Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
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CengageBrain.com is a single destination for more than 15,000 new print textbooks, textbook rentals, eBooks, single eChapters, and print, digital, and audio study tools. CengageBrain.com provides the freedom to purchase a-la-carte exactly what you need, when you need it.
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CengageBrain.com offers printed textbooks for purchase and rental, eBooks, individual eChapters, and study tools, including online homework solutions such as CengageNow, OWL, Aplia, Personal Trainer etc. CengageBrain.com also offers audio study tools as well as select video study tool products.
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Read our privacy policy.
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See our support page.
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CengageBrain.com currently supports sales to US, EMEA (Europe, Africa, and the Middle East) and Latin America customers only.
For customers within Canada, please go to www.NelsonBrain.com
Other Regions
If you are a customer outside of these regions, we apologize that we cannot serve you at this time. We have plans to expand into other regions throughout 2010 and 2011. Please check back regularly.
Or, if you would like to be notified when we rollout additional storefronts, register and we'll notify you via email.
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Closeout products are not standard new textbook offerings. They are titles that are either going out of stock, slightly damaged or imperfect on the outside but in new condition on the inside, or may be going out of print. These books are priced lower than other titles because they are not standard new textbooks and are non-returnable.
System Requirements and Compatibility
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| Windows | Macintosh |
|---|---|
| Intel/AMD 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed | Both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs are supported |
| Microsoft Windows 7, Vista 32 bit, Windows XP Professional or Home Edition (Service Pack 1 or 2), Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2), Windows XP Tablet PC Edition | Mac OS X 10.3 – 10.6 |
| 128MB of RAM (256MB recommended) | 128MB of RAM (256MB recommended) |
| *Browser Compatibility: Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8 | *Browser: Safari or Firefox |
| *Adobe Reader 9 | *Adobe Reader 9 on Mac OS X 10.4.3 – 10.6 *Adobe Reader 7 supported for Mac OS X 10.3 to 10.4.2 |
* Note: JavaScript and cookies must be enabled.
If you have questions about systems requirements, contact customer support: 866-994-2427.
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Yes, but you must make sure that you are using the latest version of the SealedMedia unsealer software.
Instructions for existing users who have upgraded to IE8:
In order to access your content using IE8, you must update to the most recent version of the unsealer software.
Download the latest version of the unsealer software.
Instructions for new users who are using IE8:
To view the content you purchased, you MUST first download and install the unsealer software.
Download the latest version of the unsealer software.
A brief system check will occur after your install the software to ensure your machine is compatible.
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Yes, CengageBrain.com does support the use of Windows VISTA.
CengageBrain.com does not currently support Vista 64 bit processors.
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Since the full eBook and eChapter files can be large, we do recommend that you utilize a broadband connection for accessing CengageBrain.com content.
Checkout, Purchase history, and My Home
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During heavy volume periods, it can take several minutes for purchased items to populate your My Home page. If you are expecting to see content and it is not present, refresh the page by clicking your browser's refresh button. If it's been 30 minutes or more and your My Home page has not populated, please contact Customer Service
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Login to the site and go to My Home to view your electronic content. If you would like to view a receipt of your purchase(s) or check shipping status of a print text, click on My Orders.
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Click on the My Home link in the top nav bar to access your purchased materials. You will need to login to access your content.
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If you have accessed this website via a third party webpage (other than www.CengageBrain.com) and are having trouble using the school picker, please copy and paste the url www.CengageBrain.com directly into a new browser window and try again. The CengageBrain.com website is not designed to be accessed via a "frame" within another site and this may be causing the issue. If you are still having trouble after trying this, please contact Customer Service.
Shipping and Returns
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Refunds or exchanges are available for non-electronically delivered products within 30 days of purchase. Refunds are not available for items delivered electronically, including eBooks, eChapters, and Access Codes for online products. Returns must be in saleable condition. All software and CD-ROMs must be returned to Cengage Learning with the original envelope seal or package seal unbroken and intact.
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Please contact Customer Service for a refund.
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Orders will ship within 1–2 business days of receipt of the order in the warehouse.
UPS delivers Monday – Friday. No Saturday delivery is available from this Web site.
Standard and Free shipping will be shipped UPS ground. Express shipping will be shipped UPS or FedEx 2nd day air.
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No, we do not accept returns of any digital products
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Free shipping is offered for physical and print orders of $25 or more. Digital Products and Textbook Rentals are ineligible for free shipping and do not count toward the $25 dollar free shipping total. Textbook Rentals will always include a minimum shipping fee of $3.99.
