Online shop FAQs

This document is to help you understand more about our upcoming launch of our online shop and to answer any questions you have or that you may receive from the public.

Why did Scottish Book Trust choose to sell Bookbug Merchandise?

Opening our Scottish Book Trust shop offers people another way to support our charity, whether buying products for their own family or as a gift. It also meets demand that we have received from families and carers to purchase their own Bookbug toy.

What will the money raised go towards?

All proceeds from our shop will go directly into our charity to enable us to deliver more of our work. Demand for our work has never been greater and our programmes include Bookbug for the Home, supporting families in need, book gifting to families in need at Christmas and other programmes run by Scottish Book Trust such as our dementia programme, Reading is Caring

Why have we created an online shop?

The online shop enables us to send Bookbug merchandise direct to those who want it.

When is the shop going to launch?

We plan to launch our online shop on 28th September.

What products are available?

At the launch:

• 18cm Bookbug soft toy - £9.99
• 10cm Bookbug soft toy - £4.99
• Bookbug A5 sticker sheet – 3 versions – 99p each
• Bookbug A4 colouring book - £3.99

We have partnered with print-on-demand fulfilment company Teemill to produce sweatshirts and t-shirts. Although featured in our online shop, the ‘buy now’ button transfers you to our page on their website and a separate transaction will need to be made to purchase those items.

• Bookbug T-shirt – 3 styles - £14.00
• Bookbug Hoodie - £25.00

Additional products available in November:

• Bookbug jigsaw puzzle in a bag - £7.99
• Bookbug self inking stamp set - £2.99

Additional products available in December:

• Bookbug chunky crayons - £1.00
• Bookbug pencils crayons - £1.00

Are you planning on producing any more stock?

We hope to add more items to our shop in the future - follow us on social media and join the Working with Bookbug newsletter to hear about new product launches. If you, or families at your sessions, have a product idea then please send it to Faye at faye.channon@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window).

How can people purchase items? 

1. Online through our website

This will be the main way people can buy from us. The web address is: https://shop.scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window)

Or you can tell people to visit the Scottish Book Trust site and press the 'Shop' button.

We will also be linking to the shop through our social media platforms and posts.

Online ordering is our most preferred way to take orders. However, we are able to take orders over the phone for those customers who don’t have access to the internet.

2. By phone

Dedicated Sales / Commercial phone number: 0131 541 0028

Or email address: Sales@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window)

Can I purchase as a gift?

Yes! We have the option to send to a different delivery address, just fill this out at checkout.

How much is the postage?

The postage rates cover our costs of picking, packing and delivery and they are based on the size and weight of the product. The rates are for the whole of the UK including Scottish Highlands and Islands.

Is the larger Bookbug doll used in sessions for sale?

The larger empathy dolls are designed as a training resource for modelling songs and rhymes, and only available to people who have completed one of our relevant training courses.

We have told the public in the past that the dolls would not be for sale, why has this changed?

We have previously produced mini Bookbug dolls over the 14 years that the Bookbug programme has been running. These have been used for outreach work, promotional giveaways and competition prizes. Some library services may have previously purchased a stock of mini Bookbug dolls to selling in their venues.

Our guidance still states that the large empathy dolls which are used by Bookbug practitioners to demonstrate songs and rhymes to with families, are not for sale. These are only available for people who have completed relevant Scottish Book Trust training.

Can children bring Bookbug toys to the sessions?

Yes, that is fine, although our messaging will remain that families don’t need anything to attend a session.

I am worried that some families will feel under pressure to buy Bookbug products.

We don’t expect you to actively promote Bookbug merchandise in your sessions. If someone asks, then you can direct them to our website.

What if families can’t afford a doll?

We have different products in our shop ranging from 99p up to £25.00.

There is an option in the shop for customers to ‘Donate a Bookbug Soft Toy’ and support our wider work. The donated toys will be distributed via the Bookbug for the Home practitioners.

Bookbug Sessions are free to attend and open to all and our universal book gifting programme ensures that every child in Scotland receives 12 books plus much more through the Bookbug bags

How will the donated Bookbug soft toys get to families who need them?

We will be using our network of Bookbug for the Home practitioners to ensure that Bookbug soft toys get to families in need.

We have some small Bookbug dolls that we received from Scottish Book Trust to use for outreach work? Can we still use them?

If you still have a supply of small dolls that you received from Scottish Book Trust we are happy for you to continue to use them for outreach work. It would be helpful if you could let us know if you are planning to do this as we may be able to support with links to partner organisations in your area. Equally if you have a supply of dolls that you are not going to use, please let us know so that we can redistribute them to other families.

Can libraries or local authorities buy bulk orders of stock?

It depends on our stock levels - please contact sales@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window) to discuss this.

I have feedback and or a question – who do I contact?

If you have any feedback or questions from yourself or families that attend your sessions, please contact Faye on faye.channon@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window)

Can I help promote the shop?

Yes please!

As mentioned above we don’t expect you to promote the shop in actual Bookbug Sessions but we would appreciate if you could like and share our social media posts then we can reach as many people as possible.

If you haven’t already linked with us on social media you can find us here:

Facebook(this link will open in a new window)

Instagram(this link will open in a new window)

Twitter(this link will open in a new window)

The more money we can raise the more we can do.