AbeBooks

I usually get my books from Amazon or Ebay but I thought I would try a different avenue since Abe's seemed to have a lot of mom & pop shops and I like to support small businesses. On July 26th I ordered 2 books from 2 different sellers. Today is August 18th. I have received 1 book and the other is in limbo. Shortly after I placed my other I went into the dashboard (myaccount) and noticed that the status for the missing book had been changed to delivery expected "5 weeks." I contacted the seller immediately and asked for a refund but did not hear back. In fact there has been ZERO communication from Abe's books or the reseller. No email letting me know the book was shipped and here is the tracking number etc so there is no way to trace this and confirmed it truly has been shipped as is stated on the account page. The irony in this whole thing is that the word "Xpress" is in the sellers name which if you have to wait 5 weeks to receive to receive your book it's nothing like express shipping as implied.
Keep in mind when I ordered the book no where in the listing did it say that it was going to take 5 weeks, in fact, looking back at the listing now I realize no where does it say how long it's going to take. Lesson learned since I assumed it would take the usual amount of time for shipping in the USA which is under 2 weeks. What I've learned is that this site has some good decent sellers but it also has some shady AF sellers. Even though the listing says the seller ships from the USA clearly they are not in the US and I'm probably going to receive a counterfeit book from India or China IF I receive a book at all. I don't see myself buying another book from AbeBooks which is a pity since I do want to help small businesses. Hopefully they will sell on Amazon or Ebay where there are more customer protections.
***Word of advise, when using their system to send emails to the seller or customer service SCREEN PRINT it since that is the only way you will have proof that you tried to contact them***

I just want to thank you guys for this bible, the price and its practically new. I couldn't afford a new one and the Holyspirit led me to you. THANK YOU FOR SERVING THE COMMUNITY I AM IN KINGMAN AZ

Needed a rare 3rd edition of a book, and I found it on Abebooks. I emailed to confirm it is a 3rd edition (4th editions are worth $0). It was confirmed. After I ordered, I was told my credit card was declined (was just a lie), and to pay via paypal, which I did. Now I have 2 charges for my 3rd edition book. A week later, a box arrives from Amazon, inside a book, 4th edition! The receipt had a much lower price than what I paid, since the 4rd edition is worthless. I was told to return it for a full refund. Then I found out about the double charge. I was promised to have that refunded as well. Nothing happened for 2 weeks. Then another box arrived, another worthless piece of junk 4th edition (I was told for my double payment) Same again, returned it, no refund. Was told they never received the books, although I had tracking numbers. I had to start a dispute case with my credit card bank, and with payal in order to have the scammers admit they have received my returned merchandise, and that they were lying about not having received the books. What a waste of my life - all the time I spent communicating, trips to the post office, emailing, disputing... I will file a complain with the BBB. This company is evidently trying to scam people out of their money. I am sure most people just let it go after paying top price for a piece of worthless junk, because it takes too much effort to have their money back. This company needs to be reported to the BBB. I urge anyone else to do the same. If you were tricked into buying a valuable product, and have been mailed something worthless, file a complain with the BBB. Maybe together we can stop this nonsense. If you want to loose your money, please donate it to any charity, instead of buying fraudulent products from this company. Thank you for considering!

Beware, if you buy a book (plus shipping charges) from Abe Books (or "great" Book Prices), you really are only buying a book from a reseller, who is only as good as their follow up policy.

I purchased a book from Abe Books, or at least through I had.
See below:

Bookseller: GreatBookPrices
AbeBooks Purchase Order No.: *******
Purchase Method:
Visa
Estimated Delivery Date: August 28,2023
Approximate Shipping Speed: 10 - 20 business days

Title: Lonely Planet Pocket Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands
Author: Albiston, Isabel; Bremner, Jade; Kluepfel, Brian; Morgan, MaSovaida; Yanagihara, Wendy
Quantity: 1
ISBN: **************
Binding: Soft cover
Book Condition: New
Book Price: US$ 15.99
Shipping Price: US$ 2.64
Estimated Sales Tax: US$ 0.96

But the seller was not Abe Books, it really was (Not) "Great" Book Prices.
I paid for a book entitled "Lonely Planet Pocket Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands."

