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Business Profile

Used Books

Abebooks.com

Headquarters

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Used Books.

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Abebooks.com's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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Abebooks.com has 7 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 87 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 30 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

    Sort by

    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:23/04/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I sent a email to bookseller telling them to CANCEL since the book was never placed with in the **** system a week had passed. I said you never placed the book with **** so just cancel the order. Suddenly the item showed it was in Las Vegas AFTER I said to cancel the order. It has been a long wait and the seller nor Abesbooks is attempting to issue a refund. I feel really ****** *** and I do not plan on ordering through abesbooks any more since this has been allowed to go on.

      Business Response

      Date: 24/04/2025

      Hello,

      The customer contacted our Customer Support Team directly and we issued a refund for the order in full on April 23, 2025. We notified the buyer via email that they have been refunded.

      Thank you,

      *******

      Customer Support Manager

      Customer Answer

      Date: 24/04/2025

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

      I regret I had to do this complaint but no one was actually listening. I appreciate the prompt response from abesbooks. Thank you

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:17/04/2025

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      This website has not made any improvements since 1996. They charge a monthly fee as well as a percentage off the top of sales, *** *** ********* ***** ** *** ** *** ******* *** ** *** ****** but they have an awful product that creates undue hardship on the people who are ostensibly paying their salaries. A teenager could do a better job maintaining their site. I want to make sure that they understand how poor the service is and I would like to see some actual changes.

      Business Response

      Date: 22/04/2025

      Hello,
      Thank you for sharing your detailed feedback about our platform. I understand your frustration with the current system and appreciate you taking the time to voice your concerns about the user experience, I will ensure your feedback is forwarded to our product development team. Our Customer Support Team is here to help with any current issues while we work on improvements.
      Laurène
      Customer Support Team Lead


    • Initial Complaint

      Date:25/03/2025

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I ordered a book and never received the book. I reached out via email multiple times and have recieved no correspondence.

      Business Response

      Date: 26/03/2025

      Hello,
      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have searched our records but were unable to locate any previous messages from you.
      For future reference, our Customer Support team can be reached through the Contact Form, accessible via the "Customer Support" link on any AbeBooks webpage: **********************************************
      We have processed a complete refund for your order today. We encourage you to explore other sellers who may have the item you're looking for.
      Best regards,

      Laurène Customer Support Team Lead

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:25/02/2025

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      ** On October 31, 2024 I ordered ******* * ******** ** ****** **** ********** ****** ** ******* ***** from Abebooks.com. They did not send that issue of ******* to me. The issue I ordered was in Like New Condition. I am still waiting for my issue of ******* #** in Like New condition.

      Business Response

      Date: 26/02/2025

      Hello,
      We're sorry to hear of this experience. A full refund for this order was processed in December 2024 and we hope you can find another copy with another seller.
      Thank you,
      *******
      Customer Support Team Lead

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/02/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Hello, I sought to cancel an order with abe books (AbeBooks order number: *********) and was expecting a refund from ********, the bookseller on the site, since they could not provide tracking for a book that I ordered months ago. When the original expected delivery date, January 4th, passed, I wrote to them asking for tracking and they replied, "Unfortunately, due to the current situation, we have been noticed of some irregularities in the shipment of parcels. Book or merchandise shipments are sent without tracking ID." This was an unacceptable answer, so I asked them for a refund to which they replied, "Should we receive your order back within a 40 days term, we will get in touch. If you do not hear from us and do not receive your order until 5th february, please, get in touch again and we'll solve this issue." February 5th has now passed and when I wrote to them again, their reply was to wait another 40 days before getting in touch again. This is unacceptable and the seller is resisting providing a refund even though they acknowledged they made a big mistake. I brought this issue to abebooks and they wrote: “All return and refund requests, including reports of items that didn't arrive, must be received by AbeBooks within 30 days of the order's maximum estimated delivery date. As your request exceeds this time frame, the resolution will be at the seller’s discretion.” However, according to the seller, I should still be expecting my book in the next 40 days. Therefore, I am in the expected delivery window and am owed a refund

      Business Response

      Date: 11/02/2025

      Hello,
      We're sorry to hear of this experience. We have initiated a refund today for this order and we hope you can find another copy with another seller.
      Thank you,
      *******
      Customer Support Team Lead

      Customer Answer

      Date: 11/02/2025

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/02/2025

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I am a student. I waited weeks for my book to arrive. It did not arrive when it said it was guaranteed to arrive eventhough that was several weeks after I ordered it. They sent me a book that I didn’t even order. The ISBN number didn’t even match the I ordered. A books has been Unresponsive in this matter. I will not ever be purchasing from here again.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/02/2025

      Hello,
      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Once you send the item back to the seller, we'll issue a complete refund including the return shipping fees.
      Thank you,
      *******
      Customer Support Team Lead

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/02/2025

       I am rejecting this response because:
      I have made it known I will send the book back with a shipping label. I have not been provided a shipping label. I will not send the book back with money out of my own pocket as this was no error on my part. I was sent a completely different book than what I ordered. The isbn did not match up which I can see how an error could have arose in that regard but had they looked at the picture of the book that was provided on the website (which has since been taken down) they would have caught the error. Also the book was described as new- the book i received was not new. I am a student. The book took several weeks to get here- arriving late as it was. I am now having to buy another book costing more and putting the arrival date back even further. I have tried attaching what was ordered and what was recieved but am getting the error message "The file you have uploaded is either too large or a file type we do not accept".

      Kindly provide a shipping label and we can conclude our business. 

