Better World Books

The books arrived in better condition than I expected. The shipping was as promised and the customer service replied same day when I had a question. Better World Books will be my forever go to for used books from now on.

Over the years, as a school librarian, I have purchased upwards of 600 books from
BWB. To provide resources so that each child in a class could have a research book about a given topic, particularly in history and science, I relied on the great breadth of books available through BWB. My budget went much further and gave a "better bang for the buck." I would bring a box into a classroom anklet the children help unpack it, which added to their sense of adventure and excitement about each topic.

Now retired, I order book club books for myself and friends, as libraries cannot support the demand for many multiple copies, and paying retail prices is beyond the reach of a retiree. All in all, a treasure trove of good reading copies. They are not (or rarely ever) new.

I've been ordering books through BWB for at least 3 years and have been consistently pleased. Every few orders I'll receive my shipment a few days (3-4 days) later than expected, but no major issues with shipping overall. The "used-good" and "used-very good" condition indicators seems to vary a bit, but I've always felt that the books were a good value for the price, regardless. Plus, I love their dedication to literacy initiatives.

I have never had a problem with this website and always buy books for my mom on here. She loves books and I can get so many for the money on here. Yesterday I ordered 14 (mostly hardcover) for only $55. However, be careful that they are actually from Better World Books. I've heard bad reports about them, like taking several months to ship or being from other countries. Also, if you don't like getting old library books don't order off here, a lot of them are. My mom doesn't mind that so I don't really care.

I ordered Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King, a book I have always wanted to read but could not find at any local library. I picked the item from this website because it was the lowest price under my google search. Not only did it come on time, it was in excellent condition! Aside from a name written on the front inside panel, the book looked brand new! It's a quite a large hardback and I think I paid less than $5 for it. You can't beat that!

I see a few negative reviews & wonder if they contacted BWB. I had a problem or 2 where I didn't contact them. I should have because they would either correct such problems or credit your account. They have special offer rates regularly and even without that have low prices Added to that they regularly contribute to literacy around the world.
As for shipping, they give options & I rarely need something quickly, but it still has been efficient enough for my needs.

A always prefer to purchase used books when given the option. There is no sense is buying new as long as all the information is still within the book you are looking to buy. Every book that I've gotten from Better World has been in great condition (excluding the occasional notation made by a previous owner which isn't a big deal). Their prices can't be beat is they have something you are looking for in stock, and the free shipping is also amazing.

This site is so fun; I can search for books and usually find at least three or four so I can take advantage of their latest promo. Plenty to choose from, plus low prices, free shipping, and a worthy cause... I've had to buy another bookshelf for my den!

My order was easy to place, shipped quickly and exactly as described. Hard to come by used vet ultrasound books in mint condition. What's not to like? This is a business started by college student entrepreneurs as a venue to recycle old books that has donated almost 30mil to literacy and library projects. Feels like a small community bookstore. So glad I learned about BetterWorldBooks when I received gift certificates from my sister in law!

I have been a customer of Better World Books for quite some time. They always had good deals, and were pretty accurate when describing book condition. However, there are a couple of negatives:

1. My recent order with them was disappointing. For one, a book rated as "Good" condition should have been rated "Acceptable" as it has highlighting and writing throughout. Certainly not what I'd call "good" condition.

2. They need to stop being so cheap with shipping materials! They squeeze too may books in one envelope when they really should have either used another one or just used a box. One of the books I received WAS in very good condition, but is now bent.

3. Their Rewards program is iffy. The codes either expire too soon, or even when they are supposed to be good for use within one year, every time I've tried to use one, it always says expired! And customer service was NO help at all.

So yeah, I hate to say it, but I'm either going to have to look elsewhere or try shopping locally more often.

UPDATE: I contacted customer service and they refunded me the amount for the books, so all good - increasing my rating to 5 stars.

I've used BetterWorldBooks many times over the past three years. Must have bought about 100 books from them in that time. The service is reliable and their prices are great when you consider they offer free international shipping. They did have some trouble two years back with the reliability of their international shipping, but my past few orders have arrived quickly. The only reason I don't give them 5 stars is I think their standards for the condition of the books have slipped a little recently. Overall, though, a good site.