AbeBooksReviews 715

I have bought dozens of books from AbeBooks. Some sellers are wonderful, most are just fine, but a few are fraudulent. Unfortunately, there is no way to leave a review to help others sort the good from the bad. They do have star ratings showing percentage of sales without returns. However, this leaves one in a position of paying to return a poor quality book to be resold to some other unsuspecting book buyer in order to make sure the seller's star rating is impacted, or tossing the book thus leaving the next buyer having no idea that the seller is misrepresenting their merchandise.

I was really suspicious before actually ordering from AbeBooks. The prices seemed too good to be true, and the site had so many bad reviews.
Yet I decided to go for it, and my order was delivered to me in about a week.The book was in excellent condition.

I have used Abe Books countless times. Their prices are very fair, the stated condition of books is accurate, and many of the sellers have free shipping (I HATE paying for shipping). I have eight to ten sellers I order from on a consistent (probably too often if you ask my husband :)) basis. Abe is a cheaper alternative to Amazon (which I love as well) if you are in the market for used books.

I have been going back and forth with them for over a week. I ordered a book, everything looked like it went through, then 15 mins later the transaction was cancelled, so I tried again with another seller, 15 minutes later it was cancelled again, so I figured third time the charm again, they cancelled them. I checked the bank card, no problem, the amount never went through. But the card was good I use all the time without a hiccup. So emailed my disgust to customer services, and they apologized said the seller did it, but the email said they did. So they gave be a $15 discount code, so I tried today. Couldn't put the code in anywhere. So I emailed them saying what the heck is going on, so I get this email that says they put in and I should my discount (which now has become 2.20 (what?). So I logged on and there is nothing, no discount no nothing, just what I owe as before. So I give up. This is totally rip off and waste of time. I few years ago, bought a book, because the price was good, but it was torn and sent in cheap packaging. Ive' learn my lesson, I WILL NOT BUY FROM THEM, alibris is much better... Shop at your own risk.

Before we even ordered a book from "ABE" we wrote asking where our particular book would be shipped from and were told New York. The crappy book was mailed from a person in South Carolina in a plain manila envelope without dust jacket and when we complained and asked for a refund for this "100% guaranteed" purchase we were directed TO MAIL IT TO CANADA before any refund LESS POSTAGE. You can NOT speak to a person AT ABE - be warned - YOU WILL BE SCAMMED!

ABE Books is a marketplace for vendors. The problem is that ABE Books accepts all vendors, honest and dishonest alike. You should research any vendor on an independent site, like Google, Yelp, or SiteJabber before placing any order. ABE Books is honest but many vendors are not. I have used ABE Books for years and I have been cheated about 15% of the time, not by ABE books but by the vendor. However, ABE Books will NOT help you if you are cheated by one of its vendors. Do your homework first.

I was nervous to order anything from Abebooks because of all the bad reviews I've read, but I decided to take a chance. I ordered from Silver Arch Books and had no problems at all. My order got here in less than a week, and the books were in the condition as described. The only weird thing that happened was it said my order was coming from St. Louis, MO but my order was shipped from the Chicago area.

The prices are great, and the free shipping was nice.

I will probably order from them again in the future.

If I was able to give it a zero star rating I would. I order my book 31 days ago and it was supposed to be here in 8-14 business days but I still haven't received it. STAY AWAY from this website!

I was on SiteJabber to review a site I am disgusted with, and ran into AbeBook reviews. I was shocked at the number of one star reviews. I have used AbeBooks for several years now and have ordered dozen and dozens of books. I shop several sites before going to AbeBooks so I know what the current prices are, and almost always end up purchasing from AbeBooks if a used book will fit the bill. I mostly order children's books (I'm a teacher) and I have never been disappointed. The condition has been true to the description. Sometimes I get library bound books and that is a bonus. The vast majority of books are less than four dollars with free shipping, when other online sites have new copies for ten to 16 dollars with additional shipping- I can't beat the price. I know the satisfaction with the sale depends on the actual seller, but I haven't come across a bad one yet. I have also purchased paperback books for myself for pleasure reading- fiction, memoir, humor, scifi, and all have been fine. It seems a lot of the bad reviews are for textbooks and books needed in very quick time, so maybe that is part of the issue. I recommend you give AbeBooks sellers a try if you wish to save big dollars on book purchases- it's worth trying them once on an inexpensive book just for the savings, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I hate to think bad reviews might have stopped me from finding such a great source for the many books I need. AbeBooks is a go-to for me.

I ordered a textbook from them which took over a month to be delivered, and I had to buy a replacement before I ever received it. Was trying to save money, ended up paying double. I thought, surely I can't blame the shipping time on the seller, right? So, I ordered another book the following semester. Same story. Now they won't refund my money, even though I followed all the instructions when returning the book, and they received it. Never. Again.

Ordered a text book for college daughter and paid extra for rush delivery. Tracking info showed that book seller DID NOT PAY FOR EXPIDITEDED service with US postal service. After 4 business day US postal service indicated that they could not locate package and as no expedited service was paid for they would not consider it an issue until 30 days. Both Abe books and book seller unresponsive. My bank via visa protection services has filed a complaint. Charges taken by Abe books even before shipping $87.