Tammy F.

I received a book that was heavily damaged in one corner (the dust jacket had two 1" tears and was crinkled up, the cover board was scrunched in, and the last 60 pages were folded up). It was a "bargain" book, not a "scratch and dent," so it wasn't supposed to have damage.

I wanted to return the book for a refund (or exchange it if they were getting more in stock), but Book Outlet only offered a 50% refund since they didn't think the damage warranted more. They said their books are always going to have additional shelf wear, and that most companies would not take liability for products that arrive damaged. There's a big difference between normal shelf wear and actual damage, and I don't know any companies that wouldn't take full responsibility for not packing their products adequately for shipment. Seems disingenuous for a company to boast about the great condition of their books but then dismiss damage as "shelf wear" you should have expected.

They offered a full credit for the book to my Book Outlet account after multiple messages, but by then I was fed up. They have cheap prices, but if they're sending damaged books that have to be repurchased elsewhere at full price it means spending extra money and dealing with extra hassle.