AbeBooks Reviews

2.4 Rating 109 Reviews
35 %
of reviewers recommend AbeBooks
2.4
Based on 109 reviews
Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods
Postal Service
Average Delivery Time
Over 7 Days
On-time Delivery
Greater than 25%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders
Greater than 73%
Customer Service
Communication Channels
Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In
6 - 12 Hours
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process
Difficult
Returns Process
Could Be Better

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AbeBooks 1 star review on 6th March 2024
Jeffrey Gaudette
AbeBooks 1 star review on 6th March 2024
Jeffrey Gaudette
AbeBooks 1 star review on 20th October 2023
Anonymous
AbeBooks 5 star review on 16th September 2022
Grandma Sue
AbeBooks 1 star review on 12th April 2022
Stephanie Morales
AbeBooks 1 star review on 12th April 2022
Stephanie Morales
AbeBooks 1 star review on 25th August 2020
Anonymous
1
Anonymous
Anonymous  // 01/01/2019
Purchased two Hard Cover books that were mailed as paperback. Such a hassle that I just donated the books to a street reading library. Out the cash but learned a lesson
Helpful Report
Posted 1 week ago
I ordered a book from Owls Books via abebooks.com January 20. The book didn't come. Filed a return/refund request February 8. No response. Couldn't pull up a tracking# in my past purchases page. Sent in a second return/refund request 10-14 days later. No response. Sent in a THIRD return/refund request. No response. Asked to cancel my abebooks account and support contacted me. Been going round and round. They finally authorized a refund, then retracted/cancelled the refund the next day. Stay away from abebooks. See attached email correspondence.
AbeBooks 1 star review on 6th March 2024 AbeBooks 1 star review on 6th March 2024
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Posted 3 weeks ago
Paid for book. No delivery of same. No direct contact available so unable to resolve issue. Same applies to the actual seller, GreatBookPricesUK, who is using the Abe Bokks platform. So I am £12.68 and Abe/GreatBookPricesUK are in profit by £12.68. Now that I understand that Abe Books is owned by Amazon, I can understand why it is impossible to contact anybody. Be warned by my loss. DO NOT BUY FOM THIS COMPANY.
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Posted 1 month ago
SELLERS CAN'T UPLOAD IMAGES NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO. ABE BOOKS IS DYSFUNCTIONAL GARBAGE.
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Posted 1 month ago
Ordered a book with specific cover art that I wanted, but received some mass reprint instead. In order to return it I'd have to spend 55% of the overall cost to ship it back. Feels like I'm dealing with those websites from China. Last time I ever buy from AbeBooks.
AbeBooks 1 star review on 20th October 2023
Helpful Report
Posted 5 months ago
their www. Is obstructive & unhelpful as are their superfluous unwarranted www.forms. A simple eMail, should have sufficed. I should not have had to enter county for address line 2. N/A, for city as where, my sister resides, where co-incidentally, my banks debit card is registered lives remotely. Hence I have to enter 'just off, the trunk road, Number.'. Hence facilitating delivery. Not compound problems as do their supercillious, unwarranted, www.forms. Nor should they like others make it so difficult to contact them, to rectify the problem, they created & compounded. Please eMail, vivisection.is.criminal@gMail.com, where upon receipt of proof of purchase, I should return as such asap.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 months ago
June 12 I ordered a children's book, Archer: Journey to Stonehenge. I was immediately billed on my bank account, but the book has never arrived (to UK address, not US). When I tried to email for help, I get nothing. I now see there are myriad complaints about AbeBooks and I will next go to Amazon, Abe's owner because this damages their and every other online services' reputation. It is Deceit of Consumers.
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Posted 6 months ago
He hecho 3 compras a ellos y todas han sido satisfactorias. Las entregas han sido antes de lo esperado y el precio me ha parecido razonable. Seguro seguiré comprandole a ellos!
Helpful Report
Posted 6 months ago
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 9 months 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.
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Posted 10 months 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 10 months 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 10 months 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.
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Posted 11 months 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.
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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
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!!
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Posted 1 year ago
AbeBooks is rated 2.4 based on 109 reviews