FAQ
Curious minds ask. Parallel answers.
Shipping
We ship Aotearoa New Zealand-wide. We don’t offer international shipping at this time.
Anywhere from 1 to 5 days.
Once you’ve made your order our team will then process it, package it up, and get it into the hands of our GoSweetSpot courier partners: Post Haste and NZ Couriers.
We’ll send you an email when we receive your order with your receipt and another email to let you know when your parcel has been dispatched.
Please note that we only process orders when we're in the shop Wednesday-Sunday and our courier partners only collect parcels Wednesday-Friday.
Once your parcel is on it’s way GoSweetSpot will send you an email with all the tracking info so you can watch your parcel’s journey and refresh the tracking info as much as you like.
It takes roughly 1 to 5 days for Post Haste or NZ Couriers to get your order where it needs to go. This can depend on lots of factors including where they’re delivering it, here are some local estimates—
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland: 1-4 days
North Island: 2-5 days
South Island: 2-6 days
Rural: 3-6 days
All shipping is calculated by weight at checkout.
All of our packaging is recyclable. We use paper-based stickers, tape, and labels that can go straight into your wheelie bin.
We also reuse shipping boxes for larger orders when we can.
We can’t gift wrap orders right now. But we’re working on it!
Returns and Refunds
Sure can!
You are entitled to a full refund within 7 days of purchase or store credit within 30 days of purchase for:
- All unused pukapuka (books) except pre-ordered indent titles*
- All non-perishable items such as stationery, board games, and homewares so long as they are unused, unopened, and in their original packaging.
You are also entitled to a full refund within 7 days of purchase or store credit within 14 days of purchase on all perishable items such as kawhi (coffee) and kai (food) so long as they are unused, unopened, and in their original packaging.
*Pre-orders for books can be cancelled up to 7 days after purchase. After 7 days the order can no longer by cancelled and may only be returned if they are faulty or damaged (see ‘what if the item I received was damaged or not what I ordered?’ for more info).
01. Send an email to kiaora@parallelaotearoa.nz with your order number so we know to expect your item (we may not be able to process your return if you don’t email us first).
02. Pop your items in the post to us (you’ll have to pay the shipping costs) or bring them into the store.
It’s pretty rare but our ordering and shipping system relies on human mahi (work) which means mistakes happen!
If you’ve received the wrong item—
You are entitled to a full refund plus the cost of return shipping, so long as you let us know on kiaora@parallelaotearoa.nz within 30 days of your purchase.
If your parcel was damaged—
You are entitled to a full refund plus the cost of return shipping if you document the damage (take photos/video) before opening your parcel and send the evidence to us on kiaora@parallelaotearoa.nz within 30 days of your purchase.
Get in touch and one of our friendly Pathfinders will help!
Find a Book
At Parallel we carry a very curated range of speculative fiction and transformative non-fiction. We reckon the collection we’ve created is pretty special, but we love hearing about new pukapuka (books) and titles we might have missed!
If we don’t have exactly what you’re looking for in stock drop us a line at kiaora@parallelaotearoa.nz so we can:
- Check out your pukapuka to see if it would be a good fit for Parallel (and if we can order it in)
- Point you in the direction of an awesome bookstore who can take care of you
- Recommend other titles you might like (if you’re keen to check out something different)
Please keep in mind, there are some pukapuka we just won’t order including many general fiction titles and the works of authors whose kaupapa (values) are in direct conflict with ours (see also: why don’t you stock Harry Potter?)
We’d be chuffed to! All of the team members at Parallel are Pathfinders who can connect you with your next favourite pukapuka (book).
Send us an email at kiaora@parallelaotearoa.nz whatever information you think can help us get to know a little more about you as a reader so we can make a great recommendation.
Anything goes! You could tell us, what you normally like to rīti, your all-time favourite pukapuka and authors, what themes you’re drawn to, what you want the pukapuka for (for example, to rīti on holiday or on your daily commute), how long or short of a pukapuka you’d like to get stuck in to, what mood you want to be left in when you’ve finished reading, or even what character or author voices are you interested in reading.
If you’re in our part of the universe come say kia ora at the store and we’ll show you what we’ve got on our shelves. Or contact us via the internet-verse and we’ll give you our best advice.
We understand that the HP franchise is a core part of many of our customer’s childhoods and has been a gateway for many readers into the wonderful world of speculative fiction.
Unfortunately, HP’s author is deeply transphobic and has decided to use her public platforms to express and spread her views, including in some of her recent works of fiction.
And we cannot, in good conscience, put money in the pocket of HP’s author, or put the series or any related merchandise on our shelves. To do so would compromise our integrity, and the trust and safety of our trans and gender diverse community.
We (Luna and Jess, the founders of Parallel) are both proudly transgender and strive to keep Parallel a safe space for all—especially our trans and gender diverse whānau (extended and/or chosen family).
You can find out more about our kaupapa (values), our commitment to safety, inclusion, and accessibility, and the actions we take right here.
We love championing local talent, especially authors whose kaupapa (values) align with ours! Aotearoa New Zealand has some of the best speculative fiction writers in the world right now and we’re proud that we get to help connect them with more readers.
Not every pukapuka (book) will be the right fit for our collection but we’d love to hear from you if you think yours could be! Email us at kiaora@parallelaotearoa.nz and we’ll check it out.
Luna— “It depends massively on what book I’ve got in my hands right now! But The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir holds a particularly special place in my heart.”
Jess— “American Gods by Neil Gaiman”
Visit Parallel Homebase
You can find Parallel's Home Base at:
501 Karagahape Road , Unit D
Auckland CBD 1010
We are in the same building as the Tesla dealership, between Yeah Bowl and Daisy Couture.
Monday - Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday - Saturday: 10 AM - 5 PM
Sunday: 10 AM - 4 PM
Accessibility is a core part of our kaupapa (values) and we’re happy to kōrero (talk) about how to make your visit as safe and comfortable as possible. You can email us at accessibility@parallelaotearoa.nz about anything and everything accessibility-related, we’re here to help!
Can’t find the answer you were looking for?
Get in touch and one of our friendly Pathfinders will help!