• Better World Books

Better World Books

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Overview

Better World Books has a rating of 3.08 stars from 2,091 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Reviewers satisfied with Better World Books most frequently mention good condition, free shipping, and timely manner. Better World Books ranks 4th among Used Books sites.

  • Service
    218
  • Value
    218
  • Shipping
    224
  • Quality
    217
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 16.7%
Positive
1
Neutral
0
Negative
5
186
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What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

  • I like that they recycle Library books as it saves them going to landfill.
  • Great way to order books & fantastic way to help spread books to areas of need.

Critical highlights

  • DO NOT order from Better World Books, they don't care at all or respect what they sell or you the customer.
  • I emailed customer service, and the spam stopped for a while, THEN IT STARTED UP AGAIN.
How would you rate Better World Books?
Top Positive Review

“Absolutely recommend!”

K C.
1/22/21

Library books but in near perfect condition. Orders take around a month and a half to cross the pond, but as long as you're not in a hurry i definitely recommend. Books shipped from the UK arrive within a couple of weeks. Hooray for that! Also, I feel like I need to mention the e-mail they send when a book is dispatched. It is simply delightful! I'm a very happy customer/bookworm who wishes they had warehouses in the EU.

Top Critical Review

“Books never arrived”

Lt G.
11/30/23

I bought several books by the same author from BW books. I got part of my order but its been a month now and even though I have a tracking #, once it "leaves" BW books they do not help at all to find your order. The site they direct you to in order to "get help" sends you in circles. They did not hesitate to help themselves to payment for the books, however. Beware. I will never order books from this company again.

Reviews (2,091)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

library books (47) world books (377) order books (67) book store (22) customer service (68)
Thumbnail of user kevinm1304
1 review
1 helpful vote
February 18th, 2020

Yes thank you i received this order. It was exactly as i had viewed online. The order consisted of 4 books and all arrived in good time and in good condition.

Thumbnail of user mercyo8
1 review
1 helpful vote
July 24th, 2020

I was skeptical at first about ordering from betterworldbooks; however the novel I wanted was only available via amazon and they were getting their book from betterworldboks with an additional surcharge so I decided to go directly to the source. $10.53 ($14.85 CDN) later via PayPal my purchase was made. While waiting for delivery, I tried tracking the package through their website with limited success and thought for sure I had been scammed. Thankfully, about 12 business days later (a feat during the COVID19 pandemic) my book arrived in a tightly sealed packaging slip and in good condition.

Thumbnail of user juditht228
1 review
0 helpful votes
December 27th, 2019

BetterWorldBookshad two used copies of a book by an Australian author for which I have been searching for years. My own much loved copy went missing many years ago. I bought both copies. They arrived in good time from the US. I was happy. Thank-you!

Thumbnail of user laurar1104
1 review
0 helpful votes
July 2nd, 2020

Love Better World Books - affordable and great selection, can't believe it took Covid for me to find it!

Thumbnail of user lisas1908
1 review
0 helpful votes
July 31st, 2020

I got all books I ordered in a timely manner. The books were as described. I would order books from this seller again

Thumbnail of user stevem1387
1 review
0 helpful votes
April 25th, 2020

I found there some books I have been looking for but unable to find, the price was right, the shipping was fast and the books were in good condition when they arrived.

Thumbnail of user maryb1979
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
June 10th, 2020

Great price and timely shipping! Half of the puzzle book was already written in, but I guess it was because it was listed as used. Buying their clearance used books makes a great savings!

Thumbnail of user chit14
1 review
0 helpful votes
December 3rd, 2019

The book was shipped late and Better world book always have the problems with shipping. I hope that in the future you will improve your service better than present.
After all, thank you for the valuable books.

Thumbnail of user karena335
1 review
0 helpful votes
July 9th, 2019

I've shopped from this website many times and now I live abroad, I also got my package delivered. It took a little longer than usual but I'm happy to know I can still have my favorite books delivered anywhere I go. I love betterworldbooks~~

Thumbnail of user judithc213
1 review
0 helpful votes
April 20th, 2020

Great service, always find something here. An elementary school I work at benefits from their generosity - thank you!

Thumbnail of user corbyk1
1 review
0 helpful votes
August 24th, 2020

The books were fine and good quality. My only complaint is that they were library books - which I realize is a personal thing and most others wouldn't care at all. They arrived quickly and I am looking forward to reading them. Thank you.

