web users will find Timber extremely user-friendly, and will be able to operate the system with 1 to 2 hours of phone/WebEx training.

Following installation, Herkimer support staff will be available via telephone or web conference on weekdays during normal business hours. For bookstore staff who attended the initial training, there is no extra charge for telephone support. Additional training at a nominal charge (via Web-conference) can be purchased for new employees or staff who missed the initial session.

• For technical problems, a Herkimer technician is available 7am-5pm (central) weekdays, and on-call during weekends.
• If your Data Vault or Web store stops responding for longer than 1 hour, Timber notifies Herkimer and a technician will call to help with trouble-shooting.

• After a customer confirms a purchase, their credit card is billed by a third-party gateway. The gateway automatically deposits the funds into your merchant account.
• Our preferred choice is Authorize.net, and Herkimer will configure your Web store to work with Authorize.net at no extra charge.

Yes. Give us one week's notice, and we will ensure that your Timber Web store will make the transition smoothly.

There is no additional charge for this service.

Campuses are able to add course a course hierarchy to their site to help students easily find their assigned class materials and add to cart with just the touch of a button.

If your campus has course materials that are required for classes but does not stock these items - ask us how to use Ingram to supplement your student orders and keep purchases on your site.