Book Depository

I had been reading and looking for sites to buy books that I can't buy in Argentina because they are not available here, and someone mentioned Book Depository to me. They have a wide selection of currencies with which to pay for, and Argentine Peso is on the list, so that's great (if your currency is not on the list, you may have to pay an extra charge for currency conversion by your bank, as with any other foreign online purchase).

So after searching reviews and books on their site and having some books in my wishlist, I purchased my first order on September 23rd. It was dispatched on the 26th (the next Monday). The site says that for books dispatched from UK to Latin America it takes 10-15 business days, so I knew I had to wait quite some time. My book arrived in perfect condition in a bubbled envelope on October 28th (by that time, I was already counting the days for when it would arive and how long would it take). I knew it would be long, because foreign purchases have a high chance of being held by local customs office, that's one thing I feared (or it being lost, given the number of bad reviews out there). I was really happy at the end, so I didn't wait long to make my next purchase.

A few days later, on October 31st I ordered a second item: a tarot deck. It was dispatched on November 2nd and, to my biggest surprise, it arrived on November 11th (same shipping address). I was already calm and waiting my month of delivery, so I expected it to be here by the beginning of December. Needless to say I was extremely surprised. Again, it arrived in perfect conditions.

The interactions I had with customer service office were always really polite and fast. I asked once for the availability of some books, and was always attent and nice. The other time I contacted them after one of the packages, having passed 40-45 working days since dispatch, hadn't arrived. They provided me with a tracking number witch which I checked where it was and compared it to other tracking number from one of their packages that arrived a few days back, and I could verify it hadn't even reached the country. They sent a replacement copy right away which hopefully will arrive and won't get lost in the mail. Replies were always fast and this was solved in a day or two.

I do have to say that it would be extremely nice to have an option to track your books, because the uncertainty of not knowing where they are is awful. The only instance I was given a tracking number was when it hadn't arrived for a really long time.

I chose Book Depository over any other site because of shipping costs. While amazon gives the certainty of knowing your product will arrive within a designated time frame and giving a tracking number, the cost of shipping the books I wanted to Argentina was insane. Free shipping over 33 dollar shipping is a LOT more appealing, despite the long wait.

Great experience so far and will sure be buying more from them in the future.

BOOK DEPOSITORY SURVIVAL GUIDE (mini version)
~ Check the delivery time for your country and from where it will be dispatched. That time counts AFTER the item is shipped and not before, and it's on working days, meaning it's not counting the weekends or any holidays in your country or the country of origin. This is also an ESTIMATED time and not a fact. I had books arrive in 6 working days and others arrive in 20; your national post office and customs office has a lot to do with these times too and a number of times it's not the fault of BD themselves.
~ Do NOT buy from Book Depository if you need the book as fast as possible and for an urgent job. Pay for the extra shipping and have the certainty it will arrive on time. Book depository is cool for buying books when you're not in a hurry (for example, if you're preparing the book list for next year and you still have a few weeks or a month until classes start, I guess you're good).
~ Check if your country's currency is on the list. It will be easier to check for costs and see how it charges your card.
~ If your order wasn't dispatched in a week or 2, contact customer service. Most likely, the supplier of the book didn't have any copies and thus the BD site listed it as available when in fact there weren't any copies. You can either choose to have a refund or wait until they have it again and have it sent.
~ When to contact Book Depository Customer Service when your order hasn't arrived: Depends on your country. Someone recommended I contact BD when it's been over 40 working days, as we have a delivery time of 15-20 working days from starters.