AbeBooks Reviews

Had a good experience with abe books. Bought two nice books for only 4 dollars each including shipping. Shipped fast. Dont know how the sellers can make any money but I am very happy with my books would buy again. Im not going to school, just educating myself. Thank you to the sellers and abebooks.

Do not buy anything from these people. Essentially, AbeBooks is a network of booksellers that sell online. As such the site is designed to protect the sellers because Amazon is "too buyer friendly". What this means in actuality is you will get scammed buy buyers and the AbeBooks will not help you. A frequent scam is a book you order never arrives, you get no refund. Another scam is you return a book, you get no refund and you get no book. You see the pattern here. Once they have your money they keep it regardless of anything else that happens.

UPDATE: Changed rating from two to one star after receiving book from Basement Books- sub under Abebooks. Believe book was rated very good. Received book: binding on front and rear had been cut and now glued - this was not disclosed in the rating before purchase. Abebooks once had a good rating - not any more. DO NOT BUY. Apparently ABebooks no longer stocks books. They contract with small companies that deliver crappy books by Pony Express. Ordered May 10, today is May 17. Hope it will come this month. Do not recommend/will not buy again.

I've purchased many very cheap used books on Abebooks. Most arrived without an issue. The problem is that if the seller fails, you have ZERO protection, your money is gone forever. So just spend money you are willing to lose, Abebooks will not help you at all.
My last purchase was 20 days ago, seller "Ergodebooks" will not respond after my book didn't arrive, so no book and no money back. I'll take that $12 loss, no big deal, but still a waste of time and effort.

They sent me a paperback when I spent $40 for the hardcover. I sent it back (receipt confirmed by tracking) and they immediately stopped responding to my emails. Weeks went by and nothing-- no refund or communication at all. I called the # in their email and it was the number for a completely different company! Sports Mall. I challenged the payment with my bank and provided the tracking number as well as the dates I contacted them and they reversed the charges. This company is a gigantic waste of time. I'm so aggravated.

Like others here, I placed an order with Ergodebooks though ABE. I should have checked Trustpilot first, because this company appears to list everything they sell as 'new' without regard to actual condition, charging premium prices for books that would be worth the money if actually as advertised. The book I received as 'new' had a tattered dust jacket, and as other reviewers here have noted, Ergodebooks offered nothing but a partial refund. ABE is abetting this behavior by ignoring complaints and insisting on defrauded purchasers returning misrepresented purchases for refunds that other Trustpilot reviewers claim never to have received. Ergodebooks are fraudsters, and ABE is making it possible for them to do it. I won't deal with either of them again.

I recently ordered a book and waited very patiently for it to arrived. It did not get delivered. I was told by AbeBooks that after 30 days they no longer have responsibility. Since my patience extended beyond 30 days I have missed the deadline. I have been told to pursue the matter with the distributor of the book. I am out of pocket and shall never go near AbeBooks again.

Purchased a book (The Stand) from them, in used, lightly worn condition. Or at least that is what the listing claimed. Got the book in a somewhat reasonable amount of time, to find that it was in far worse shape - dust cover was torn completely through and pages were worn on edges. Contacted seller to make comment and got a standard "we have received your email" response. A few days later I get an email telling me that they have conveyed my complaint to the seller (Owls Books) and I should expect an email from them. Nothing. Crickets. Simon and Garfunkel singing Sound of Silence.

Send another email to Abebooks. Same thing, but this time I was directed to a web page to initiate a refund. Then I was expected to return the book, at my shipping cost. Nope. I was told I would be reimbursed but TBH I have lost any faith in either seller.

I have been buying from Abe Books for a number of years. I can honestly say that I have only had a positive experience each time.

Purchase order no. 625452379
I ordered Encyclopedia of Evolution, Encyclopedia of Earth and Space Science, and Encyclopedia of Physical Science from ThriftBooks-Chicago on Feb 4, 2021.
All of them arrived in a timely manner and there is nothing wrong about the first book; however, I received only the second volumes of the other two books – I didn't receive the first ones.
I sent an inquiry to ThriftBooks-Chicago, and Melanie from the Customer Service team responded to my email very quickly, explaining that it occurred due to both volumes in each set having the same ISBN & their database reading the single book's ISBN number as being a full set volume collection. She also informed me that they didn't have the first volumes to send to me and had issued a full refund for both books without me having to return them (she had also taken action to prevent future issues by asking for those listings to be removed from the catalog).
Great issue handling, so I'm still giving 5 stars! Keep up the good work, AbeBooks and ThriftBooks!

DO NOT BUY FROM ABEBOOKS OR SELLER ERGODEBOOKS! I ordered a book on Jan. 21 that said it was "NEW" in description. When I got the book, it looked like it had been used in a school library, tattered & worn. I followed Abebooks protocol & sent photos of book & returned book within the 30 day period. My "tracking number" shows that they received my book in their warehouse on Feb. 11th. They assured me through email that I would be refunded not only for book, but for postage as well. Since then, I have not received a refund or heard back from them after repeated emails/phone calls to them. Wouldn't this be considered "theft" of a customer?

This is the worst company I have ever ordered from and I now whish I had checked the reviews first. If you're smarter than me and read these, please please don't give them your business. They sent me something completely different than what I had ordered and since I sent it back to get my original item they stopped replying to me emails! So I paid for an item I will now never get. They literally stole from me! Run fast and run far!