AbeBooks.com

Sick and tired of ordering books through Abe only to be hit with extra shipping costs on top of ship costs already quoted. IF QUOTED A PRICE,IT SHOULD BE BINDING. ABE SHOULD PAY THE DIFFERENCE IF WRONG. Also, there STILL is no option to pay via PayPal. Finally, you can't do reviews on bookseller performance like with ebay. Some are 10/10 but others are not so good.

Avoid this company at all costs. I was sent a book from Germany describing the book as signed by a famous artist. It has been a nightmare trying to send this book back. They requested I send back the book at my expense and they would re-imburse the cost. I have done that, they have received the book but despite me chasing them I still have not… Read more

received a refund or my costs for sending the book back which was nearly the cost of the book. I am shocked Amazon is affiliated with this company!

ABE BOOKS ARE THE WORST. DO NOT TRUST THEM!!!! They had a book for sale on their website which I ordered in good faith. They forwarded the order to their seller called 'SAVE WITH SAM'. Do not trust either of these companies. I have not received anything. First they asked for more money for shipment to Australia, then it just did not arrive. … Read more

I never received a tracking number, just excuse after excuse from Save with Sam. I am holding AbeBooks just as responsible for this scam as they obviously know Save with Sam is a scam and they are complicate in this action.

I ordered a book on April 6th. 3 days later I get an email saying it was refunded as I cancelled the order. The customer support page has no clear email enquiry line. Just constant menus that take you to other menus and then a dead end. Without being able to contact the vendor, this has left me in the dark. Am I expecting a refund? Have I been… Read more

scammed? Is the book actually available? Is there another vender that can supply?

You can't get hold of anyone to ask... As of now $100 out of Pocket. No recourse. Poor service. Won't recommend or use again

Straightforward purchase – This is a marketplace for second hand books. It’s not a primary seller so I guess your experience depends on who you buy from. My book from South Africa got to Australia in 5 days and was flawlessly packed and exactly as described. Shipping costs all disclosed up front. I would stick to highly reviewed sellers and do your research as with any marketplace. I’ll definitely use them again. The inability to leave buyer feedback is irritating though.

Wasted $500, still no book – First time i tried to buy the out-of-print book, the seller sent it in paper packaging. The parcel got wet, so sent photos of the parcel and the book all wet inside it, but the seller required that i srnd it back before refunding. Then they said they couldn't find the parcel i sent. The second time i tried to buy the book, the seller gave a 3… Read more

month delivery estimate. When it didn't show after 2.5 months, i asked for a tracking number, but the seller hadn't put tracking on. I was offered a refund but it didn't eventuate, so i am trying again today to resolve this issue. Half a grand later, still no joy. This site sucks. Go look for your book in the UK by appending your search with site:.co

Abe books dealt well with bad seller – Abe Books has been great in getting me a full refund on a book I ordered however California Books(seller) supposedly in Florida are a company that can’t be trusted, I received a tracking number and after 20 days with no updates to tracking, I contacted Abe Books only to be told they accepted order “accidentally” and was issued a refund. Don’t buy… Read more

from this seller. Unfortunately for Abe Books the saying once bitten twice shy applies and I won’t be buying from here again.

ABEBOOKS-SNBOOKS- Very Disappointing – Purchased from this company (AbeBooks) before with nil issues. Sadly this time Not the case. Purchased a very old book for 44$US (thinking it was an actual book-said book) and did not realise they get their books from other sellers. This time SNBOOKS India. I received a very very very shody photocopy of this book with the "incorrect title" on the… Read more

seam. I was very very upset and dissapointed as I waited approx 6-8weeks and was super excited to read it. Book (if you can call it that) was like my toddler photocopying pages crooked and pictures were not even visible. The worst bit the title on seam was Not even correct!! I contacted both companies straight away only to be offered a 50% refund and a pdf copy of the book. By this stage I just wanted refund. I emailed again and said I Already have pdf copy thats why I wanted to PURCHASE book and if I knew this quality was so bad I would just NOT BOTHER. Now I have a so called book to put in the fireplace that cost me 60+Aus. Dissapointed

Won't return – I was given a tracking number that did not exist. When I followed up, I was told that tracking was not used. When books arrived they were so imbued by a synthetic chemical scent that it nauseates me and gives me a headache. I can't use this purchase. I will have to discard it.

Fantastic – Pretty fantastic website, not sure why so many people are having problems. The sellers are independent and don't directly work with or for AbeBooks, a bit like eBay. I've ordered a handful of books from different sellers all around the world and have had nothing but good experiences. I'd recommend seeing the star rating of a seller before buying. Overall very happy with being able to buy rare and out of print books.

Company is run by scammers and thieves – AbeBooks is an amateur website with no oversight and incompetent staff. I was shipped a $200 book via the cheapest possible method, resulting in the book being thrown on the ground in front of my house and lost/stolen. AbeBooks made no effort to use signature-on-delivery. When I contacted them, the representative was indignant and uncooperative.

Poor refund Policy – I ordered a book online and paid US$40.63 and then I received notification a week later that AbeBooks could not supply the book and refunded Me only US$17.06. I am out of pocket US$23.57 but can not get any recompense even though it was AbeBooks who could not supply the book. I have emailed several times but have not even received a reply. Very Poor service and they have kept my money!