Abe, via "Great" Book Prices sent me a Money Planet book on New Zealand.
Neither Abe Books or Great Book Prices has a phone number to call someone, and actually speak with a Customer Service, who could help you.

If they sent me a pre-paid mailer, because I already have paid for the book, I didn't;t receive, I would gladly return the (wrong) book they sent. But this is not their policy.
I they, Abe or "Great" Book Prices, make a mistake, - they expect you to pay for shipping,
DON't waste your time or money with either Abe Book or "Great" Book Prices.
These are book sellers who do not stand behind their name.

I gave this business a 2/5 because I spent a total of around $1,000 for books for Christmas and most of the orders went without a hitch. I had a problem with 2 sellers who sent me used books instead of new books. The books that I ordered were pretty expensive for paperback books because of limited printing ($67.00 and $48.00) which I was willing to pay as a Christmas gift.

The nightmare began when both sellers kept telling me that a new copy was coming into their warehouses (yes, they were two different sellers in two different states but their emails could have been interchanged.) I tried to work with them each for about a month. I finally gave them a date that I needed a trackable number by and, when I didn't get it, I applied for a return/refund.

That's when the real nightmare began. I finally got return labels from both and returned the books, expecting to see my refund as soon as they were delivered. It really isn't acceptable that I was the only one with anything at risk. They now had my money and I had no book. Then, it turns out that one of the sellers put the wrong address on the return label. How is that even possible? This book was then returned to me. I opened a dispute with American Express. While they were in the process of investigating it, I received the returned book back. I researched the address and discovered that the seller had neglected to put an apartment number on it. For 2 weeks, I asked for a return label with the apartment number because I wanted my money and didn't want the book. On December 4 (the original order was placed October 17,2021), I finally got my money back from that one ($67 + shipping). I also just received the corrected return label from the first seller this morning (December 6).

The seller of the second book received his book back November 27. On Friday, December 3, I wrote to Abe Books customer support asking where my refund was. I received an email this morning (December 6) asking me for the tracking number so that they could verify that the book was returned. Are you kidding me? This information was all in the information that I had to fill out for the return/refund, They were too lazy or stupid to even look at the information they required from me. I have told them that they have until Wednesday, December 8,2021 to credit my American Express account or I will be opening a dispute with AmEx.

Quite simply, dealing with this company is not worth it. I thought since they were now owned by Amazon, the customer service would be comparable. IT IS NOT! Alibris is another good source for books and I have never had a problem with them. I am an avid reader and still like the feel of turning the pages, so a good bookseller is important to me. I will avoid Abe Books religiously, however, because the problems are simply not worth it.

*******335 But, They Can't Answer The Phone Due To Covid 19.
I Have Been A Customer For A While And They Are No Good--By Design.

Larry P.

I ordered a book for class through Abe Books. The order actually came from Indoo (whoever they are in NJ). When my book arrived it was just a card with a code on it (I knew this when I ordered it) and I scratched off the stuff to get signed up into my class online. It told me the code was for another book. I turned the card over and sure enough IT WAS! Didn't even send me the right one! So I message them like it says to do. Indoo never replied to me for 3 days... HELLOOOO class is starting! So I went through the process through Abe Books to get a refund initiated. They got the order return process going and it said to ship the book back to their address and to enter the tracking number when I did. That means I'm paying for return shipping on a book Indoo messed up the order on right? So I package it up and get the postage to include a tracking number on it because that's what I was instructed to do! When I then emailed Indoo again and told them how much the shipping was, they said, "We only refund for the amount of Media Mail through the USPS!" Like WHAT?! Then why did Abe Books require me to pay for tracking too? So I message Abe Books and go back and forth with them about this only to find out, they aren't paying me for it and I'm out the cost to mail back the order that I didn't mess up on, and I paid them in good faith for, but they screwed up and sent the wrong order on! If they'd have just done it right the first time, I wouldn't have had to return the dang thing! Indoo is some crap company that I'm not worried about, but Abe Books I expected better from! I have been a customer of theirs for a long time and this was my first problem I had with them, and they keep emailing me these smug emails saying they aren't required to pay me back for my shipping costs! Thanks Abe! You just lost me as a customer and anyone else I can convince not to purchase from them!

