AbeBooks Reviews

Name: AbeBooks
Rating: 2.16

2.2 Rating 143 Reviews

29 %

of reviewers recommend AbeBooks

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Metrics

2.2

Based on 143 reviews

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Postal Service
Average Delivery Time	Over 7 Days
On-time Delivery	Greater than 30%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 55%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Live Chat, Telephone
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult
Returns Process	Could Be Better

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AbeBooks 1 star review on 8th November 2024

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

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“I tried to purchase a book from Abebooks. I paid in 12/7/24 and it is now 1/13/25 - still no book, still not at the USPS. They sell third party books, so I found out AFTER I paid my book was supposedly coming from India. I've left countless email messsges to both AbeBooks and the seller, True World of Books. AbeBooks only bounces you to the seller. AbeBooks does not have live chst, virtual assistant or a working CS phone number. No CS whatsoever. Ttue World has been giving me the runaround for 5 weeks. I asked for a refund 2X and was ignored. AbeBooks claims their sellers have 2 days to respond but they don't and obviously nothing is done about it. I'm going to get a refund through PayPal and will NEVER BUY FROM THEM AGAIN and I would suggest everyone else do the same. Horrible, unprofessional, crooked vendors.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 days ago

“I purchased a copy of a book through AbeBooks from Toscana Books in Austin TX for $58. The book was listed several days later on AbeBooks by the same seller for $400. I was intentionally shipped a bogus book and told by the actual book seller that they would investigate and ship the book I purchased. When I contacted AbeBooks they responded by issuing a refund. Avoid this seller and avoid AbeBooks.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 days ago

“I bought a book from one of AbeBooks' sellers and then a companion book from another of their sellers, paying double the market price of the book by the time shipping was included. I got a message the next day that the out of print book wasn't actually available. AbeBooks customer service has been atrocious with them making no substantive effort to fix their problem. The last round of emails from their CSRs are openly taunting. Now I don't have the book I wanted, paid double the market rate for a companion book and have wasted a week of my life trying to get this company to meet their obligation. Awful, just awful.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 weeks ago

“an expected delivery date CUst;OMer' SERVIC'e +1 ( 8O5) 41O 56OOPHON'E NUMB'ERof 12/6/24. USPS shows it arriving in my state and yet no delivery. I reached out via email and got canned messages back. I’m filing a Better Business complaint. Horrible customer service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

“Book didn’t ship, despite repeated promises from SN Books who are somehow affiliated with AbeBooks who claims affiliation with Amazon. Amazon rep believes this is a scam and is entering a fraud ticket today. I did get a refund from my bank card, but was really hoping to get the book (“Thrift with a Needle” from 1954). Source is India which is likely the root problem.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

“Tried to cancel a sale even before it had shipped and they wouldn’t allow it. Why bother with such bad service with better companies out there for better prices.”

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Posted 2 months ago

“Several attempts were made to access my credit card account since I ordered a book from Dieb Antiquariat Wolfgang Rüger. This is a thief, he has stolen money from my credit card and of course I did not receive my order.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 months ago

“They are horrible. I bought a book through them through Amazon in November on 2023. They took my money right away and almost a year later still do not have my book. I have emailed several times and no one responds. An absolutely horrible experience. Do not do business with them ever!”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 months ago

“I ordered a new book from Abe Books. I was sent a used book. The cover was worn and creased and a couple of pages were scribbled in red ink. I contacted customer service and they said they would send a replacement new book. The replacement book also is used with a worn cover. I let customer service know and they said I could send back the first book and get a partial refund. Now after I sent the first book back they are saying that I can’t get a refund and I can send the replacement book back. Not a great experience and they went back on their word. I will not purchase from them again. I tried to upload pictures but this review won’t let me.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 months ago