      Business Response

      Date: 13/02/2025

      Hello,
      While we cannot provide prepaid shipping labels, we will reimburse your return shipping expenses once you submit the shipping receipt/invoice to our Customer Support Team.
      Thank you,
      *******
      Customer Support Team Lead

      Customer Answer

      Date: 13/02/2025

       I am rejecting this response because:
      It is not my responsibility to pay out of pocket to ship back a book that wasn’t even what I ordered.  

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/02/2025

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I am a student. I ordered a textbook that I needed. Shipping was delayed past the date. They told me it would arrive. I reached out with this concern, but they assured me after checking with the seller that it would arrive by the expected date. I’m not sure how that would’ve been possible as at that point they would’ve had overnight it. They would not process my refund request. I checked the tracking and it said it would arrive to the sixth and instead of the fifth, so I requested the shipping be refunded. Now the book is not arriving and I would like a refund they will not respond.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/02/2025

      Hello,
      We're sorry to hear of this experience. We have sent you a message with further steps regarding this situation.
      Thank you,
      *******
      Customer Support Team Lead

      Business Response

      Date: 12/02/2025

      Hello,
      We sent you an email on February 11, 2025 and I have re-sent it now. Since your bank initiated a chargeback, we are no longer able to process a refund on our end unfortunately.
      *******
      Customer Support Team Lead

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/02/2025

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Dear **** ** * **** ***** ***, Yes, to all of your questions.... including attachments for proof. Plus, the fact I've also reordered this title, at least I'll have it and won't have to be concerned with more back and forth, which this appears to be where this is heading, unfortunately.  Kindly refund the money/funds of $22.37, I have personally also filed for an investigation with the **** since it hasn't been received. This item wouldn't be with a neighbor if since deliveries are generally made to a centrally locked cluster of boxes, unless either placed in the wrong mailbox, or on its way back to you somehow.  This has left a bad taste in my mouth & from all that I've researched so far, this is starting to feel more and more ************* **** *** ** *** ******** ******* * ** *** ****** and I don't want to continue being part of this transaction any longer I just want my money back.  Note: I see nothing listed other than a *** Store for your California Books, Miami Address, then somewhere else it mentions you being in Jacksonville, Florida, and then AbeBooks.com is in Canada, this is beginning to sound more and more like a ***** ****** (********* **** * ** **** ****** ** *** ************ ** **** ***** ** ***** *********** ** *** **** ** **** ** ******* *** *** ***** **** ***** ****** ** ** ***** *** ** ***** ***** *** *** ***** *******.  I truly wished this had been a much better experience because I would have given you so much more business, but that is only likely to happen now, pending the outcome of this transaction and how well you handle customer service, from here on out. I did already re-purchase this title elsewhere because this comes off, like way too much drama already, and bad, bad, bad vibes! 

      Business Response

      Date: 07/02/2025

      Hello,
      We're sorry to hear of this experience. A full refund for this order has been processed yesterday (February 7, 2025).
      Thank you,
      *******
      Customer Support Team Lead

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/02/2025

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

      Thanks to everyone who had a hand in bringing about this final resolution. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/02/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I bought the book "** ***** ******" by ******* ** *************, which was described as having "Clean pages and illustrations with noticeable tanning and foxing throughout. More pronounced to free endpapers and pastedowns." However, this book, in addition to foxing, has mold growing in it. The seller is refusing to pay for shipping to send my book back for a refund, saying that their listing correctly describes the book in question. ABEBOOKS is impossible to get ahold of for help from a customer service point of view.

      Business Response

      Date: 05/02/2025

      Hello,
      We're sorry to hear of this experience. We have processed a full refund for this order after you contacted our Customer Support.
      Thank you,
      *******
      Customer Support Team Lead

      Customer Answer

      Date: 05/02/2025

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:28/01/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I purchased a copy of the *** * * ** through AbeBooks.com on January 1, 2025. The seller for this product is known as ********** and it is based in ********** *******. I was initially told not to expect delivery until the end of January. While checking on the status of my other orders, I noticed that the website listed my package as being delivered on January 8 at 5:25am. I then contacted both AbeBooks and ********** to let them know I had not received this package. ***** ****, a customer service representative at AbeBooks then contacted me on January 11th and said that they had given me the wrong tracking number and that they would rectify this as soon as possible. I was not given any updates until January 22, in which I was told that they had confirmed my order with ********** and given a new tracking number. However, on January 20, I placed a call with ********** to inquire about the status of my order. During this phone call, I was told that ********** only operated within their own university and when I confirmed that I was not a student I was told that they would have to cancel my order and that I should expect a refund to come from AbeBooks as they had not yet received my payment. I was also told that the charge to the account used for this order should still be listed as pending. The account used for this charge does not list the payment as pending and has taken out the money. When I contacted ***** **** about this, my concerns were dismissed and I was told that my order had been shipped. I then tried to ask why I would have been told that my order was not being fulfilled and I have not yet received an answer. I also asked for assistance with filing a refund request as I am not able to complete one on the website and have not yet been assisted. On January 26, I received yet another email from AbeBooks stating that my package had been delivered on January 8 at 10:45am. I am looking to have the charge on my account refunded as soon as possible.

      Business Response

      Date: 28/01/2025

      Hello,

      I see that you've been corresponding with the seller primarily. Our team will contact you shortly to confirm that you've been refunded since your item didn't arrive and the seller wasn't able to resolve it for you. 

    Abebooks.com is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

    To become accredited, a business must agree to BBB Standards for Trust and pass BBB's vetting process.

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