Abe books has saved me so much money, helping me find great primary and secondary sources for research while building my own library. I'm fine with books being used, or slightly marked up. And at least in the US, shipping and honesty of sellers has not been a problem for me.
USPS has been "awaiting item" for over a month. Three efforts to contact seller (Half Price Books) failed. Abe Books refused (via automatic reply) to initiate refund saying "the seller says it shipped, so talk to them". No way to contact Abe Books, no way to get refund, no book, and I am out $15. Lesson learned: never buy through Abe Books
I had a very unpleasant experience using AbeBooks. I found a product advertised through AbeBooks on Google and purchased it for $300. Two weeks later, I received a completely different item that was in no way related to what I had ordered and paid for.It took numerous attempts to contact the third-party seller, Pages of Boston, to resolve the mistake on their end. After nearly two months, I finally received a return shipping label. However, I was later informed that the book did not arrive back to Pages of Boston in satisfactory condition. As a result, AbeBooks did not issue a refund of my $300, and I was not allowed to keep the incorrect book that had been sent to me.This entire experience was a complete nightmare and a significant waste of my time, energy, and money. I will not be using Abebooks again.
"I have ordered over 35 books from AbeBooks so far, and I couldn’t be more satisfied. The customer service is consistently professional, kind, and incredibly helpful. Every time I reach out, I receive a warm and personal response that makes me feel valued as a customer. Their dedication to maintaining such high standards is truly impressive. Highly recommended for any book lover looking for reliability and great service!"
Do NOT use this company! NO Customer Service to speak of, and no way to get a hold of anyone at Abebooks. They have the wrong address for me, even though it shows the correct one u der my name. So, my orders go to the wrong address. It is beyond frustrating and inexcusable that they do not fix this issue, or even let you contact them to let them know there is an issue.
Abe Books is a terrible system. You can no rate the sellers for lying about the book condition. If you request a refund they want you to mail it back, even though the seller did not describe the book properly. It is 100% hit or miss if you will get something in the condition it's labeled, and there is nothing you can do about it... Buy books elsewhere, where they protect the buyer.
Terrible serviceI have been chasing them for weeks for a refund but they just sent a generic email. Avoid!
Ordered twice at two different sellers. Paid already more than normal British postage rate for getting book shipped to Nethrrlands and, after placing order got request for additional shippibg fees for over EUR 23 each order. Order got cancelled by seller when I did not want to pay. it is a malicious and misleading practice to raise the profits, with already normal book prices. Bad thing AbeBooks doesn't check on that, which could be quite easy built in
Avoid this lot at all costs- ordered a book early January, tracking number doesn’t exist, approached Abebooks- delivery date hasn’t passed yet can’t refund- delivery date now passed - Abebooks “ seller has issued a tracking number( not a valid one) so it must be sent , contact seller - so if you want to throw money away on books that won’t arrive with a company that couldn’t care less Abebooks are the ones to deal with, if not use someone else.
Wish I had researched this company before I purchased any books, but at least I did not spend a lot of money. I ordered two childrens' books. One was cancelled because it was not in stock and they did refund my money for that one. The second one was a different book than the one I ordered, same author, different book. Requesting a refund is easy, but as others stated, you have to pay to send the book back and no guarantee the refund will be given. Customer service is a joke, again as other stated, as Joe Walsh leave a message, maybe I'll call.
I had a troubling experience with a stolen book, marking the fourth time this has happened to me as a self-publisher. My author name is Dorina Roua, although it is sometimes altered in metadata to "Roua, Dorina" by various publishers.Currently, AbeBooks is selling my stolen book titled "Home Visit Best Practices: An Essential Guide for Social Workers and Care Professionals (Second Edition)," which was published with IngramSpark on June 26, 2025. On that very same day, my book was stolen and listed for sale on AbeBooks, where it is still today.Despite my attempts to have the book removed, Nieseniq cancelled the ISBN and title, yet the company continues to profit from my stolen work. It is incredibly disheartening to see my work being sold for the benefit of third parties. The book is priced very high, and my royalties total £0.00.I encourage readers to think twice before purchasing books from this company. It is crucial to protect authors' rights, as buying stolen materials only perpetuates unethical practices and encourages the exploitation of their work.
We have purchased books from a ebooks sellers for decades. In general I would say we would give it 4-5. Books that didn't come but charge removed, books that shipping took longer. Otherwise great experience; I was looking at body in the library and my husband thought he would surprise me, but I had purchased the book and we discovered it before the book arrived; we immediately contacted manor Collectables, but didn't hear back and they refused to take back an $1100 book; we said we would return it overnight by fedex, but they refused. We could have paid additional handling but no; this just bad by practice. The fact that after 20 years abebooks doesn't think it needs to intervene is sad. Avoid manor collectables, not reputable
I have been trying to contact AbeBooks and NOTHING on their website works. Impossible to get help!!!Below is the form one finds at the bottom of their website page, which is WORTHLESS My Account MenuResponding to your inquiry can take longer than 24 hours. While we work as quickly as possible to answer your questions, we ask you not to submit multiple inquiries about the same issue.If you have requested a password reset code and have not received it, please check your spam email folder.Choose a topic below to contact usMy purchasesGet help with tracking your orders, returns, refunds and cancellations.Buying on AbeBooksLearn how to manage your account, purchase, and contact a seller.Selling on AbeBooksGet support with becoming a seller, your seller account, inventory management, and orders.Compliance and policiesStay informed about policies, content moderation, and regulations.BACK TO TOPShop With UsSell With UsAbout UsFind HelpOther AbeBooks CompaniesSegui AbeBooksBy using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions.© 1996 - 2025 AbeBooks Inc. All Rights Reserved. AbeBooks, the AbeBooks logo, AbeBooks.com, "Passion for books." and "Passion for books. Books for your passion." are registered trademarks with the Registered US Patent & Trademark Office.
Advertising books that they, or rather their third party sellers, don’t have in stock. Very quick to take your money, still waiting for refunds.
Don't even think about using this company. I purchased a book, was informed it would be with me before Christmas... it wasn't. The book never turned up and Abe Books didn't care. In the end I had to go through my credit card company in order to get a refund.
I ordered a cookbook for my daughter for Christmas. Abe Books sent me a book about animals. I found out how to return the book they sent in error for the correct book, or.a refund. Well, they just canceled my refund because they said I didn't follow the rules. Amazon, their parent company, I'd notorious for screwing ppl on refunds. Will not be ordering from Abe again.
They gave me the wrong book with the same name, Told me, once they receive return they will refund, then lost my book and told me I can only get refund with tracking number?!
Be very careful of dealing with an Emile P, his command of English is extremely poor and he is extremely lazy. He refused to help me sort a problem and I lost nearly $300 because he has blocked any correspondence and access to the abebook platform.
Hideous company. They do not stand behind the 3rd party suppliers. I will never ever use them again
I dont recommend any one to sell from Abe books, they are delaying order and after that they said your book is not available.I send them to refund the amount but they didnt send unfortunately.Avoid them ,dont order from them.