“They scammed me, they are all scammers, all sellers on Abebooks are scammers and the administration of Abebooks are the leaders of this gang of filthy scammers. I ordered an expensive antiquarian book and they sent me a cheap copy that was reprinted on demand from a scanned E-book in a PDF file that they download for free from the Webarchive. I call upon all arsonists to burn down their warehouses full of books and I appeal to all site hackers of the world to take their sites Abebooks.com and Abebooks.co.uk off the web by means of repeated Brute Force DOS attacks worldwide. They refuse to issue a full refund immediately unless I send them their worthless reprinted book back. All sellers on Abebooks are scammers and the administration of Abebooks are the leaders of this gang of filthy scammers.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“PLEASE DO NOT USE ABEBOOKS: Our family is begging you - please learn from our horrible experience with AbeBooks. As we took a financial loss, hopefully sharing this note will help other families avoid a similar experience. The book was never delivered! The customer service does not monitor the designated "contact us" email box, no responses, no follow-up, nothing. We hope this helps. God Bless.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“I ordered a $200 art book and it never arrived. After contacting the seller many times they ignored my emails and abebooks did absolutely nothing to help. DO NOT USE THEM. THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY AND DO NOT SEND YOUR ORDER.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Sent my book to the wrong address. I don’t think it was actually ever sent at all. Then they claimed that they sent me the wrong tracking number but for 2 weeks I asked for the correct one and it was never sent. They said they would send a new book so I asked for a photo of the shipping label with tracking number and the address listed in my confirmation email. It wasn’t until I asked for a photo that they finally agreed to refund me but even getting them to say they would start that took forever. I still have not receive the refund.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Abebooks has been my WORST book-buying excperience ever. I had ordered several books from various 5-star sellers, I did not receive any books. Once you place an order it is IMPOSSIBLE to obtain a partial refund. Even if you receive a damaged book or no book at all, it is impossible to obtain a replacement from the Customer Support department, which does not seem to exist anymore. It is ABSOLUTELY USELESS trying to contact Customer Support, they simply ignore complaints from buyers, their sellers are always right. AbeBooks won't refund orders even when you provide scam evidence.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 months ago

“I ordered an $80 textbook. The seller never shipped it (I waited an entire month). I contacted both the seller and AbeBooks; NO RESPONSE. I am a college student and scams like this website really ruin our education.”

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Posted 5 months ago

“I will never buy from them again. They have sent me a book that is literally falling apart and which was advertised as „in very good condition „. I gave tried to contact them, multiple times, with no answer. They completely ignored my requests. Avoid at all costs. I was trying to add photos but it wouldn’t let me.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 months ago

“A waste of money. I recently ordered a book from ABEbooks. The book was scheduled to arrive on July 26th. It has been a month since ordering the book and I have yet to receive it. The tracking for the book has disappeared and I can not contact the bookseller or USPS about where the book is. I will not be using this service again or recommending it to others. Don't waste your time.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 months ago

“AbeBooks has a policy that says you can initiate a refund request if a book has not arrived by its expected delivery date. I tried to submit a claim, but its automated system said that I had to wait another 30 days. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Then I heard back the next day. The independent seller finally shipped the book after AbeBooks got in contact with them. Then I received a junk book not the one I ordered. I forwarded tracking data, emails and other information to AbeBooks. AbeBooks said they had cancelled my request because the seller showed that the book had been delivered weeks after I paid extra money for 3-7 day arrival. Now they are going to contact the seller about it. Why would they beleive what the seller has to say when I have evidence to the contrary. I placed my first order with AbeBooks in 2002, have spent thousands of dollars through their site, and never initiated any kind of complaint before. Now I get the runaround and only got any attention after my report to the BBB. Why would I ever order from them again? Still no refund for the extra fast shipping I paid for much less the book.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 months ago

“I purchased a book online and received an email stating that the order was confirmed. I then received an email that it had shipped. I requested a tracking number and was told it was still processing. 10 days later I received an email stating my order had been cancelled. The book recently spiked in popularity and people were grabbing them up and listing it at a much higher price. It seems the seller must have decided to make more money than what I was paying. Very bad business!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 months ago

“I have made a purchase, which they have sent to my old address, not the updated address, which I have done in a timely manner. Consequently, I have never received the book. I have requested but have never received a replacement or a refund. The Company has refused to accept responsibility for their error and, after multiple communications, has refused to offer any resolution.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 months ago

AbeBooks is rated 2.2 based on 143 reviews