Customer Service

Welcome to the online customer support center of PurpleCulture.net ! We hope you have a very nice experience shopping with PurpleCulture.net. If you can't find the answer to your question below, please email us at purple@purpleculture.net and we'll be happy to help.

How To Order
Payment Questions
Shipping & Returns
Reward Point Program
More Information

How To Order

You can follow the easy steps to shop with PurpleCulture.net.

Add to shopping cart --> Update shopping cart / Check out --> Order Confirmation --> Track Order Status

Adding items to shopping cart
To add an item to your shopping cart, simply click on the "Add to Cart" button from the product catalog or product description page. You will be directed to your shopping cart to confirm purchase quantities and amount.

Updating shopping cart and checking out
To view the ordered items in your shopping cart, you can click the "Checkout" button in the upper right corner of each page. All the items added to your shopping cart are listed here. Make sure the number of items, and your shipping option are correct.

Problems with Shopping Cart
Our Shopping Cart requires that your web browser accepts cookies. A cookie is a small piece of data which is sent from a web server to a web browser and stored locally on your computer. Our Shopping Cart uses cookies to maintain the contents of your Shopping Cart before you Checkout.

If you experience problems with adding items to our Shopping Cart, try the following:

  • Make sure your web browser is set to accept cookies. For help with this check here.
  • In rare cases, it is possible for you to still have problems adding items to the Shopping Cart even if your web browser is set to accept cookies. To correct this problem please delete your cookie file. For help with deleting your cookie file check here. We apologize for this inconvenience. We are working on narrowing down the cause of this infrequent issue.
  • Or you can just send the book title or URL to purple@purpleculture.net, a member of our customer support team will be happy to help you.

Confirmation of order
If your order has been placed successfully, you will see a 'Thank you for your order' message on your screen. You will receive an email receipt from us for this transaction that confirms the payment and includes a copy of the payment details.

How to track your order status?
Please login your account.

How to change or cancel my order?
If you need to change or cancel your order, please email our Customer Service at purple@purpleculture.net at the earliest time after you place the order. We can only accept order modification or cancellation requests before your order has been confirmed. Be sure to include your name and order number in the email requesting changes to your order. Our Customer Service representatives will tell you how to re-order as desired.

What happens if my requested item is out of stock or no longer available?
We make every effort to make our product catalog up to date. However, due to the large volume of products, it happens sometimes when an item you ordered is temporarily out of stock or no longer available. If we can not fill your order after checking the availability of the item with partner sources, we will send you an email notification and refund you for the unavailable item after obtaining your approval. The remainder of your order will be shipped to you as normal transaction.

How can I select shippiong options if I choose "Checkout with PayPal"?
If you click on the "Checkout with PayPal" button on the checkout page, you will be redirected to PayPal site. After you login, you will be asked to choose your shipping address and payment method, and then PayPal will return you back to us to choose shipping options, review and finalize the order.

Payment Questions

What currencies do you accept?
We accept payment in USD, EUR or GBP. You can change the currency used by clicking on the "Currencies" box on the top right of all page.

What methods of payment do you accept?
We gladly accept any credit and debit cards with the VISA, MasterCard, or American Express logo on it. We also accept Paypal payments as an alternative to paying by credit card.

How do you protect my credit card information?
By never having it. We use PayPal's secure payment interface, and ONLY PayPal has your credit card or bank information. They do not give it to us.

Do I have to create an Paypal account to make payment?
No, using the Paypal Payment Express, you can pay by credit card without signing up for a PayPal account.

I have a PayPal problem
Sorry, you will need to address those issues to PayPal unless we are directly involved. We cannot intercede for you. If you cannot make or use PayPal for some reason, we will accept checks or wire transfers.

What happens if my credit card declines?
If we are unable to authorize a charge through Paypal, we will cancel the order and send an email to you to inform you of the status of your order. You may then go online and place the order again, correcting the credit card information or using a different card.

Shipping & Returns

When will my order be shipped?
Turnaround time varies, but we normally ship orders within 3 business days from the day your order was placed. The only exception to this is if you chose an item that is not immediately available for shipment or during a time of an unusually high volume of orders. Purchases are processed in the order they are received. There are circumstances when the popularity of an exclusive item will cause a high volume of orders to be received, slowing the processing time. During these rare times, processing can take up to 5-7 days before your order is shipped. In that case, our staff will contact you and tell your the progress.

All orders will be sent in cartons or bubble-wrapped envelopes so that you can enjoy them in the best possible condition

I placed my order over the weekend. Why hasn't it shipped yet?
Orders are processed and shipped from Monday to Friday. All orders that are received, processed and finalized before noon on Friday (Hongkong Local Time, eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time) will be shipped the same day. If the order is finalized after that time, your order will be shipped out promptly the following Monday.

What are my shipping options?
We provide different shipping options based on order weight and ship-to country. Detailed shipping options and corresponding shipping cost is listed on Shopping Cart page after you have added product(s) into your shopping cart. Estimated shipping time is also listed there.

We recommend that our overseas customers choose Express Delivery. This method offers speed, safety, package tracking and insurance.

