"Don't ever buy books from this on-line store, especially Hippo Books !!! I bought 4 books that are in a series. I was promised delivery in 3-9 days. After 16 days, I began e-mailing them. After 22 days, I finally have been issued a refund for 1 of the 4 books. Rather than process the refund for the entire order, which would make sense, I guess they're going to REALLY make me work for my refund of more than $22. I can tell by each e-mail response that they are not even reading the question, but sending stock responses. I'm going to complain to the BBB about halfpricebooks.com & Hippo Books. "

"Terrible, I bought an $80 book and later found out that it was not the book i needed. Filed for return and mailed the book back. They send me an email saying that my return is denied. So now they have my money and the book and i am left in the dirt.

Thanks HPB!"

"TERRIBLE customer svc..no response from direct seller or HPB. Order placed 8/17, shipped 8/19 and tomorrow is Sept 1st and I have no gotten my book yet and have not been able to reach ANYONE to help me."

"I have bought a total of 12 books from HPB Marketplace. These are the online resellers of used books. Like an HPB ebay. 4 of the books took over two weeks to make it from Texas and California to Minnesota. Two of those sellers told me "Please don't write a bad review" or "Please don't give us a bad rating". I would but I can't! There's no link on HPB for rating sellers, no link in any invoice emails, no link in my account! What is up with that? Then I send an email to HPB about this.......two weeks later (maybe more).....no reply. Just sent another today....we'll see.
Also the shipping costs are bogus. I bought 8 $0.99 books, so $7.92. It was $3.99 shipping each book....$23.92?????????? I've actually been to a post office before, I know they don't think anyone in the US goes there anymore....BUT LISTEN UP RIPOFF ARTISTS!!!! WE DO!!! None of the books would cost more than $1.48 to ship. Why not just price the book at $3.99 and shipping at $0.99 instead of lying about the shipping cost? Is that what online purchasing has become? Making money of shipping instead of product? What a joke this joint is.

Funny thing is I have never seen a book in HPB for $0.99. I wish you could deal directly with the resellers."

"Worst book buying experience ever! Promised ONLINE that all "supplemental and companion materials" were included, but the book came without the CD needed for homework! Plus, it was mailed in only an envelope, which tore and damaged the book, lowering resale value. They said I could return but I couldn't because there wasn't time to get another book. I emailed pix of damage and missing CD sleeve and asked for a partial refund which they refused! Horrible (nonexistent) customer service. LIARS! (Order through Valore)I would give them ZERO stars if I could. They don't deserve one."

"Worse service I've ever had. Been waiting for a book for almost a month now, I have been calling hpb for the entire week to see where is my book or get a refund and so far nothing, today one person calls me to tell me the book is at my local postal office, they tell me USPS is lying and the book is there (since I've already called and postal office agent says they never received it). Tried Fedex they say book wasn't delivered, I ask for the address they have and the agent says there is no apt number but clearly there is one on my receipt. 40 minutes later "Christopher" from hpb calls me says books is being returned to them, I ask why just to see what he is going to say and guess what? He says they tried to deliver it but there was no one to claim (just another lie? Never got any notification, how could they notify the recipient if there's no apt number on address?) worse, worse, worse now what are they going to do? NOTHING they don't have another book to ship. can reimburse me and that's all. My $3000 class I will need to pay for even if I fail because of them. Not to mention them saying they'd be calling me. e-mailing me with information on it and never doing it. This has caused me so much stress since I had to take a test without my readings."

"I agree with all of the other reviews about selling my books to them. I took in 5 boxes of books - all current bestseller hardback books and got $46 for about 150 books. It is a total rip-off and not worth your time or gas money. Next time I will donate them."

"Half Price Books does have a large selection of books and good prices but NEVER sell to them . I had brought in 31 magazines , 12 novels , 20 picture books and 5 movies , they gave me $6.50 . They try to rip people off . So , I don't suggest giving them anything ."

