AbeBooks

I see a lot of reviews bashing on abebooks. Most of the complaints (from what i can tell) have come after ordering a book from outside of the US. In my case, I ordered a book from Better World Books, based in Indiana. It arrived within the estimated timeframe, was in the described condition, and left me completely satisfied. I wish there was a way to review the sellers on the website itself, but it seems to not be possible, currently. I do advise anybody who wishes to purchase from the website to do their research about the seller that offers the book they are interested in purchasing. I'm so glad to have found this website. The book i purchased was in Russian, and published in the early 2000's, not even available in the most common russian books retailers. Plus the prices are amazing.

Edit 2019: Since writing this review i have purchased about 10 or more books using abebooks marketplace, from a variety of sellers. The only time something went wrong was when a seller sent me a book they had mislabeled, which was not the book i had ordered. They issued me a refund after contacting them directly. No other issues, deliveries always within estimated time frame. Note: the books i have purchased have been mostly fiction (about $3-$5 per book) and 2 textbooks ($70-$100)

Ordered a book that was supposed to be new. What I received was an obviously used book in Fair to Good condition. In addition, it was not shipped from the advertised seller. I would never use again.

I ordered the fiction book in English from the site Abebooks to Kazakhstan. Then they didn't remind me that this book is not availability. Then after two days I asked my track number and I wrote how to track my book. But no answer. There was a template answer: The bookseller is unresponsive... like that. And today after 18 days they wrote me that book will not come and we are so sorry, and they processed me a refund. I work in a library, and today I had to restore this book. That's why, be careful, if you order this book you will get no feedback only a template message: "So sorry the bookseller is unresponsive", P I didn't get any right messages to my question. Every sentence in the template messages began with "SORRY". That is the fault all of you. You can't work with a bookseller even you can't get messages for 18 days. Abebooks team you are all unresponsive, even you can't send a message by your words, it means that you don't care about your clients, and maybe you will get no books like me.

Thought I was getting screwed, just like a lot of other people, based on the review section. But I can honestly say this. If you are dealing with Bookplate as your seller that won't happen. Bookplate were honest and upfront. Did what they said they were going to do. Friendly customer service. And delivered the product as described on the website. Bookplate 112 S. Cross St. In Chestertown, MD. I would definitely order from them again. Here's the story. I bought a book for my wife, a Christmas present, so I paid extra for expedited shipping. I received an email from E (not using their full name) a couple days later letting me know my order shipped, but had made a mistake and only sent it out regular mail, This was when I looked at the reviews on Abebooks, and read a bunch of them where basically the same thing happened. I responded to E with my concerns about the mix up in shipping, and they insured me it was just an honest mistake, and that they would refund me back the difference in shipping. I agreed, but after reading all the bad reviews, I figured I wouldn't see the refund, and would be lucky if I ever saw the book I ordered, But E at Bookplate actually refunded me the whole shipping amount, and I still got the book before Christmas. Not all sellers on this site are out to screw their customers.

I ordered a boxed set of books from ABE Books & suffered a Cascade of Scams from their Merchant. They lied about sending the Item &; sent me a FAKE TRACKING STATEMENT. When all their lies failed, they had the Chutzpah to Complain about me- they *******@yelp reviews that tell the truth. The "arbitration" the lying Merchant put me through was the icing on the cake. ABE Books is the home of. Scammers.

I ordered a copy of a book on the website but when it arrived it turned out to be a German translation! The fact that it was a German edition was NOT REVEALED ON THE WEBSITE listing for the book. I returned the book after being assured in writing that the return postage would be refunded. They asked for, and I sent, documentation on the return postage cost twice but the company still refuses to pay as promised. IF POSSIBLE I WOULD GIVE ABE BOOKS A RATING OF ZERO STARS. The company is dishonest and incompetent. AVOID ABE BOOKS AT ALL COSTS!

This is one of many companies that say they have a book in stock when they don't. So they take your money and then cancel your order and say the cancellation was requested by the purchaser.

I've ordered 3 books recently from abebooks. The first one came as described, without any problem. The other two came from the same place/seller (although they charged me twice for the shipping cost, when they should have just sent the two together as a single package, nvm) so both books were described as very good condition on the website. One was more like good condition at best but the third one wasn't even in fair condition. Ripped, the back cover folded and was dirty too. I wrote to the customer service asking what they can do about it? The answer was I have to contact the sellers or return it. One book cost about 3$ (the shipping was more expensive than the actual price) so it wouldn't be worth it. I told them this and that i purchased these books from the abebooks website and my payment also went to them, so i would expect their customer service to take care of my case. This was 7 days ago, no response from them since. I am never buying from this site again, it looks like if you order something you have 33% chance to get what you ordered.

I paid $60 for a vintage book, limited edition. The "seller" called "Save with Sam" created a tracking number but never shipped the book. Abebooks will not allow me to request a refund because a tracking number was created, even though it is clear that the USPS never received an item with that tracking number. Abebooks' own website shows me that. I paid over a month ago. The seller has been giving me the run-around, offering to ship me a new book when "a new batch" comes in. This was advertised by the seller as a 1978 edition of a book that is no longer in print for that edition. The "new batch" would be a reprint that I am not interested in because the reviews indicate it is much different than the original. I recommend to everyone that you should learn your lesson and purchase your books through a reputable seller with a demonstrated track record of customer service and a real dispute resolution policy that is fair to customers and seller, and not held up in an automated system that can be as easily scammed as the one that Abebooks has.

There are several places to choose from to buy used books. AbeBooks is the easiest, best-organized and most trustworthy of the companies I have dealt with. Type in the name of your book and/or author in the search box and you'll get a list of holdings from least to most expensive. Except for payment (they can keep your credit card on file for one-click checkout, which I love), that's where AbeBook's responsibility ends. Your mission is to decide which book is priced correctly and in the condition or format that pleases you most, and whether or not the vendor offering it is reliable.

If you have a problem with your purchase, you can complain to AbeBooks or directly to the vendor. I have received refunds or replacements on the few occasions I was unhappy. Most of the time, however, booksellers are true believers in the printed word, and will be honorable. Each vendor is rated from one to five stars, and you can restrict your search to the highest-rated sellers.

Once in awhile, you may find better deals elsewhere; otherwise, you will discover that the the same sellers also advertise the same merchandise on various other book sites. AbeBooks wins my vote because I've bought about a thousand books from them over the years, and I still have most of them.

I wish I had read the reviews on this website before I made the purchase. STAY AWAY FROM ABEBOOKS!

I purchase a "book." It turns out the it was an "eBook," just a CD. It was my oversight, but I decided to inquire the possibility of returning it and getting a refund. Amazon would honor such request as I have experienced in the past. Apparently, not AbeBooks.

The condition stated that it is new, but obviously, it has been on shelf for sometime before as the CD sleeve looks old with bend corners. That's not my main problem. Though.

I sent multiple messages, both to the seller and to Abebook, explaining that I would like to request a return/refund because I want a printed book, not an ebook. I never heard from the seller, although the website indicated that sellers are required to respond to all inquiries within 2 business days. I never heard back after multiple messages so apparently this rule is not enforced in anyway. The messages I got from Abebook customer service was useless and never directly answered my question.

I purchased a used book from them, two days later I got an email saying that *I* canceled the order which I did not. I now see the book relisted for double the price. What a scam.