AbeBooks Reviews 954

Dreadful - book hasn't been delivered and company impossible to contact

Book never arrived, although paid for. No response to email. Do not buy from this company!

I used to use ABE Books a lot but Recently their international postage charges for books to Australia from USA have become outrageous!!! Criminal in fact. I was shocked to see postage charges as high as $160 for one paperback book!!! I'll have to shop elsewhere!

Sent the wrong book. Wanted me to return book at my expense.

If I could give it 0 stars I would.
After sending my book to the wrong address, I reached out to the seller. I received no response, so I reached out to customer service.
They said let them know I hear from the book seller, there is nothing they can do. Beware students! My text book was over $100 dollars and now it’s gone and no one can help me get my book, cancel my order, reach anyone, or get a refund.

Just avoid at all costs.

> Bookseller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta
> Sales Order No.: 750199350
> Reason for Return: item was damaged
> Initiator's Comments: The box cd book were sent in a bag and totally battered.

I replied that I was not paying to return an item that they were responsible for damaging. they have not replied.
I followed up on the 9/9 they have not replied

I ordered a book in France, The seller came back asking me more for the postage, I refused and cancelled the transaction. I found another seller for the same book, and received it without any problem. Nevertheless, the first guy sent the book and cashed in the money. When I received it, I said I wan to return, I had to pay the postage and guess what.... I never received my money back. No answer, awful service, malicious sellers. Never again

Before ordering from Abebooks I checked Trust Pilot and saw all the awful reviews. Because of that I checked with the individual seller - Masted Books (Australian) on the condition of the book. He sent me lots of photos, very promptly which showed the book in Fine condition as described. This also helped to prove that they held the book. I ordered the book and paid a bit more for speedy post. It arrived with me in the UK via Australia Post and Royal Mail in 6 days including the weekend! For a book that's over 50 years old it is in excellent condition and I'm very happy with the purchase and service. Thank you

Ordered a book from AbeBooks and never got it. Their order number failed to retrieve my order, the tracking number didn't work, and there is literally no way to contact them without the above.

I received the wrong book and you can't even leave a bad review to the seller. I tried to send it back but the procedure wasn't straightforward...

I would NEVER use Abe Books again because prices evidently don’t include adequate shipping depending on your location. So, that should’ve been where I aborted the transaction but I needed the book. The books were rated “VERY GOOD”, however, I would rate them as FAIR, at best! The books are warped, dirty, and loaded with damaging personalization and tabs. Don’t waste your time here as you’ll pay a lot more for a lot, lot less.

The AbeBooks web site shows a book seller, "Romtrade Corp." located in Sterling Heights, MI, but they appear to be a front for a firm located in India. The book was shipped by UPS, but UPS refused to deliver to my U.S. post office address. When I contacted Romtrade requesting their help they told me to contact UPS. I have spent a considerable amount of time with UPS and they are not willing to help.

Ordered a box set from a vendor called BooksRun on the AbeBooks site. Over $130.00. Listed as being in good condition, arrived with a taped up, shredded slip box. The books were indeed in good condition but I cannot display this garbage in my collection. Do they take returns? Sure, if I'm inclined to pay today's exorbitant shipping costs. What a dummy. Should have ordered from a reputable site like Amazon or ThriftBooks.

I ordered a book from Gyan Books. The order was supposed to be delivered August 27,2025 and it didn’t arrive. Their shipping service said it was out for delivery with my local post office. It wasn’t. I checked with post office and they never received it. I tried to get a refund and couldn’t request a refund until Aug 30 if it wasn’t delivered. I again contacted AbeBooks and Gyan Books for a refund. They are telling me I have to wait another 8 days to get my refund which will take another 3-5 business days. I’m thinking I’m out the $45.00 for the book. I will never trust Abe books again! I can’t seem to get my refund from them.

excellent as always. Their service is prompt, efficient and very reasonably priced.

Their rating: Good

Actual condition;
Torn and bent front cover
Pages wrinkled and creased

Poor is a better description of the condition

Abebooks is essentially two different sites.
If you are buying second-hand books it can be a useful way of finding hard to get editions, especially if you make a point of sticking to trusted sellers and approaching unknown sources with caution.
However, if you are buying new books I would advise going elsewhere, because virtually every seller of new books on Abebooks is a bookjacker, which is to say, someone who advertises books they do not actually have in stock (most of them have no stock whatsoever), then purchases the books at discount and drop-ships them to customers.
Buying from bookjackers involves a substantial delay, as well as making it absolutely impossible for the bookjacker to give you reliable information about the condition of the item in question.
One also notes that many of the bookjackers tend to operate out of the same handful of addresses.
The very fact that Abebooks allows these grifters to operate shows just how little concern they have for customers, as does their virtually nonexistent customer service which isn't even worth looking for, as there is clearly no one actually reading the messages one sends them.
TLDR: There are some decent trustworthy small booksellers on AbeBooks, but there are also a legion of unscrupulous bookjackers, caveat emptor.

Hunger Games Anniversary Edition was described as new US edition.
When it arrived it is an India print edition with India currency on the jacket.
A little crease in the jacket because of suboptimal packaging.
Got now where with Customer Services and the cost to return was high.

Book for $253 and they can't tell you the printing. Pathetic.

I ordered a book and they sent a DVD. I wrote to them and they requested a photo. I sent them a photo and they did not respond. I sent a followup email and they just requested the photo again.