I needed a textbook for a class that just started. On the first day of calls, the professor told us to get a certain book. Like most these days, it cost over a hundred dollars new in the campus bookstore. So, even he advised getting it online. Abebooks said they had several in stock, and the price was much lower. Great. So I ordered it, and I added an extra $6.99 for "priority mail" shipping. And THAT is the problem...

Abebooks has redefined "priority mail" to mean collecting their money fast and then sending the order on to a third party who will do whatever they feel like doing. When I didn't even get a tracking number in 48 hours and complained, they responded with the advice that they would pass my complaint on to the seller and if the book didn't arrive in 12 days, I could make another inquiry. So I complained again that this was unacceptable, and they replied with the same canned response.

The seller finally responded with a "tracking number" - that their shipper says is not valid. I complained AGAIN - and got the same canned response AGAIN.

I hope I get this book before the class is over! And frankly, now that I have read the reviews, I worry about the condition of what will arrive - assuming it ever does.

IN THE MEANTIME, I have been forced to buy another book from another seller so I have something to work with. So much for "AbeBooks", one of the worse online retailers I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.

Buy from Abebooks at your peril. Remember, they are NOT the real seller, but an order taking service that couldn't care less about the honesty of their sellers.

UPDATE: I finally got the book. It was clearly marked on both front and back covers "SAMPLE EDITION FOR EVALUATION ONLY. NOT FOR SALE OR RESALE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES". I am also now getting SPAM mail from them.

If you get a wrong item from a seller, you are responsible for contacting the seller AND PAYING SHIPPING COSTS. Never, ever buy from these people.

Ok, I am upset so let me try to temper my rage somewhat and try to be as cool headed as I can be.

First time buyer from Abeboooks.com so I was buying some text books for resale. I thought I was purchasing what I clicked on the Hardback cover and the specific ISBN associated with the text I was purchasing. No apparently what I want is not relevant, so they sent me international versions of what I ordered with soft covers and different ISBN numbers. I ordered two of the text, and another text for different subject, and I see now on the tracking number they are sending me a international version of the text I ordered from Ireland.

I have to pay for shipping to get a full refund. They will not provide you with return shipping label. You cant get a refund until the books are returned. Then they will ship them back to you in snail mail that takes 5-8 days to receive.

So with that being said I will have to make a decision, attempt to give them another chance and risk more investment of my time in a company that does not have live talk customer service, there is no phone number on their website for customer service line. Its all done via email. Canned responses. And see if they will refund me my money... but based upon my experience there is little confidence they will do right by me.

Or take the text books and sell them on another platform to get my money back, in a month or so. At least in that space I have some control.

I have seen other reviews after the fact of ordering through Abebooks that describe similar scenarios where customers are infuriated by lack of service-and dedication to treating customers right.

Since I started this review, I have again heard from Customer service tech who states I will get a full refund of the original cost of books and shipping charges, plus additional shipping charges to return the books. Which is apparently in the return policies of which I did not read, prior to ordering. I cant say this is totally unreasonable as a policy, my main frustration is that they decided I didn't need the books I ordered but sent me similar books by the same title which are of less value to me than what I ordered.

If I were to order them again I don't think I have any control to ensure I will get the correct books! What a shame!

Seller asked for extra postage after ordering and payment done :(