Ruined their product – The site is perfectly fine, useable enough and offers a decent variety. Unfortunately, when ordering a rare and expensive book, I don't expect it to come with five different stickers plastered across it (saying USED in huge letters, layered on each other, stuck over the edges). The book cover was ruined in the attempt to remove the stickers. It's just the worst, stupidest idea possible, especially layering them. What a waste of a beautiful book. Show details

books never arrive, fraud – two booksellers deliberately provided false and misleading information, tracking information for books that never existed, and never arrived. AbeBooks admitted in writing on more than 3 seperate occasions to being given false and misleading information, and that tracking numbers given were false, yet more than 2 weeks later they are unable to… Read more

provide correct tracking information, because they cannot get in contact with the sellers, there words, not mine. Yet they still refuse to refund any money paid by me. All they do is to take money for books they have no intention of ever providing. No ability to rate booksellers and they refuse to take them down, even when they commit fraud. To deliberately provide false information to obtain money from someone is fraud. Simple as that.

A Non Book: 'Koi Fish Care' – A couple of quotes from this 'book' with its self explanatory title just to set the scene: 'This variety may be located in any of the everyday shade paperwork and is simplest set aside from others through the period of its fins' & 'Grass carp function high-quality tank pals and natural pruning systems for your pond - they have got a huge urge for… Read more

food for flowers and will assist to trim down any flowers that might be developing out of manage'. I think you get the idea. Purchased by me, 18.04.23, it originally presented very well on the Abebooks web site & was being promoted by several book sellers. This particular copy came from World Of Books. Written by Don Eddie, who I hazard to guess doesn't exist - at least not as the author of this book. It is only 3mm thick & has only a handful of words per page. Published by Amazon - who just happen to own Abebooks! This book is a fraudulent presentation from start to finish but, alas, remains on the Abebooks web site in spite of several explicit E-mails from yours truly. (There are currently four adds on Abebooks for this book, all featuring the seller Greatbookprices. I sent several detailed E-mails to Abebooks re. this issue but was never able to engage in any sort of meaningful dialogue. Either they don't care or are involved themselves in this scam. So, beware, have your wits about you when purchasing from Abebooks. The world is full of trickery, as they say. You're probably wondering why the three stars? Firstly, in between the automated responses was the undertaking to refund my payment for this book. Secondly, I've been dealing successfully with Abebooks for several years, with very little reason for complaint - until now. So, not sure what to think of their culture. Certainly, questions arise. Where does the knowledge of this con start & finish? How far up the chain of management does it go - applicable Abebooks & the individual booksellers? I did offer to post this rubbish to Abebooks. Needless to say, no response. I think I also left them my phone number three times. Finally, if Abebooks had engaged in decent discussion, I may not have been motivated to write this review. It certainly would have been kinder if they had. Trust this review is of some assistance. Len Hodgson.

Only used once but worked well – Needed a few hard to find textbooks not available in Australia. One of them located in US, one in India, one in UK. Ordered them in a single order from multiple sellers. TBH was a bit nervous they wouldn't arrive based on some of the reviews i read but i was desperate for the books. They all arrived with accurate tracking numbers within 2 weeks.… Read more

Books in good condition.

Seem if thing dont work out though the customer support might be lacking based on other peoples reviews, and im sure the outcome depends on the Seller. Looks like AbeBooks is really just a market place and financial intermediary. So can understand why peoples experience is variable. But judging from the other reviews perhaps they could work on their customer service.

Sending requests for extra money – They advertise a book for sale with postage added on. Once you buy it they then send a message with extra costs for postage because the book is heavy. The book was heavy when the listing was created. It is clearly a scam. First time shopping on abebooks, last time shopping on abebooks.

Terrible – Very disappointing. In the past, I was a great fan of AbeBooks but I think it's time to say Goodbye to AbeBooks. I hate the way they operate now: business only - there is no customer support (only in name) and when there is a problem, a customer has no way of contacting them and get help. AbeBooks has turned into a one-way-traffic-money-slot. ...As for the wronged (frustrated!) customer... well, who cares!

Excellent online bookstore – In Australia, Abebooks is a well known and a highly recommended online bookstore. I loved my experience shopping there. Amazing books, very good prices and an exceptional customer service. Thank you

Even worse than Amazon – Abebooks is just a terrible untrustworthy site destroying the reputations of decent booksellers. Photos and descriptions are mostly awful, valuations aren't based on any credible information and prices are just ridiculous when compared with genuine sales prices on other sites (and through private dealers). There is no customer protection at all… Read more

and any reputable sellers can be purchased from directly, without the pain of Abebooks. I won't buy from them ever again.

Abebooks is one of the main online portals for out-of-print books – I have ordered over 100 books through AbeBooks over the past 20 years. Unlike one other reviewer thought, there is nothing 'scammy' about this company. It offers a way for thousands of dealers in out-of-print books to connect to buyers globally. Normally the transaction is quite simple, almost 'one click'. In some cases, an overseas seller will… Read more

request extra shipping costs for a heavier-than-usual item. In such an event, you can cancel the transaction if you wish. Nothing 'scammy' about it. If there is a dispute, you can raise it to AbeBooks. It works well. But is probably only of interest to serious readers and collectors, not ninnies.

The Only Place I could Order this Book and it was Perfect! – I ordered a rare book 'Plants of Western NSW' that has been out of print for some years and was not available anywhere in or out of Australia. The scanned PDF e-book equivalent from another supplier actually cost $30 more was of far lower quality (distorted scans). The book I ordered arrived quickly, was triple protected in its packaging. The… Read more

cover itself was said to have been damaged in the online listing. However when it arrived it was in better than new condition and had even been laminated perfectly to protect it from damage. I couldn't even tell where the supposed damage was on the book. So in summary I am very happy with AbeBooks who were professional and timely in their delivery. Way above and beyond my expectations!.

Not trustworthy! – This site seems a scam. They quoted me different price and then seller asked me for more money to ship used book. Now I cannot cancel the order by myself. I did not find a way to rate the seller so the seller ratings to me does not seem legit either.