The Depot has been in existence for over 60 years. It has always been a non-profit organisation run by unpaid workers. My grandfather (Jack Bristow) ran it for many years, then when the Lord called him Home, my mother (Eleanor Bristow) took over, and since she has been with the Lord, I (Heidi Bristow) have been the one running it. Since it is only a small ministry and to keep costs low, we work from home.
The goals of the Depot are to make available sound Biblically-based literature at the lowest prices possible. We have always focused on encouraging believers, and making available resources for them to share with other believers and evangelistic literature for the unsaved. To maintain low costs, we do not have a shop front or any other office or warehouse, we do no real advertising, and have no real website. When you ring the Depot's phone number you are actually calling my home and, while we try not to miss any calls, from time to time it is impossible to take a second call (for some unexplainable reason people who call while we are on another call don't get an engaged signal - so please try ringing again in a few minutes!), and when nobody is available there is the answering machine and I will return your call as soon as possible. Since I do work from home, "business hours" are flexible but sometimes I do have family functions and other appointments which mean that I'm not in the 'office' during what everyone else considers is business hours. On the other hand, I have customers call and visit anytime from 8.30am to 8.30pm! So while I am here to serve you and help you in whatever your endeavours may be for the Lord, I do hope you understand and respect the limitations.
How can I contact Petersham Bible Book & Tract Depot?
The easiest method is to use the contact form on the blog.
Other contact details:
Email: petershamdepot@gmail.com
Phone: 0429 617 843
What does the Depot sell?
Everything is sold at the lowest prices.
Specialising in:
~ Gospel tracts and other evangelistic literature
~ Calendars
~ Stories and biographies for all ages
~ Small gifts and letter enclosures
~ Greeting cards and other stationery
~ Sunday School and homeschooling supplies, such as colouring/activity books, teachers helps, etc (we do not stock homeschool curriculum but do import it from Rod & Staff on a firm sale basis when customers request it)
~ a small range of Bibles
~ Bible study and devotional books
~ and much more...
We are the Australian distributors for Bible Truth Publishers (www.BibleTruthPublishers.com)
We are very conservative and only stock carefully-selected, Biblically-based products and are careful to uphold and exalt the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Who are you affiliated with?
The Depot is not affiliated with any other business, organisation or church. Although we are the distributors for Bible Truth Publishers we are not their Australian branch. We are listed as their distributors simply because we stock many of their products.
Even though some or many products are stocked from a publisher it does not mean that we endorse everything that they sell or the content on their websites.
Do you have catalogues?
We do have catalogues. Some are available on the "Catalogues" page of this blog where you can follow the links and download them from Dropbox. If you would like us to email or mail catalogues*, please, contact us. If requesting a catalogue, please, specify what sort of products you are interested in as the Depot does not have one catalogue for all stock. Please note that if you have access to this blog, you have more information about products (apart from the price) than what is listed on a catalogue.
* Please consider the fact that hard-copy catalogues cost in time, money and postage so only request them if you are planning to make a purchase or for those who do not have access to the internet. We may ask for a small donation to help cover printing and postage costs.
I have seen products on publisher’s websites/catalogues that I’m interested in. Can I order these through you?
Yes, you may as long as I deal with these publishers. Ensure that you provide all details necessary so the correct item is ordered. Unless you wish to pay higher freight charges for the item, please, understand that you may be waiting a couple of months for these products to arrive. Any product which is not stocked by the Depot is to be ordered on a firm sale basis.
Why doesn’t the Blog list prices for the items?
Due to the fact that the Depot keeps prices as low as possible, prices fluctuate with changes in currency rates and with freight charges. No margin is allowed for price fluctuations (this is to ensure lowest prices) and so prices are constantly changing. To keep updating these price changes on the Blog would be almost impossible.
Why don’t you have an online store?
There are many reasons for this. These include:
1) Websites and their maintenance require money and time. The Depot would need to increase prices to allow for this.
2) The Depot is not so much a business as a ministry. In a world where there is so much technology for communication but increasing numbers of people who feel isolated and abandoned, it is important to keep the personal touch. So while writing an email or phoning through an order may take a few minutes, this allows for more personal communication than clicking on buttons to ‘add to cart’ and ‘proceed through checkout.’ For those customers who are pressed for time, we apologise for the inconvenience of a slower method of ordering and trust that you can understand and respect these reasons.
3) Due to the continual changes in prices (see Why doesn’t the Blog list prices for the items?) it would be impossible to have a webstore.
Note: If you do follow links on the Blog and end up on a web page where you can purchase items online, then you are not ordering from the Depot and you are most likely ordering from an overseas publisher.
What payment methods are accepted?
- Money order or cheque made out to: ‘Petersham Bible Book & Tract Depot’
- Direct deposit
BSB number: 082-231
Account number: 50-928-4325
Bank: National Australia Bank
~ If paying via the internet: type your name in the payment description box.
~ If paying deposit at bank: email us or call to inform us of date of payment.
Why don’t you accept credit cards?
Not only is the Depot too small to have the facilities to accept credit cards but also it would mean an increase in prices.
What are your shipping rates?
The Depot charges the current Australia Post rate or, if cheaper, we will use courier. We always work out the most economical rate and so if it's cheaper to send something in 2 large envelopes instead of 1 parcel this is what will be done so long as the items will not be damaged.
We also can work out the postage for an order and if there is a lot of room/weight still available, we can contact you and ask if you would like anything else to make the most of your postage.
Do you charge for packaging?
We use recycled/donated packaging so do not charge for packaging.
If I’m in the Sydney region, may I pick up my order or come to visit your ‘shop’?
We are no longer in Sydney. We have relocated to Victoria and currently do not have the ability to have people visit the shop.
How do you ensure that all books are Biblically-based?
All books are read before they are added to the catalogue. All items we receive are read and must meet certain criteria. For this reason, items which end up being listed in catalogues are carefully selected so that you, the customer, will, hopefully, not be disappointed. However, as everyone who orders via the mail or online knows, from time to time one is disappointed. The worst items which arrive at the Depot, failing on many points, are thrown out but other times the books are not too bad. These books are available for personal shoppers to browse.
Do your products have pictures of Jesus?
We do not normally stock items which have illustrations of Jesus. If there are illustrations of the Lord then this is noted in the description of the product.
We do not normally stock items which have illustrations of Jesus. If there are illustrations of the Lord then this is noted in the description of the product.
Do you offer discounts for retailers or pensioners?
No. We offer no discounts as we are already selling at lowest prices.
What Bible Versions do you sell or the books you sell use?
The majority of the Bibles sold are King James Version and most books sold use KJV. However, we are not a “KJV-only” organisation and therefore also sell some NKJV Bibles and New Translation (J. N. Darby) Bibles. If you are only interested in products using a particular Bible version please see the Blog as it lists the Bible version used.
The majority of the Bibles sold are King James Version and most books sold use KJV. However, we are not a “KJV-only” organisation and therefore also sell some NKJV Bibles and New Translation (J. N. Darby) Bibles. If you are only interested in products using a particular Bible version please see the Blog as it lists the Bible version used.