AbeBooksReviews 715

I ordered a book for class through Abe Books. The order actually came from Indoo (whoever they are in NJ). When my book arrived it was just a card with a code on it (I knew this when I ordered it) and I scratched off the stuff to get signed up into my class online. It told me the code was for another book. I turned the card over and sure enough IT WAS! Didn't even send me the right one! So I message them like it says to do. Indoo never replied to me for 3 days... HELLOOOO class is starting! So I went through the process through Abe Books to get a refund initiated. They got the order return process going and it said to ship the book back to their address and to enter the tracking number when I did. That means I'm paying for return shipping on a book Indoo messed up the order on right? So I package it up and get the postage to include a tracking number on it because that's what I was instructed to do! When I then emailed Indoo again and told them how much the shipping was, they said, "We only refund for the amount of Media Mail through the USPS!" Like WHAT?! Then why did Abe Books require me to pay for tracking too? So I message Abe Books and go back and forth with them about this only to find out, they aren't paying me for it and I'm out the cost to mail back the order that I didn't mess up on, and I paid them in good faith for, but they screwed up and sent the wrong order on! If they'd have just done it right the first time, I wouldn't have had to return the dang thing! Indoo is some crap company that I'm not worried about, but Abe Books I expected better from! I have been a customer of theirs for a long time and this was my first problem I had with them, and they keep emailing me these smug emails saying they aren't required to pay me back for my shipping costs! Thanks Abe! You just lost me as a customer and anyone else I can convince not to purchase from them!

This company appears to have a number of shell book stores it used for its used books. Its also hard to find a review site! They have no google page which truly says volumes as well! We ordered one book through Booked Again books which just links back to Abe. The book was ordered and needed asap. Three days later, I get an email that the seller of the book now wands an additional $20.00 on top of the expedited shipping i paid when i ordered it or they were canceling the order! This is for a poor condition $21.20 book to start with. My daughter needs the book, but i'll be ordering it from someone else for sure. More money is what i'll happily pay rather than be extorted after the fact. This is absolutely one of the worst things i have every seen someone do in business.

Evidently this publisher is a LLC partner with Amazon.com. I ordered a book online through Amazon. It arrived with zero publishing info --I found out it was published by Abe Books only by googling the ISBN number--. There is no forward --strange for a classic written in the 1800's. There is no information about the author or the translation/translator (from Italian to English). Further, the print is extremely small as to render the book unreadable.
There is, however, the 13 digit ISBN number printed on the back cover, **************. --the very last page states "Made in the USA San Bernadino, CA 10 July 2016" --the same date as my Amazon order.
I am disappointed with Amazon.com doing business with a partner such as this.
I have since ordered this very same book from reliable Penquin Classics.

Lately off shore "international" or "print on demand" book copiers have been dumping books into the market place. These books have color copies of original covers ( in the ads) and under inspection I find the following: Weak non-stitched spines, poor paper quality (laser paper) Black and White reproductions (poor quality scans or photocopy) pictures that are difficult to see details, This make it impossible to read because your seeing three pages of text or pictures - or worse, no ability to put on a projector for educational purposes or loss of eye sight assistance. Trimming errors up to a 1/8 inch or more and duplication's or missing sections. ABE Books technical support said because of their volume they could not tell me if the book I was buying was the genuine or these sham books. If you don't have a policy - get one! I will not waste my time returning books after I have done your quality control.

I ordered a specific numbered book (new) for a class I was taking. It was $30-$60 cheaper than all other places I researched. Of course I was abit apprehensive after checking out the reviews, like on here. But I figured what did I have to lose. I gave it a whirl. So glad I did! Of course this is only my experience, but as we all know, many times reviewers are often the disgruntled. And the happy never say a word. So just abit of noise from a happy one. :)

Never received my $100 book. They changed the arrived by date after I contacted them the first time and told me I'd have to wait until that date to request a refund. Then when that date arrived they said I'd have to wait an ADDITIONAL 8 days, in case it was late. Well, 5-14 business days for shipping is ludicrous even for media mail. I ordered June 2, and won't even be eligible for a refund until July 7, if that extra 8 day wait is also 8 business days. Very disappointed. The shipper was INDOO. Do not use that shipper, and dont use ABE.

After reading about other people's bad experiences I was a little apprehensive about buying from Abe Books. I decided to take a chance anyway because the book I wanted to buy was so hard to find and it would have been much more expensive had I been able to find it elsewhere. My book arrived sooner than expected and it was just as described and very well packed. I'm only sorry I couldn't leave positive feedback for the seller.

Lynne Hearn

Ordered two books on April 13 and today May 17 there is no sign of my books. Estimated arrival date was May 11 but it did not arrive and nobody contact me for the delay. I ordered these books for my course which started in the beginning of the May. Here I am third week of my course without required books because I thought they will deliver them within 15 to 21 business days as they are promoting. If you are not living in US or Canada don't bother to order any book from them.

What used to be a decent company to go through has become so sketchy I've stopped spending money through their site. I find the sellers on any other marketplace that will protect my purchase. In the last several months, I've placed several orders. The ones I've had issues with started to bring to light some unsavory new policies. In one instance, I received a book with water damage. Pictures were sent to the seller with a request for a return shipping label. The seller did not respond. I emailed Abebooks and they said they would contact the seller and, in the meantime, they initiated a return for me. What you have to read the fine print for is that they will not guarantee you reimbursement of the return shipping costs. Bottom line is I will be out money for a book that was not in the advertised condition. Hm. That's not quite right. They used to reimburse return shipping. Not anymore. In another instance, I was shipped three copies of an illegally produced book direct from India. I pointed this out to Abebooks, but they responded that they have to have pictures of the books. The books LOOK identical to the original with the exception that 40 or so pages were UPSIDE DOWN. I emailed them back and they said they couldn't see how this made the book a fraudulent copy and refused a return. Hm. Yeah. Now I won't work with them anymore, which will cost them about $150,000 in sales a year. Whoops.

I ordered a book on April 18th, paid the extra for 3-5 day arrival. Waited a week, no updates on the tracking. I finally contacted Ebooksweb for help, since the confirmation email went through them. They contacted Abe Books, who replied stating to wait 2 more days, that the book shipped. Today was the 2 more days, I am leaving in the morning to fly to NY for my first grandchild's baby shower, and surprise, surprise, no book. Tracking shows that they FINALLY shipped it on 4/25. This book was to be a special surprise for my daughter and the baby, since it was my sons favorite when he was little, he knew it by heart by the time he was 4. The baby is to be named after him since we lost him in an accident 6 years ago. Way to ruin the baby shower and surprise Abe Books. Trust me, I will tell everyone I know to stay away.