Textbook Rental Questions
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- Rent – Select the rental period and add the rental title to your cart.
- Receive – Your book(s) should arrive within 1–5 business days of leaving our warehouse.
- Return – Use the prepaid shipping label to ship the book back.
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Rentals will be up to 70% off list price for a 130–day semester rental
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- Semester 130 days
- Quarter 90 days
- Summer 60 days
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Rental orders are excluded from the free shipping for orders over $25 promotion.
We offer UPS Ground for a flat rate of $3.99 and UPS or FedEx express shipping for $9.99.
CengageBrain.com will provide you with a prepaid shipping label if you decide to cancel your rental order or if your rental period is near completion and you wish to return your rental. There is no charge for returning the book to CengageBrain.com if you process your return and cancellation through CengageBrain.com.
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You can expect a textbook in readable condition without any major damage to the spine or cover. If, for any reason, you are not happy with the condition of your book, we will exchange it for another one.
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You may extend your rental due date after the first 30 days of your rental but before the rental due date.
To extend your rental due date:
- Click http://www.CengageBrain.com/shop/myrentals
- Select your rental
- Click Extend
You may extend your rental for 15, 30, 60, 90, or 130 days.
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A penalty is assessed for rental returns not received in the warehouse within the due date plus 7 day grace period. The penalty amount will be the list price of the book minus the total sum of your rental fee plus any rental extensions you may have purchased.
If you need your books for longer or you cannot make your due date, we encourage you to apply for an extension http://www.CengageBrain.com/shop/myrentals
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You can process a rental cancellation within the first 30 days of your rental start date.
- Click http://www.CengageBrain.com/shop/myrentals
- Select the rental you wish to cancel
- Be sure to use the prepaid UPS label provided to ensure that you receive credit for your cancellation.
- Drop off your package to the nearest UPS package drop off location at least five Business days before your first 30 days are up.
If you have rented multiple textbooks from CengageBrain.com please be sure to print a separate label for each rental and package each textbook in a separate box.
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To be sure your rental return or cancellation is properly processed please be sure to
- Print out a return label for each rental contract
- Place each rental in its own box
If you have rented and are canceling or returning multiple textbooks from CengageBrain.com please be sure to print a separate label for each rental title and package each textbook in a separate box.
If you have rented a textbook as part of a Rental Best Buy Package, you must return the textbook portion of the package to receive your credit.
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You can process a return after the first 30 days of your rental but before your rental due date.
- Click http://www.CengageBrain.com/shop/myrentals
- Select the rental you wish to return
- Be sure to use the prepaid UPS label provided to ensure that you receive credit for your return
- Drop off your package to the nearest UPS package drop off location. We recommend dropping of your rental at the UPS drop off location at least five Business days before your due date.
If you have rented and are returning multiple textbooks from CengageBrain.com please be sure to print a separate label for each rental and package each textbook in a separate box.
If you have rented a textbook as part of a Rental Best Buy Package, you must return the textbook portion of the package to receive your credit.
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Damage to a rented book is defined as any condition that makes the book unusable by other students.
Damage can be:
- any liquid damage to the textbook
- a broken spine or binding
- pages that are missing, torn, stained or illegible
- covers that are missing or torn
- any such condition that makes the book unsuitable for future use
- any handwriting
- excessive highlighting that makes the book unreadable
If you have rented and are returning multiple textbooks from CengageBrain.com please be sure to print a separate label for each rental and package each textbook in a separate box.
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We currently offer a limited number of rental titles as part of a Rental Best Buy Package. These Rental Best Buy Packages include a Rental textbook along with supplemental material such as workbooks, cd-roms or digital homework (not including Aplia). You can view which Rental Best Buy Packages are available by viewing the search results based on your search criteria. If there is a Rental Best Buy Package available, it will be listed in the search results.
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Yes, you can convert your rental to purchase after the first 30 days of your rental but before your rental due date. If you wish to purchase your rental but your due date has passed, simply keep your textbook and we will charge your credit card for the list price of the book minus the total sum of your rental fee plus any rental extensions you may have purchased.
- Click http://www.CengageBrain.com/shop/myrentals
- Select your rental
- Click Convert to Purchase
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- Submitted – Your order has been placed but has not shipped from our warehouse. Orders typically ship within 1–2 business days.
- Active – Your rental contract is currently active. If you have processed a cancel or return, we have not received your package in our warehouse.
