Evil, Efficient, and Easy
Written: Jul 07 '06
|
| Full Review |
By show of metaphorical internet hands: How many of you have ever stood at the grocery store checkout belt, rhubarb pie in hand, wondering to yourselves, “Now where can I purchase a copy of Achaelus Baron’s Kingdoms of Flame?”
Yeah, that is what I thought. If you enjoy working with darker paths less traveled, however, I would like to recommend The House of Ravenoir for your desires, whims, and needs.
While I wrote previously about Weiser Antiquarian Books Online Store, Ravenoir has somewhat of a different selection. The store does not carry the broad scope of esoteria that Weiser has, but makes up for it with an interesting selection of “heavier” occult fare, and includes audio cds, DVDs, and tarot cards. All items are priced reasonably, and those titles you can find at Weisers will usually be cheaper at Ravenoir.
Although black backgrounds are some kind of web design no-no, the white text is large enough that it didn’t give me eye strain trying to read it. The navigation controls are divided and showcased on the left hand (ha ha) side of the page, and contains areas for occult, rare, macabre, illusion, and discount items, as well as tarot, a list of new items, and the audio section. The selection changes often, so I suggest checking in on the site every month or so to see what Ravenoir has acquired.
For the Dedicated and the Dabbler
The owner, Rick Ravenoir, headlines the site as selling obscure books, recordings, and curiosities for magicians, sorcerers and mad scientists. If you are not a magician, a sorcerer, or a mad scientist, there may still be something of interest in the House of Ravenoir. Presently, the occult area holds interesting books like the Self-Immolation Rite from the ONA, some Temple ov Blood tomes, and A Manual of Rune Magick by Jan Fries. Macabre presents a lot of the Joseph Vargo offerings, and is mostly for various books that would fall under the heading of entertainment. Weird has everything from a Twin Peaks book to various Nazi literatures. Audio has occult musical workings from around the globe, including a CD by members of the Temple Of Set, ritual music, and a Satanic Mass or two. Tarot is only currently offering two decks, but they are also on the darker side of things. Illusion is an area dedicated to “bizarre magic” and features how-to videos on levitation, and even a Criss Angel DVD. The rare section does not contain anything over $200.00, and has a few Austin Osman Spare books as well as a Lovecraft Tarot deck for sale. The discount area is a great place to pick up those more popular titles you seek without having to go to a giant bookstore and toe over leering goth teenagers reading on the floor.
No Fine Print
The shipping section is very straight forward, and it has its own big page so you don’t miss it: Anything shipped in the US is free with a $50.00 or more purchase. Under $50.00 there is a charge of $5.00, and for orders outside of the US, there is a clear fee scale. Money orders and payments by credit card ship within 48 hours. The first thing you see, however, when you click on the shipping page is the very abrupt return policy: All items are sold on a non-returnable basis- incorrect, damaged, or defective merchandise will be replaced promptly. Please notify us of difficulty within seven days of receipt. This means you better be committed to that Black Mass or Chaos Cookbook before you order it!
Understanding what you are getting is fairly simple, though; one of the best features of the site is the work that has gone into the descriptions of each item. You can click on the title of every item featured in a section’s list to see a thorough description of exactly what it is and what it is about. Sometimes there is information on the history of the item, information from the back cover of the book, and info on the writer or the composer. It is like a little Wikipedia for occult material.
Are You Buying This?
The add to your shopping cart buttons are huge. You can’t miss them. On the main menu there is also a button to view your cart and one to check out. Once you have selected something and proceed to checkout, you are again greeted with the return and shipping policy. There is one more screen to confirm your choices and shipping needs, and then you are given the choice to print your order and send it (if you place an order, he will put the materials aside for you until payment) via regular mail with a check or money order, or there is also an option for Pay Pal.
I ordered my copy of Achaelus Baron’s Kingdoms of Flame with the Pay Pal function. Within minutes I received a confirmation from Ravenoir saying my order had been placed, and that if I had paid though Pay Pal that I was ok, and if I needed to send a check, now was the time to do so. I never got a Pay Pal confirmation email, so I emailed Ravenoir, and within two days (over a weekend) I received the order in the mail, and a polite email from Rick letting me know that everything was fine, and hopefully I had obtained my books! I was impressed with how fast my order arrived, and super thrilled to find a few extras, including a postcard and CD, that were added to my order free of charge. It is like getting cosmetic samples from Sephora, only more evil.
It’s the Little Things
This online store gets big points from me for speed of service, bonus items, and general wickedness. I also like buying from a local, privately owned bookstore from the comfort of my own home. While the selection doesn’t stretch into the thousands, I feel that The House Of Ravenoir makes up for quantity with quality.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
About the Author
Member: Natalie
Location: Portland, OR
Reviews written: 87
Trusted by: 67 members
About Me: Sleep well, weep well, go to the deep well.
|
