AbeBooks Reviews 

Ordered a book. It never arrived. Still haven't had a refund.

Book was sold as "good, clean condition, book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned". Was covered in brown dirt and mould, and half the pages had been written in with highlighter. I'm not fussy but the condition was less than poor, it was unacceptable. So "good condition" was completely false.

Items as described, ordered many bundles from Abe and not had any issues.

Book was described as being in very good condition. It was not, inside flaps many missing one badly ripped. Suggested I return it..cost too much. Offered a refund..still waiting. Won't use them again.

Very disappointing. I ordered a book from the USA and so spent a lot on shipping. The book arrived in a horrendous condition as the seller shipped it in nothing more than a plastic bag. I have tried to raise this with Abe Books - zero response. Very poor customer service.

Unless I've been extraordinarily lucky, I simply cannot fathom the number of less than satisfactory reviews submitted here about AbeBooks UK. Going back to the 1990s, I believe, I had very few issues with any of the books (2-3 per year) they've been able to source for me, at a competitive price.

I have used Abe Books before and had a very good experience. On this occasion when I used them the book I ordered via Abe came from World Of Books. It was advertised as a paperback (soft binding), but a weighty hard back copy was sent. This was annoying but Abe Books did provide excellent customer service in sorting out refund within 24 hours. I would definitely use Abe Books again, but would be more vigilant of who the actual seller of the book was. The book was delivered within 48 hours to be fair - but it was not what was ordered so I've knocked a star off

Paid for book, never received contacted Abe & seller direct, no customer service response, diabolical service, they take your money and run. Don’t use,

Recieved book creased it was advertised as new. Also the author name was different. To return the book I have to pay postage ? but it is Abe books fault. Will never buy from.them again. Scammers they know you will not pay tracked postage. You have ben warned STAY CLEAR!!!

The book I ordered had a cracked spine and food stains along the edges of the pages on the opposite side, despite being advertised as "very good" condition.
I won't be using AbeBooks again.

I order a book series and received only one book. It was clearly advertised as a series. Contacted Abe books and received no response. Avoid!!

Bookseller: Bahamut Media
Sales Order No.: 764528261
Terrible! Received a book which the seller claimed was (I quote) "Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover". It arrived dirty, water damaged, with transfer print as it had been stuck to another book at dome point. I complained and offered photos but the seller expects me to pay for the tracked return. This is not acceptable. I am happy to return it but not at my expense. I have tried to contact abe books but there is no way to correspond with them - the contact us option is a dead link. Absolutely appalling. Do not buy from the scamming website.

I wish I had read their reviews before I ordered two books, one from Italy and one from Germany which never arrived. The one from Italy cost me £17.33 in postage and it was not even a book. Total rip off.
ABE books offered me a refund for £5.88 which was the cost of what turned out to be a slim sort of catalogue of an exhibition. It was "used" , described as "good", which it wasn't really and it only contained 10 photos out of the 33 paintings exhibited. I have now received another mail telling me this refund has been cancelled, The fact is that buying from companies like Abe books is like entering a lottery. Sad and frustrating to say the least and probably the main reason people buy from Amazon, which at least is almost always efficient and reliable.

I have just received an email from Abe books offering me a full refund. If this is true then hats off to them, but the problem is they cannot control all sellers they trade with and who -from what I read- often misrepresent the items they are selling.

Was sent the wrong book by a seller, cannot get in contact with seller or with anyone at AbeBooks, was told to return book in order to get a refund, paid for the delivery back - I've seen it's been received - no refund and again no way to leave a review for the seller or get any customer support.

Ordered 2 books with a promised delivery date of 9.4.26 using the priority shipping option. One arrived on 11.4.26 and the other 14.4.26. To add insult to injury I paid more than the Oxfam Books price on the sticker on of them too. I know where I'll go for my books next time (and it won't be Abe Books).

Book was described as very good condition but was stained , yellowing pages and an older edition than advertised. I returned the book in line with the return policy and abe would only refund me the value of the book, not the return postage. Which cost more than the book itself. No idea how this company are still in business with so many great alternative sellers out there! Wish I'd come here first!

Terrible customer service. They title their agents ‘heroes’. That is a joke. They are useless. I have been trying to follow up a refund they issued 10 days ago. Every time I contact them I get the same message back from a different ‘hero’ which repeats that the refund has been issued. No attempt to read and correlate previous correspondence. Some of them don’t understand the issue at all and tell me the item was delivered. It is truly pathetic. I still have no refund.

I ordered 'BRM Racing for Britain' via Abe books. There was some conflicting information on the order confirmation which I questioned with Abe. The issue raised was settled very quickly, courteously and effectively by the supplier (Widney Manor Books in Solihull, UK). The book arrived promptly and was well packed.
I was very disappointed when I opened the packaging. The book was, as stated, new but it had been a bit beaten about. The original protective cellophane covering was partly missing and/or torn and there was a scratch through the cellophane into the dust cover. One corner had been damaged with the hard cover bent.
This was an expensive, limited edition book which I expected to be in pristine condition but which looks as if it has not been stored with due care. It is a present for a dear friend on a special birthday in two days time. I have neither the time nor inclination to press for a refund and try to find a copy in better condition.

I ordered a GCSE English textbook, and the listing clearly showed the 4th edition. Instead, I was sent a version that was 9 years out of date. When I reached out to return it, AbeBooks said they’d send the correct one.

The replacement? Still the wrong edition—this time the 2nd edition. Not what I paid for. When I pushed for a refund, they told me to contact the *individual seller* who shipped it. Excuse me? I bought this through **AbeBooks**—they should take responsibility.

To this day, I haven’t gotten a refund, and I’m left empty-handed. For a company that seems legit, this experience was shockingly unprofessional.

Don’t waste your time or money. If you need the right book for your exams, go somewhere you can trust.

I was sent the wrong book. Have been advised I have to organise and pay to return the item to be eligible for a refund and only a partial postage reimbursement. Terrible customer service, putting the onus on me to fix their mistake. Taking AbeBooks off my list of businesses to buy off.
UPDATE: Upgraded rating from one star as I've now been advised I will receive a full refund.