"Half Price Books works well until the system breaks down. Then, they disown their involvement by saying that once the item leaves their seller, there's nothing that can be done if it is lost. This is a disappointment because our first interactions with them were satisfactory. Now, a textbook for which we've paid has disappeared and neither HPB, nor the seller, nor the post office knows where it is. We are out the money, with no recourse, despite having made many attempts to contact each of the people involved. Don't buy anything from HPB unless you are sure that you can forfeit the money. Also, don't depend on their computer system to accurately update any information changes, like an address change, because it won't. That's how this loss began."

"I LOVE HALF-PRICE BOOKS!!! Love, love, love them! They have an amazing selection of what seems to be every version of every book on the planet...and they're so cheap! I have gotten rare special edition versions of books that cost $70 regularly for $20. I can satisfy the craving to read new books without forking up $16 for a book I may or may not like. Prices for the normal book typically range from $3 to $10. The cheapest books on their website are usually in poorer quality but they are readable and that's all that matters to me (unless I'm seeking a collectable book). They also have audio books at least half-off regular price. This store seriously makes my inner nerd so happy :) I cannot say enough about Half-Price Books. I absolutely recommend them, and if there are any physical stores in your area be sure to visit them - there are always hidden gems on their shelves :) The only downside to HPB is that most the books on their website come from different sellers, so expect different shipping fees for each seller. Oh yeah - I just read everyone's reviews regarding selling books to them: I tried selling books to them and also felt I didn't get as much as the books were worth. However, buying books, movies and CDs from them has me remaining a happy and satisfied customer. I would avoid selling to them, though. "

"A complete scam. I brought in 33 collectible hardcover Christmas books, because it's getting to be that time of year.

I got an offer of $7 for the entire lot, followed by some lame reasoning behind their offer.

Mind you, these books were all in excellent condition and before I took them in for the offer, I did some online research, to give me an idea of what they were worth. Part of the lot included a number of books from a set and each of them routinely sells for $10-$12.

Now, I understand that Half Price books needs to make money, but $7 for 33 books that would easily sell for 15X what there offer was, just goes to show you that they'll happily take advantage of people who don't know any better.

I grabbed the box of books and high-tailed it out of the store before I lost my cool. I'll put these on eBay and get a fair price for them."

"Do not. I repeat...DO NOT BRING YOUR BOOKS TO HALF PRICE BOOKS.
I take full responsibility for not checking the customer reviews before trudging off with over 100 books plus games and CD's in
Palatine, IL. Spent more on gasoline and time than the $12.00 they offered me. 5 large cartons and 4 crates of very nice books.
Very unfriendly staff. Donate them. They are not ethical. Live and learn."

"Several years after a bad experience I went back to thier Tukwila store because I could not find a book elsewhere t a decent price. I looked for the book ( Ed & Lorraine Warren ) and then asked if they had anything. I got laughed at! Are you kidding? This is a book store, a used one at that. Are you not supposed to be non judgmental? This is the third time that this has happened throughout the years. Not that it's really anyone's business, but I am a christian and the authors are Roman Catholics! What's so funny? I expect to be treated with dignity and respect expecially when I had a basket full of books to purchase."

"Took about 200 books in. Had to wait half an hour in their store for them to offer me $10. So I spent the gas to go there and hauled 4 heavy boxes in and wasted 30 minutes in their store perusing their ill-gotten goods.
I didn't expect to make a killing but $10 shows an unusual amount of greed on their part.
Do not make this mistake. Just donate them."

"this place is HORRIBLE. if you ever sell books to them, you should know ahead of time that no matter what, you WILL be swindled. they make like 2000 percent profit off of people, it is so ridiculous. i brought in 15 books, and got 9 dollars. i saw these books for sale at 10 - 12 dollars EACH. you are better off online selling your books online probably. also i was there today, and my boyfriend and i were STALKED the entire time. we were treated like criminals. they thought they were being slick but we completely noticed them following us around as if we were going to steal. they basically profile their customers by their appearances. i am DONE with half price books and their corrupt business behavior."