AbeBooks Reviews

Name: AbeBooks
Rating: 2.16

2.2 Rating 140 Reviews

29 %

of reviewers recommend AbeBooks

Company Reviews

Questions

Metrics

2.2

Based on 140 reviews

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Postal Service
Average Delivery Time	Over 7 Days
On-time Delivery	Greater than 26%
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

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“I was happy with my orders from two of the three book companies from which I ordered. They were stated new and appeared so. These two companies are "GF BOOKS, INC. & "BOOK SHOP 4 U" I would give them 5 stars. However, the third book from "BOOK OUTLET" in Canada, left a lot to be desired. There was a small marking on the inside page, and then there was blank paper scraps taped to the front and back covers which is impossible to remove without damage. Very disappointed. I will not be ordering from this company again. While it was stated the book was "new," it obviously is not. So, if you're looking for a new book from this company look out! If I had wanted a "used" book I could have ordered elsewhere for less.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Ordered a book 2 May, given an 'estimated delivery date or or before 22 May'. Money taken out of my account promptly on 3 May. No delays there. 22 May came and went - no book. Tried everything I could see available eg 'customer support email but all that generated was some generic message which was of no help whatsoever. I tried replying to these messages asking for assistance but the cycle just went round and round with no progress made regarding what has happened to my book or if I will still receive and when. When I received an email on 26 May asking me to email them copies of ALL THE CORRESPONDENCE for the last few days since 22 May I had had enough of dealing with AbeBooks.co.uk. I will accept that I have lost the money but I could not continue dealing with this chaotic, unprofessional, unresponsive or perhaps even non existent 'customer support' in this one way communication indefinitely. No, I would most definitely, categorically NOT recommend buying from this company unless you are happy to accept that you may or may not receive your book and/or may or may not be able to communicate with them in case of a problem. Incidentally, this was only my second purchase from this company! Not a positive experience. The rating below for 'customer service experience' does not show 'non existent', unfortunately.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“my book was delivered late and technically is still not here and all they said was even though i paid for fast shipping that its up to the seller to refund me the shipping this company is a joke i wouldnt buy any books unless you do basic mail time its un reliable”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Books just as described, super fast shipping so arrive quickly. Saved $$ on college books over a decade ago. I still order from them books for leisure.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Bait and switch scam. I ordered an out of print book in new condition from a specific seller. Received a very good condition book from another seller. Original seller will only refund 50% of the difference.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“As long as you don't mind used books, AbeBooks is a good choice. The issue comes along when a book is advertised as "new", but you receive a used book. Some book sellers will put the books on the wrapper as if new, but the spine is damaged, a page may be torn slightly, or May even a food crumb or stain on it... then you have to pay to have it returned...Also, many of the book sellers and addresses are not what is on the package so if you buy more than one of the same book, you may not know which book came from which seller. Also, they say they have "only 1 copy" but some how can get other copies when asked.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Im still waiting on a Order I placed at the beginning of January with the expected date being the 10th February. No word or tracking number has been sent. It would seem i haven’t learnt as I placed another book order and it said due in 3-10 days. Waiting waiting. Very disappointing”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“I was mislead by a seller "MonsterBooks" into buying a book that i didn't want. When i contacted the seller they were not responsive. Abebooks support was also of no use, so i got cheated into buying something that i didn't want. Stay away from abebooks if you don't want to get cheated.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“I ordered a chalice hymnal. 1 book was $89.00 when I received it, it had coffee stains on it and a torn front page. I contacted the company that sent it and mailed it back to them. I sent them the tracking number 2 times, the post Ofc said it was delivered but not picked up and if they did t pick it up within 5days it would be sent back to me. They must have picked it up because it was never returned. So now they have my money and the book. They don’t respond to my inquiries. NOT reliable.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“After going through numerous complaints about the sellers on Abebooks, i have suggested to them so many times to leave the seller ratings to the customers like their parent company, Amazon does, as against such ratings are given by Abebooks. Their ratings are based on sellers’ fulfilment. Each book that is sold, Abebooks get about 18% of the total sale in addition to they charge a listing fee monthly to sellers based on the number of books they have listed. If a seller fulfill all orders, he/she gets 5 star rating, and if one order is not processed by the seller for whatever reason, the rating drops to 4 stars. Again these ratings are done unprofessionally. For no fault of the seller, some clerks in abebooks often go and snip the ratings. The customer has no clue about the seller. Does he describe the book honestly. Does he mail a battered softcover book when you asked for a hardcover book in good condition with a dust jacket, or the seller got your money and never sent out the book? If the customer has a voice to rate these sellers, others would take a note of it and would refrain from ordering from dishonest sellers - Believe me, there are a few doing well on Abebooks.com. My point is, let the customer rate their sellers, not the Abebooks who can spend that time to look after the customers. What do you think? Tell them!”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“I had ordered a book from Abebooks, they stated that it would arrive on December 21, or before (2022). It is now December 30 (2022) and I still have not received my book. I have sent two emails to the company and they have not responded.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“I was needing to purchase several books now & a lot more in the future but there is no way to contact them in person! Very unprofessional!! For a very one who may read this review, I highly recommend purchasing your books through Better World Books. I will be plastering Abe Books as a complete failure on every social media platform & highly recommending Better World Books for any & all book purchases. You've completely missed the mark Abe Books!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“I ordered 4 of the same books and requested that I get a discount on shipping or ship them in separate packages as I would be paying for shipping 4 times which was over $10, I received 1 book and the other 3 were in the same package and it shows it was delivered, hmmmmm I never got them..... ridiculous. What a scam. I contacted the company by email numerous times and each one of their responses states "Thank you for reaching out to us about this issue, great customer service is our top priority. We were very concerned that you did not receive your order, and when we check the delivery confirmation number via INSERT CARRIER NAME, your order does show that it was delivered." A GREAT copy paste verbiage, this shows you DON'T care about your customers!!!! Because I paid you more than the average person the smart thing would be to have someone sign for it. Oh but wait that didn't happen!!!! And now I'm out over $35, It would be nice to get the books I paid for.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“I’ve been buying from AbeBooks for about five years. In addition to buying for myself, I purchase books for the grandkids. The youngest is an avid reader and just discovered the Story Treehouse series. The books arrived earlier than scheduled and are in good condition. The price was very reasonable and I have an incredibly happy 8 year old!”

AbeBooks 5 star review on 16th September 2022

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“An excellent online bookstore, with a huge selection of books, often at excellent prices and an exceptional customer service to go with it.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“I recently bought a long-wanted book online from the Bedlam Book Cafe in Worcester in the US. In less than a fortnight it arrived here at our home in Gloucester in the UK when the 'postie' put it during his normal morning visit through our letterbox. An absolutely perfect transaction. I can thoroughly recommend this company.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“Just awful. Every bit as painful and untrustworthy as Amazon and not worth bothering with. Books are badly described, often deliberately misdescribed, photos are terrible (or non-existent) and prices seem to just be pulled out of the air - they definitely don't reflect current market values. Anyone buying through Abebooks is getting ripped off and there's no customer protection or customer service at all.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“I ordered 3 books that showed as available. They where ordered as a set. Abe canceled one of the book orders, failed to notify me until after the other 2 shipped. I should have been notified BEFORE the others where shipped so I could cancel. Waiting to see what they are going to do. I don't want the other 2 books. WILL NEVER PURCHASE FROM ABES AGAIN”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“I accidently put down the incorrect address, it didn't come up in their system so they called me and fixed the problem. I've also always gotten my packages on time.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“Said they were a publisher on the website and it turned out they weren't..........😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

AbeBooks is rated 2.2 based on 140 reviews