Thumbnail of user katew201
1 review
0 helpful votes
September 16th, 2020

I wanted to complete my collection of a series, but I discovered that the entire series was out of print! I was super happy to discover that I could still buy the books, and from a business that supports literacy charities no less! I do wish that the quality of the books was a bit more clear on the website. Two of the books I received (which said only "Used - Good") were former library books, complete with all the stickers and plastic coverings that you'd expect from a library. It's not the end of the world by any means and the pages are in fact in good condition, but the stickers really stand out on my shelf and I wish I'd been able to search through the listings and see if any of them were not former library books. But in the end I'm still really satisfied with BWB and the fact that I can find out-of-print books!
Shipping time was plenty quick, especially for during a pandemic.

Thumbnail of user lindap1309
1 review
0 helpful votes
October 24th, 2020

I save lots of money and read LOTS of books. I always hope for all books to be in great shape and have large enough and dark print because my eyes are getting old, but I order almost all my books from Better World Books.

Thumbnail of user shelleyw48
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
June 4th, 2019

They always have the best customer service and ship fast! It's always a wonderful experience working with Better World Books!

Thumbnail of user lindar972
1 review
0 helpful votes
May 19th, 2020

Pretty good selection of books but my experience has been that almost all books I've gotten are in pretty bad condition.

Thumbnail of user deem279
1 review
0 helpful votes
April 27th, 2020

Very grateful for my second-hand book! I knew it would be second hand, but that's what I love! - pre-loved books, and this is one! Love the prices, too! Thank you HEAPS!

Thumbnail of user candidew
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
February 26th, 2020

I should say that the delivery is on the superb level. I've recieved my order and it was as I need it to be.

Thumbnail of user carolb1288
1 review
0 helpful votes
June 10th, 2020

Love getting used books at a reasonable price! This order one of my books had a bookmark from Indonesia. I enjoy finding other people bookmarks in the book. It takes my imagination to a place of wonder. I do find it difficult to remove the library stickers yet not too high of a deal.

Thumbnail of user jayn438
1 review
1 helpful vote
December 15th, 2021

Love how inexpensive and speedy the delivery was from better world books, but why do they have to put the barcode stickers on the spine, covering the title and author? I tried to remove the stickers on several of the books but ended up ruining the spines in the process. Would appreciate if they would put the stickers on the back or inside the books, as they currently look so bad on a bookshelf!

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user annah868
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 21st, 2021

I was able to find the book I needed in good condition for my graduate class at an affordable price both for the book and shipping! The only down side is there was a slight typo with the online description that titled the book "Short History of the Printed World." I bought it hoping it was a typo because I needed "Short History of the printed Word." It was and I am happy with it. As a bonus the website sends a cute email from the book when it is being shipped.

Thumbnail of user graemem29
1 review
0 helpful votes
October 3rd, 2019

Where possible I purchase hard back copies (and try to avoid 'large print editions") WITH DUST JACKET COVERS - 3 in this order did not have covers and one was Large Print. Not the end of the world and probably my fault failing to read description correctly. I also order plenty of paper backs when I really want the "read" and do not recall ever being disappointed with the quality i received against the condition quoted. Overall you are the best US book company avalable to us Aussies - so keep up the good work - and thank you.

Thumbnail of user melanien30
3 reviews
2 helpful votes
March 14th, 2021

Overall, I am pleased to find used books at a decent price including unique, out of print, and sometimes challenging to find ones. My only beef is that at least with 1-3 books I order in a group of them, a "very good" book is not what I called "very good" but "roughly used" with bent corners, folds, and creases on the front and back covers. It looks more like a book that has been at the bottom of a middle schooler's locker for half the year and found. I would like the wear of the books to be more accurate.
The books were both labeled the same but are not in the small category to me. The Missing Diary picture looks better than in real life including the small food stain on the bottom left at the binding. Just not quite sure how they can both be "used very good". You just have to know it can happen.

Tip for consumers:
Just know some descriptions are not accurate on occasion.

Products used:
Books

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user johns7256
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
October 2nd, 2020

Great value, timely delivery, wonderful inventory. I have enjoyed a long relationship with BetterWorldBooks.

Thumbnail of user carolyna150
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
June 10th, 2020

Books are in good condition. I know I will enjoy reading them and will then give them to my friends and family to read.

Thumbnail of user valerieg227
1 review
0 helpful votes
December 20th, 2020

I enjoy finding books that I want at a fraction of the cost that I would pay elsewhere. Some of the purchases were for Christmas presents, so I am glad they arrived in a timely manner, and that I was able to wrap them too. I have recommended BetterWorldBooks to my friends.

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