AbeBooks

I have bought dozens of books from AbeBooks. Some sellers are wonderful, most are just fine, but a few are fraudulent. Unfortunately, there is no way to leave a review to help others sort the good from the bad. They do have star ratings showing percentage of sales without returns. However, this leaves one in a position of paying to return a poor quality book to be resold to some other unsuspecting book buyer in order to make sure the seller's star rating is impacted, or tossing the book thus leaving the next buyer having no idea that the seller is misrepresenting their merchandise.

I ordered an out of print hardcover. There were two or three copies of the same book being sold by different sellers. All priced between 30-60 USD. About 24 hours after my order, I received an email stating the book I just paid for is no longer in stock. Fine. I figured there were one or two other copies, I'll buy it from a different seller. I go back to the website and see all the reasonably priced copies are gone and now only two copies priced at 350-400 USD remain. Absolute insanity. The book I wanted was published in 2013. It's not an ancient artifact. They claim it was not the same books relisted for much more money but it seems unlikely to me. It seemed very sketchy. The book is not at all popular. Just out of print. The only reason I give 2 stars is because they did refund my money.

A month ago, I purchased two textbooks from AbeBooks, I was expecting to receive it around 11/12 of February and so I emailed through to them asking if there was any tracking number. A customer service rep got back to me within a day or two detailing why there is no tracking. She also advised that I can expect my order end of day on 12 February. I waited the whole day and nothing, so contacted the contact centre again. I saw her response the following day apologizing that my books may have been lost and that I'll be refunded. While I am panicked and disappointed that I'm not getting my books, I've found another solution of sourcing my books, the service I received was better than most. If looking to purchase from AbeBooks, Prices are great, it literally comes down to risk.

I have had good experiences. And not so good experiences with this site. Some book sellers are good others not so good. In pictures are listed the better to the worst sellers and some information pictured on worst in last.Very last seller has not sent the best quality or just terrible shipping. In the first picture of large box in of a better seller. It's best to check out sellers carefully.

"ExtremelyReliable" company- The book did not come in the time frame they said it would- even though I paid extra for shipping. I had to buy a book from another company to have it in time for school (it was way cheaper from someone else I found out). They refused to refund until they got the book back, but shipping back to their business was $40 (about the same as the price of the book). So I had to keep the book (now I have 2 copies) and just swallow the $44 I paid for it in the first place. Just know that it wont ship as soon as they say and you should be fine. And if you're in the US- there are probably cheaper ways to get the book. Also there is no place for reviews on their website- so new customers cannot be warned.

The site offers a wide array of books and the prices are typically competitive with other sites. The site is also fairly easy to navigate with the usual search tools and a fairly intuitive interface. My issue with the site is that when I did purchase a book and an entirely different book was sent to me, and I attempted to return the said book for a refund, I discovered I would have to package, label, and ship the item back to the seller entirely at my own expense. When a buyer receives an incorrect item, every effort should be made to make the return process as easy as possible, and the buyer should absolutely not incur expenses.

I had a horrible experience buying from this website, the sellers on this site seem often not honest. The shipping date was changed after I placed an order, and I couldn't cancel it because the seller changed the status to shipped right away, but not tracking info. The seller does not respond to messages. Customer Service Does not exist. It is either automated, or takes forever
Then, I realized, Amazon bought this company and the worse experience that we get the better. We will all have to go back to buy on Amazon… and they will be able to control all the prices.

I ordered a book from AbeBooks via Thiftbooks. This was an out of print music book and was to be a Christmas gift. A book arrived and was placed under the tree. On Christmas, it was discovered that Thiftbooks has mailed a children's novel rather than the book ordered. That day, emails were sent to both companies explaining the error and asking for the correct book to be sent. A week later, I still have not gotten anywhere with either company, although Thiftbooks says they do still have the book I paid AbeBooks for. Almost daily I hear from a different person at AbeBooks who seems to not understand that the wrong book was delivered. It is impossible to actually speak to a person to solve the issue. I work in sales and if I treated my customers this way, then I would be out of business. This is dreadful customer service.

I placed an order for 2 of the same books for a class. One of AbeBooks seller's, GreatBookPrices, sent me the wrong books for which I paid over $50. This is after I waited 13 days for them to arrive. I contacted them the day they arrived and they refused to give me a refund, send out the correct books, or send me a prepaid return label until I send the books back. So, now I have to send the books back at my own expense. If I send them via media mail, which is how they came, I'll have to wait a total of at least a month from the time I ordered before I get my refund. This is horrific customer service. I will NEVER order from AbeBooks or their seller, GreatBookPrices again. This was totally their mistake and it is unconscionable that I'll be out this much money for their mistake. Beware before you purchase.

I have had the experience now two times of ordering a textbook on AbeBooks, but receiving the wrong edition. In the first instance I ordered a calculus textbook but received the solutions manual for it instead. In the second instance, I ordered the 4th and most current edition of a biology textbook, but received the 3rd instead. With the calculus book, it cost more money to ship it back for a return than I paid for it, so essentially I just lost my money. I am sending back the biology book and hoping I will get my refund as it cost me almost $170 with the postage and tax, but I will only get back what I paid for the book. I strongly advise against trying to save money on textbooks by using AbeBooks instead of your school bookstore/publisher. The sad part is, AbeBooks used to be a very reliable place for buying books (I was a customer for years), and I can only think it went downhill after being taken over by Amazon.

I ordered a book from a seller that has a five star rating, later I find out it has everything to do with registered reviews and I find out when the package does arrive the label is a completely different store name on it with a horrible review. After three weeks of waiting for my order I ask where is my book and they state it was sent already. It had not been and the post master was a liar. ABE books does not give any help and wont even allow closing your account. To sum it up the book arrived today, June 20th, and with a broken binding, ripped cover, and the last two pages missing. AVOID ABE BOOKS!

Ordered book and never received. Seller said via email sent it day after ordered. This is the only item not received during pandemic, via abebooks. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time or money! Awaiting word on refund as can't get anyone on phone. Will call credit card company if don't get rapid response.

This most incompetent company I've ever dealt with. I purchased a test book from a seller named Book Deals. Do not buy from this person he is a scammer. I returned the book 2 months ago still have not received a refund. Contacted Abe books keep getting the run around. Find someone else to buy a book from. Horrible customer service no way to contact by phone only emails. Every time u have to explain the citation over again because they never go back and look at the prior emails to know hats going on.

Book ordered on May 1 never arrived. Bookseller number not correct and apparently fraudulent. No one to contact at abe. Following support request links on abe website results in endless circle which goes nowhere. They never respond to emails. Wasted money.

Ordered a book with specific cover art that I wanted, but received some mass reprint instead. In order to return it I'd have to spend 55% of the overall cost to ship it back. Feels like I'm dealing with those websites from China. Last time I ever buy from AbeBooks.

It would be really nice if you could actually speak to a human. Calling them gets you directed to their website. When emailing them, they reply with canned responses that get you nowhere. I tried to order books, tax exempt but they will not respond. Even though I've jumped through all of their hoops, they have yet to refund the taxes they charged me. I've requested five times through email that they call me. They don't. Totally not worth the hassle.