AbeBooksReviews 716

I see a lot of reviews bashing on abebooks. Most of the complaints (from what i can tell) have come after ordering a book from outside of the US. In my case, I ordered a book from Better World Books, based in Indiana. It arrived within the estimated timeframe, was in the described condition, and left me completely satisfied. I wish there was a way to review the sellers on the website itself, but it seems to not be possible, currently. I do advise anybody who wishes to purchase from the website to do their research about the seller that offers the book they are interested in purchasing. I'm so glad to have found this website. The book i purchased was in Russian, and published in the early 2000's, not even available in the most common russian books retailers. Plus the prices are amazing.

Edit 2019: Since writing this review i have purchased about 10 or more books using abebooks marketplace, from a variety of sellers. The only time something went wrong was when a seller sent me a book they had mislabeled, which was not the book i had ordered. They issued me a refund after contacting them directly. No other issues, deliveries always within estimated time frame. Note: the books i have purchased have been mostly fiction (about $3-$5 per book) and 2 textbooks ($70-$100)

I orderd 6 books 3 weeks ago, i didnt get any email for my tracking information so i have been passing emails back and forth, all really polite. Which simply came down to the fact that they cant do anything without the ''right email' i dont even remember giving a email adress and even if i had it still wouldnt be because i didnt recieve anything or dont even have a account with any of my emails! Later on they made a mistake by saying that they cant do anything without email or order number. I did have the order number, so i gave them the order number (which i did before on my other email but on this one they didnt know i had it). Then they forwarded it to the technical support and i got this email.

Hello,

Thank you for contacting AbeBooks.

Due to the unusual activity associated with your account, we have exercised our right to permanently close your account. Our customer agreement states:

You or AbeBooks may terminate this Agreement at any time with immediate effect and without any prior notice. AbeBooks may at any time and in its discretion immediately suspend or terminate (in whole or in part) your permission to use the Web sites without any notice or liability to You or any other person.

Please note that all orders have been cancelled and no charge was applied to the credit card.

Regards,

There has even been a charge on my credit card and i have been waiting for these books for 3 weeks! I hope the goverment or somebody starts taking action about this scam company.

In a desperate attempt to find a book for my daughter's high school Spanish class, I resorted to using this website. I was wary of buying from an overseas seller, but this was the only site that could ship it in time for her assignment (and I was unable to find this book anywhere!) I have yet to receive the book, the seller will not give me tracking information (or even what shipping service they used), and now my credit card is being used by someone to buy online games! (This is a card I use only for online purchases, and I don't make many, so I know it's from this transaction). Beware of this site.

I have tried numerous times to purchase a book from AbeBooks that I have been seeking for years and they have listed. I make the purchase, contact my CC company to authorize the transaction and each and EVERY time AbeBooks has changed the price of the book between the time I place the order and billing my CC thus my order gets kicked out. I don't believe the book actually exists at this point. I believe with every fiber of my being that AbeBooks is a scam site that is phishing for CC numbers to steal from.

I needed a textbook for a class that just started. On the first day of calls, the professor told us to get a certain book. Like most these days, it cost over a hundred dollars new in the campus bookstore. So, even he advised getting it online. Abebooks said they had several in stock, and the price was much lower. Great. So I ordered it, and I added an extra $6.99 for "priority mail" shipping. And THAT is the problem...

Abebooks has redefined "priority mail" to mean collecting their money fast and then sending the order on to a third party who will do whatever they feel like doing. When I didn't even get a tracking number in 48 hours and complained, they responded with the advice that they would pass my complaint on to the seller and if the book didn't arrive in 12 days, I could make another inquiry. So I complained again that this was unacceptable, and they replied with the same canned response.

The seller finally responded with a "tracking number" - that their shipper says is not valid. I complained AGAIN - and got the same canned response AGAIN.

I hope I get this book before the class is over! And frankly, now that I have read the reviews, I worry about the condition of what will arrive - assuming it ever does.

IN THE MEANTIME, I have been forced to buy another book from another seller so I have something to work with. So much for "AbeBooks", one of the worse online retailers I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.

Buy from Abebooks at your peril. Remember, they are NOT the real seller, but an order taking service that couldn't care less about the honesty of their sellers.

UPDATE: I finally got the book. It was clearly marked on both front and back covers "SAMPLE EDITION FOR EVALUATION ONLY. NOT FOR SALE OR RESALE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES". I am also now getting SPAM mail from them.