- Cancelled – Your rental contract is cancelled. No further action is needed.
- Expired – Your rental contract is closed and you have been charged a "No-Return Penalty."
- Purchased – You have converted your rental to purchase. Your rental contract is now closed.
- Returned – Your rental has been returned in our warehouse and your contract is now closed.
- Returned with Penalty – Your rental return was received in the warehouse, however, it was either "Past-Due Return" or "Damaged Condition". Further details about whether your rental was coded as a Past-Due Return or Unacceptable Condition are available in the Rental History Section.
eBooks and eChapters Questions
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The files are sPDFs. A sPDF is a secure PDF file. An sPDF is the same as a standard PDF file with the addition of DRM (digital rights management) software to protect the copyrighted content. DRM enables secure distribution and prevents illegal distribution of paid content over the Web. SealedMedia (Oracle) provides the DRM software for CengageBrain.com. This software is required to access your electronic content.
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Please note: you MUST first download and install the viewer software before you access your content. A brief system
check will occur after your install the viewer to ensure your machine is compatible.
Download the viewer
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To download the viewer, click here.
A brief system check will occur after you install the viewer to ensure your machine is compatible.
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To do a system check, click here.
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You are granted two licenses to your content. You can access your content on a third computer but to do so, you must first check in your license.
Please be aware that on shared computers and lab machines, you may not have permission to download the Unsealer Software. Therefore, you will not be able to access your eBooks and eChapters via these computers. It is recommended that you access your eBooks and eChapters from a private computer.
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Save the sPDF file to the desired location. To do this, click the Save icon (to the right of the Unsealer button on the document toolbar) or choose File "Save As" from the toolbar menu. Choose the location where you would like to save the file and click Save. To open the file, go to the location where the file was saved and double click the file.
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You can access your content offline for a period of 60 days. After 60 days, you are required to login to the CengageBrain.com site and reauthenticate your license.
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Standard length of access to digital content is one semester. Some titles that are published for two or three semester courses have a longer content access period. We recommend that you print an archive (hard copy) of your electronic content before the content expiration date. Please note: Content access period also applies to content you have saved offline.
See a list of titles with subscription lengths of over 180 days
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Yes, you can print as many pages as you like of the eBook or eChapters. Please note, all printed copies will be stamped with your name. Also, CengageBrain.com monitors printing and reserves the right to revoke print privileges in the event that they are being abused by a user.
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If you are receiving printing errors, please try these steps:
- Select Print – Advanced (bottom of the page)
- Select Print as Image option
- You should now be able to print the content
If you are still having issues, contact Technical Support.
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Digital content is functionally equivalent to the print textbook. In some cases, individual items have been removed for web delivery.
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The first eChapter of each book (in some cases this is eChapter 0 or eChapter P (preview eChapter), and the table of contents are PDF files. These items are included free to provide users the opportunity to review the content in a digital format. You do not need to download the unsealer to view these items. However, you must register to view a free eChapter or a table of contents. Also, purchased eChapters show up in My Home but the free eChapter(s) you viewed will not.
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This is likely the result of your being logged out of the system. Please go back to the homepage (http://www.CengageBrain.com), click the log out button at the top of the home page and login again.
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Please contact Technical Support. Please include your username and purchase confirmation # to expedite the handling of your inquiry.
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On the home page, click on the orange link in the footer called "Redeem a Pre-Paid code." Enter the code you received when you purchased your eBook and click the "Redeem" button. Follow the directions to complete the code registration process. Once you complete the process, you'll be able to access your eBook via My Home.
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eBooks and eChapters purchased via CengageBrain.com are not editable. You may not take notes, highlight or copy/paste text. This is due to rights restrictions and copyright laws.
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eBooks and eChapters purchased on CengageBrain.com cannot be viewed using Screen Readers such as Sony Screen Reader, iPad and Kindle.
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Once the Unsealer software is downloaded, you may be asked to re-enter your CengageBrain.com Login information. Please utilize the username and password you enter upon logging into CengageBrain.com. If you need additional assistance with your login information, you may contact Technical Support.
Online Courses, Homework, and Study Tools
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Login to the site and go to My Home. You will see the CengageNow product you purchased. Click the "open" button to access it. Follow instructions on the screen for entering your school information and registering for your course.
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Login to the site and go to My Home. You will see the online study tool listed. Click the "open" button. A pop up window will appear with your access code and instructions for how to register it. Simply click on the registration link and enter your access code to access your product.
