AbeBooksReviews 715

I ordered 3 books from AbeBooks, all three ended up going to separate vendors for fulfillment. Two books were delivered within 10 days. The 3rd book has not been delivered in almost 30 days. My initial interaction on status of the missing book was good, an email response with a phone number to call. Gave them another week, still nothing. I have called the phone number provided twice, got a voice mail both times, but have not received a call back at all. The email response has also stopped, no response. I have now gone through my credit card company to dispute the charge for the book not delivered.

I ordered an out of print hardcover. There were two or three copies of the same book being sold by different sellers. All priced between 30-60 USD. About 24 hours after my order, I received an email stating the book I just paid for is no longer in stock. Fine. I figured there were one or two other copies, I'll buy it from a different seller. I go back to the website and see all the reasonably priced copies are gone and now only two copies priced at 350-400 USD remain. Absolute insanity. The book I wanted was published in 2013. It's not an ancient artifact. They claim it was not the same books relisted for much more money but it seems unlikely to me. It seemed very sketchy. The book is not at all popular. Just out of print. The only reason I give 2 stars is because they did refund my money.

I am generally pleased with many other sellers of used books I purchase on line. I should have checked AbeBooks ratings before I order. The description said "very good". The outside spine was torn and the hard cover was very marred and scratched. Look elsewhere.

I guess I have to give at least one star. I was a 5star rated seller on Abebooks for 20 years, but I had a book that was very small and was able to ship as a 'letter' and apparently the USPS doesn't scan those so they accused me of entering an incorrect tracking number. As far as I know the customer got the book, there was no claim. But you can no longer buy my excellent inventory of books and I can't sell them to you.

I bought a book on the Abebook sight and then received it from BookDepository.
The book received was a cheap produced knock off of the original with print was so small I can hardly read it. I went back to Abebook C/S who advised me to go back to BookDepsitory and ask them for a refund and if they accept it then I have to pay to ship it back to them? Very poor customer service, no ownership in this matter. They use to be a very good quality book seller. I wonder if they were sold like BookDepository was. I will never buy from them again. "Buyer beware."

I ordered a book from Abe Books based on the delivery date they quoted (other sellers had longer delivery dates). Unfortunately, after I placed the order the delivery date changed to a later date. I was given a tracking number but there isn't any data associated with my tracking number. I've emailed twice for info and have not heard anything back. Very frustrating experience...

We are very impressed with the as new condition of the children's golden book we bought as well as the excellent price and it arrived within a reasonable time given that it was shipped to New Zealand. Highly recommend this site.

Do not buy anything from these people. Essentially, AbeBooks is a network of booksellers that sell online. As such the site is designed to protect the sellers because Amazon is "too buyer friendly". What this means in actuality is you will get scammed buy buyers and the AbeBooks will not help you. A frequent scam is a book you order never arrives, you get no refund. Another scam is you return a book, you get no refund and you get no book. You see the pattern here. Once they have your money they keep it regardless of anything else that happens.

In the past year I have purchased more than 100 books via abebooks.com, and the last bad experience has finally soured me toward ever using this online direct sales venue. I purchased an expensive book (over $50) I knew in advance had a damaged cover. However, I did not know it had been through a fire and was in decayed enough a condition that I had an allergic reaction to it. I went to the trouble to renovate the cover, sat down to read it, and got ill. Sunny Day Books then told me that I would get a full refund if I returned it. I did so, got only a partial refund, and was told that my claim was "unfounded". So I lost lots of time at a very busy moment and lost over $10 for all my extra effort. I did not want to have to send back this book, immediately bought another copy from Germany, and will now have to wait for it until August. When I explained all of this in detail to abebooks, I got merely an acknowledgement that I had received a partial refund. Nothing more. What kind of customer 'service' is that? DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY HERE.

Sales Order # *******
Ordered on April 12,2021Order Total: US$ 61.81
Bookseller: Sunny Day Books (Mayer, AZ U.S.A.)
AbeBooks PO No.: *******
Printable order summary
Philo: Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Volume 1: Structure and Growth of Philosophical Systems from Plato to Spinoza
Wolfson, Harry Austryn

I wish I could rate zero stars! Irish Booksellers requested 30 extra dollars for shipping for a single paperback! Do not do business with them! They are bookjackers! Abebooks will do nothing about these scammers. Avoid this website at all costs, horrible customer service and the rating system is only based on order fulfillment, not customer reviews. When I inquired about why they were charging me an extra 30 bucks they cancelled my order.

UPDATE: Changed rating from two to one star after receiving book from Basement Books- sub under Abebooks. Believe book was rated very good. Received book: binding on front and rear had been cut and now glued - this was not disclosed in the rating before purchase. Abebooks once had a good rating - not any more. DO NOT BUY. Apparently ABebooks no longer stocks books. They contract with small companies that deliver crappy books by Pony Express. Ordered May 10, today is May 17. Hope it will come this month. Do not recommend/will not buy again.

I've purchased many very cheap used books on Abebooks. Most arrived without an issue. The problem is that if the seller fails, you have ZERO protection, your money is gone forever. So just spend money you are willing to lose, Abebooks will not help you at all.
My last purchase was 20 days ago, seller "Ergodebooks" will not respond after my book didn't arrive, so no book and no money back. I'll take that $12 loss, no big deal, but still a waste of time and effort.

I ordered a 15 book box set of Beverly Cleary's work for $75 and I received one used, paperback book. I went around and around with their customer service about a partial refund, or receiving the rest of my order, and the matter was never resolved. Beware of this seller - they are super scammy.

They emailed me this morning and they explained what happened. They took care of the problem. The support team is fantastic.

They sent me a paperback when I spent $40 for the hardcover. I sent it back (receipt confirmed by tracking) and they immediately stopped responding to my emails. Weeks went by and nothing-- no refund or communication at all. I called the # in their email and it was the number for a completely different company! Sports Mall. I challenged the payment with my bank and provided the tracking number as well as the dates I contacted them and they reversed the charges. This company is a gigantic waste of time. I'm so aggravated.

EASILY get a refund for your unsatisfactory order by filing a DISPUTE with your CREDIT CARD COMPANY! I got my FULL refund fast!
I got the wrong book delivered and got EXTREMELY POOR customer service after sending AbeBooks 5 emails. They never gave me a return authorization number to return the book.
In frustration, I called and filed a dispute with my credit card company - they will intervene directly with AbeBooks and reverse the charge back to you! Do it and get fair treatment.

Purchased a book (The Stand) from them, in used, lightly worn condition. Or at least that is what the listing claimed. Got the book in a somewhat reasonable amount of time, to find that it was in far worse shape - dust cover was torn completely through and pages were worn on edges. Contacted seller to make comment and got a standard "we have received your email" response. A few days later I get an email telling me that they have conveyed my complaint to the seller (Owls Books) and I should expect an email from them. Nothing. Crickets. Simon and Garfunkel singing Sound of Silence.

Send another email to Abebooks. Same thing, but this time I was directed to a web page to initiate a refund. Then I was expected to return the book, at my shipping cost. Nope. I was told I would be reimbursed but TBH I have lost any faith in either seller.

Ordered book and never received. Seller said via email sent it day after ordered. This is the only item not received during pandemic, via abebooks. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time or money! Awaiting word on refund as can't get anyone on phone. Will call credit card company if don't get rapid response.