How is the shipping cost calculated?
Purple Culture offers several different shipping methods to meet your delivery needs. We calculate our shipping cost for each shipping method based on the weight of items you order and your location. Your shipping charges are automatically calculated and displayed in shopping cart page strictly according to the latest postage rates of the delivery providers. Purple Culture is always trying to bargain with the delivery providers on behalf of our customers to achieve the lowest postage rates. Currently postage rates that these delivery providers offer to Purple Culture are 50%-60% lower than they provide to others. Besides, remember the more items you purchase , the lower the average shipping cost would be.

Rush orders
If you need your order rushed, please make sure to email us at purple@purpleculture.net once you have placed the order for express delivery. Please note the date you need it by so we can work to make it happen, or contact you if it’s cutting it too close and discuss options.

When will I receive my order?
The shipping time depends on your location and shipping method you select. The estimated shipping time is as follows:

Shipping Options SAL
(Business Days)
Airmail
(Business Days)
Express Delivery
(Business Days)
China Mainland 2-4 2-4 2-4
Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan 3-5 3-5 3-5
Asia Pacific 20-30 5-15 4-7
USA & Canada 25-40 10-15 5-7
Europe 30-45 12-17 5-8
Other Region 35-45 12-20 6-10

Please note that the above shipping time table is provided by the corresponding courier. Although most packages will arrive within the given timeline, we cannot guarantee shipping arrival dates as we have no control over the destination Customs rules, timing, or processes.

How do I track my package?
Once your package is shipped, you will receive a notification email from us. In the email, we will give you instructions on tracking the status and location of your package through the shipping company's online tracking system. Up-to-date tracking of delivery status is only available with Express Shipping.

What is required to replace or return an item?
We accept returns and exchanges within 7 days of delivery clearing. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with the products you purchased from us, please contact our customer service representatives as early as you receive your package. Unauthorized returns will not be credited. We will arrange return or refund of your money only if the return or exchange is a result of our error. All returns must be unused, in original packaging with all accessories. CD, VCD, DVD, cassette, software returned will be only for exchange. We are not responsible for the return shipping cost. An exchange or refund will be issued after we receive the returned products. We can refund purchase charges if the returns are a result of our error. Shipping charges on non-defective returns are not refundable.

Do I need to pay customs tax?
All items entering a foreign country are subject to customs inspection and the assessment of duties and taxes in accordance with that country's national laws. Customs duties and taxes are assessed, generally, if the merchandise is dutiable (in most countries, books are exempted) and the value of the item is above the threshold set by the country's laws. If duties and taxes are assessed on an item mailed via the Postal Service, they are collected from the recipient. In addition, for most countries, there is an administrative fee that is collected from the recipient to cover the costs of clearing the item through customs and collecting duties and taxes. If you want to learn what the threshold for duties and taxes is for a particular country, you can check with your local post or visit the website of your country's customs service.
Please note: Purple Culture cannot be held responsible for any import fees, customs fees, import taxes, or other types of charges which a recipient may incur. This may be either through a private courier company or through your local postal system.

Reward Point Program

How does the Program work?
On Purple Culture, your money spent will help you save in your following orders. When an order is placed, the subtotal amount of the order (order total excluding shipping cost and discounts) will be used to calculate the amount of points earned. Once your order is dispatched, your points will be released and your account will be credited with the value of those points, ready for you to spend on whatever you want.

Points and Values
Your current Reward Points and values is displayed on your MyAccount page.

Currently, for every $1.00 USD spent at Purple Culture you'll earn 1 point. Every 100 points can be redeemed as $1 USD in your next order. Please note, we reserve the right to make changes to the above rate at any time without prior notice. The rate shown here will always be current.

Redeeming Reward Points
If you have a balance in your Reward Points Account, you can use those points to pay for purchases made at PurpleCulture.net.

During the checkout proccess, on the same page that you select a payment method, there will be a box to enter the amount of points you wish to redeem. Please note, you will still have to select another payment method if there is not enough in your Reward Points Account to cover the cost of your purchase.

Continue the checkout procedure and at the confirmation page you'll notice that the value of the points redeemed will have been credited towards your order. Once you confirm your order, your Shopping Points account will be updated and the points used deducted from your balance.

Note that any purchase made by redeeming points will only be rewarded with additional points for the amount spent other then points.

More Information

What if I cannot find the item from the listed products on your website?
If you are not able to find the item you want from the listed products on our website, don't worry, we'll help you find it. Fill out the form on "Help You Find" page, our representatives will contact you to confirm the availability of your requested item within 24 hours.

What is Bulk Order Discount at PurpleCulture.net?
We gladly accommodate schools, bookstores, or faculty members that need large quantities of Chinese learning materials. Our bulk order discount is up to 15% with a minimum purchase of 5 of a particular book or 20 assorted books. For more details, please refer to http://www.purpleculture.net/bulk_order_discount/.

If you cannot find the answer to your question from the Online Customer Support Center, please email us at purple@purpleculture.net, our representatives will make every effort to respond to your message within 24 hours.