Ordered a book from ergodebooks through abe books and received the wrong book. I was charged for the book I ordered, which was more than the book I received. Very hard to get a live customer service agent. They want you to communicate online but when I send an email I get the same canned email in response. I have to send the wrong book back at my expense and hope they'll refund the cost of postage. They do not provide postage paid return labels.

I ordered my book from them expecting maybe the normal used books. With writing highlighting and maybe some normal wear and tear, but recieved something unusable. They sent me a book that was covered in brown dried liquid that half of the book was stuck together. They told me it is expected to get damaged book, but this is beyond damaged. They said they would give me a refund and we will see if that go through, but never ordering through them again.

I too purchased from this site but this is the last time! I recently purchased a book at their website. I received a book that was an international copy and it was shipped from Thailand and the ISBN number didn't match. When I tried to return the book, Abe dumped me on to the scamming seller who has several reviewers who got scammed exactly like they did to me. Abe doesn't care who sells in their site, don't get scammed. Go elsewhere for your textbooks.

I've purchased from this site in the past but this is the last time! I recently purchased a book at their website. I received a book that was an international copy and it was shipped from India and the ISBN number didn't match. When I try to return the book, abebooks dump me on the scam of a seller who has several reviewers who got scam exactly like me. Abe doesn't care who sells in their site, don't get scam like me. Go elsewhere for your textbook, like me.

I ordered a book titled 'perennial vegetables' by Hanna Krem for 7.11 GBP and received what is only a very simple pamphlet. Also purchased what was described as a book and its a MP3 audio. Yes, there is a returns policy apparently, but air freight return would cost as much as original purchase, and then I would have to wait for refund. I have regularly ordered books from other sites, totally without incident, but this is a new experience, and one to be avoided in future.

I have only recently discovered ABE Used Booksellers and found them to be a bit cheaper than Amazon's used books, so in the past month I have placed several orders for used books from several different booksellers who sell via ABE Books. Well, each book I've received is not as I'd expected. I've found that the books "conditions" were exaggerated in the original seller posting - upon receiving the used book, I was very disappointed. Each book I received, in my opinion, was barely "acceptable condition", as opposed to being described by the seller as "good" or "very good". The final straw happened today when I received my copy of Light Between Oceans from Owls Booksellers in Toledo, MD. This book was listed by Owls Books on ABE Books as being "hardback in very good condition". What I received today is a PAPERBACK in only ACCEPTABLE CONDITION. I won't be placing anymore orders via ABE Books. ABE Books is not a dependable seller and part of the problem is that, unlike Amazon, ABE Books does not offer buyers the opportunity to give PUBLIC seller feedback. This is a big problem. If public seller feedback was allowed, book quality would probably ramp up and there would be better HONESTY among seller listings! I am recommending that people stick to AMAZON when purchasing used books online!

I bought 5 different books from four different sellers on Abebooks. One book, from "Atlanta Book Company" was exactly as described, and arrived FAST. One book from another seller was in worse condition than described (very good, ha! More like acceptable) but it's so hard to find one I didn't complain. Two books from "Owlsbooks" were in terrible condition (also described as "very good"), and I was refunded. And "Discover Books" (but shipped under "Pro Quo Books"), shipped a completely different book than what I ordered, and I was refunded as well. Sure, I got my money back, but it was a complete waste of time. If 4/5 books aren't going to be as described, what's the point shopping here? If the there was any kind of feedback system so people could see if they can trust a seller to describe a book properly, it would be a huge time saver. Sellers do this because many people will just take the $4 loss and never complain.

I love Abebooks, but it took awhile to get the "hang" of the site, simply because you cannot generically "shop" all the sellers. My criteria is no ship chg/hardbound only/and no library books. That being said, i initially purchased from all over and got wrong titles, books in poor condition, and SLOW shipping! I now order from two sellers exclusively, simply because the service is amazing and the shipping fast. You must pay attention to who you are buying from-what is the "rating", what is the book condition, what edition is it, publisher etc. Do your homework! I order between 15-20 at a time, and since i started using these two sellers i have had NO problems. Steer clear of overseas sellers and try to stay with sellers in or near your own state. Once i started paying attention i was so much happier! (i owned a used bookstore, and i was special orders clerk at Borders-17 years, so i have some idea of used books!)

No idea what all of the reviewers who rated Abebooks so poorly are smoking. I buy regularly from Abebooks and I'm always pleased. Mind you, I don't buy the everyday stuff - I spend thousands of dollars on rare and collectible books. Not ONE of the scores of books I've bought has been a disappointment, either in price, shipping or quality. Perhaps the difference is that I buy from predominantly rare book dealers, not folks selling common paperbacks and stuff. I don't hesitate to purchase through these guys.