"One of ABE's booksellers took from an order for an out-of-print children's book. I gave him my credit card to complete the purchase. The next day, I received an email from ABEBOOKS that my order had been cancelled due to unavailability. I checked eBay for the book and found the bookseller had listed it there for $4.00 more the same day he cancelled my order. So far, no response to my emails to ABEBOOKS or the bookseller."

"The ordered book didnt arrive till today. No response from bookseller....Is there a way to protect people from these mysterious booksellers who take people money and they never respond for any sort of communication. I wish i could sue abebooks... its not at all reliable. "

"I would gladly order from them again. I had absolutely no problems with the purchase, and the book I ordered arrived much earlier than I had anticipated. It took approximately 3 days. I recommend them.
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"I placed an order for a book on the 14th of November and chose 4-6 day shipping. I did not get the book by the 8th day so I meailed them 2 times and caleld once and never got a responce. I was told in an email by them before I ordered the book that it was in stock and would ship upon payment. My payment has gone through and it is now 14 days later and I still have no book. I am very upset and they will not get back to me to let me know what is going on. I want a refund and they will not even get back to me in an email to let me know the status of antyhing. "

"My order never arrived. I emailed them checking status of order and never received a reply. I finally requested a refund through amazon.com and I was credited the amount of my purchase. This company sux."

"I used Abebooks.com to find an out of print, very specialized (medical) text that was available on Amazon for $180. Abe found a copy at a Half-Priced bookstore in Kansas City available used for $50. I placed the order on monday afternoon and received the book (even using Abe's $4 shipping) on the following Wednesday. Lots of emails confirming status of my order.

Serious props to Abe."

"Previously, I have ordered books from them and they were all timely and in good condition. However, in this recent order, the books have not arrived, its been 6 weeks (and still counting...).


I think Abebooks has so many book sellers that they are unable to maintain their standards. I called up the individual book store (ZenBooks) and was given very poor customer service. He didn't even check my order number and could tell me straightaway "Your book is on the way". After calling them over the course of several weeks, their reply is always the same "Your book is on the way, you will get it anytime now"

I'm trying to initiate a refund now, and we'll see the outcome. I hope there is at least something positive out of this experience."

"I have placed a couple of orders with Abebooks and have not been disappointed so far. I think it is a very professional and well-managed company, and it efficiently centralizes book resellers throughout the world. The retailers I dealt with through abebooks always responded in due time, and the information they gave about the condition of the books for sale was truthful. I will definitely keep purchasing through Abebooks, it is to be strongly recommended."

"Book is new, I ordered Saturday, paid for the enhanced shipping, got it Wednesday. If I need to, I will buy from them again. No problems at all. Email sent with order confirmation and shipping info."

"Received book in less than 5 days. Condition of book was great and vendor included personal note. Would use again!"

"I've purchased MANY used books through ABEbooks and I have never been disappointed with their service. I've also searched for used books online for several years now and ABEbooks ranks in the top 3 in my world."

"ABE Books is my favorite online shopping site. They are a entralized online sales point for thousands of used books sellers all over the world. The majority of sellers are U.S. I have spent a couple of thousand dollars here and never yet had a problem. I generally order through ABE which allows me to consolidate all book requests into one order. Fairly often, the (small) handling fee and shipping costs are more than the price of the book! I've found some for under $1! You get a confirmation for the entire order with an estimate of the total cost. Then, over the next 24-48 hours individual confirmations come in from each bookseller. They have recently updated the site technically to a slicker, somewhat Amazon-ish look. I kind of miss the old "homespun" feel! Of interest - not only are rare and expensive volumes, as well as garden variety used books available, they also have a tracking service for stolen valuable works. Try this site!"