Alibris

Alibris has a kickin-fun look to them in blues and oranges. They brag that they have over 50 million new and used books available. That's a little misleading. What they mean to say is that they are fairly certain they can obtain that many if you want ...

After attending a few meetings of my local breast cancer support group, I volunteered to start a lending library to have a selection of books available for women looking for information about the disease, treatment options and even a few memoirs for ...

I first came across Alibris through Mypoints.com. I had been looking for some old, out-of-print books for my master's dissertation, and I just wasn't finding them on line. A friend had mentioned Alibris, and then I saw it at MyPoints, so I decided to...

I just came back from T ombstone, Arizona and saw a few books that I wanted. Of course, these books were quite expensive in Tombstone - double the usual purchase price. So I checked out Epinions for help with online ...

Alibris.com is a smaller scale online bookstore that sells new and used books. Certain users (predominately small bookstores) list books on the alibris websites and receive ratings from previous customers. Alibris also has some books in its own ...

Easy to order. Good when things go smoothly... but, TOTALLY LACKING in customer service when there's a problem. ~*~*~*~*~ Alibris.com is a main storefront for a massive network of independent booksellers with mostly used books. They offer most ...

Albris is an online bookseller which is teamed up with many smaller booksellers to offer a fairly good range of new and used books (for a single seller). This arrangement means two things for the average customer: (1) You could end up paying a lot ...

In the past Alibris.com was my choice for buying out of print books online. They had a great selection; the books were shipped on time and packaged well. I had no real complaints.

In February I ordered a Jonathan Carroll book from one of...

I placed an order for a book from Alibris on November 23, and the money was charged to my credit card that day. They sent me an email stating my book should arrive by December 7. It was supposedly shipped out the next day, but after two weeks I still had ...

I love Alibris, but it does have its shortcomings. If you want a book fast, head to Amazon or B&N. If you want a book you can't find anywhere, Alibris is the place. Part of the fun of shopping at Alibis is the thrill you get when you finally find ...

I've ordered books and movies from Alibris at least four times. I've never had a problem with them. Generally speaking, the book prices are cheaper than you will find elsewhere; however, often an out-of-print book will be listed with a price over $100. ...

God, after having the worst experience in the world with eCampus, I figured anything would be a vast improvement. I discovered Alibris while searching for book titles with Google. When ...

SHOP AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU HAVE A DEADLINE, SHOP SOMEWHERE ELSE (don't even think of ordering textbooks from Alibris). DO NOT ORDER FROM AN INDIVIDUAL SELLER BY THE NAME OF "PAYLESS." IF YOU MUST ORDER FROM THIS WEBSITE, USE A CREDIT CARD ...

I ordered a book from Alibris on 4 Jan 2007. Checking out was easy. My credit card was duly charged for my order. It has been 7 weeks since I placed the order, and my credit card was charged. Today's date is 15th Feb 2007, and after more than 20 email ...

For used (and new), and out-of-print books, Alibris does everything right that Amazon does wrong:

1.) Unlike the chaotic flea market that Amazon's Marketplace (used book market) has become, Alibris's merchants are actual professionals who sell...

this was my first time using alibris and it will be my last. 1. book ordered no problems. 2. receipt recieved. 3. email received stating order had been confirmed with seller and was being shipped. 4. email received saying order had been cancelled, ...

Alibris' Customer Service: SO far it's lousy. Quality Control: Poor. Why do I say this? I've ordered at least 3 times from Alibris going back to 2002 or earlier for the first time and then 2 times this year. NONE of these orders ever arrived at ...

Alibris is a terrible company. On August 29th, 2005, I ordered a college textbook that my wife needed ASAP through Alibris (#12785163-1); I selected two day delivery (an extra $10). Within twenty four hours, Alibris sent an email saying "The item listed ...

My previous results in ordering books from Alibris (over several years) has been mixed - I got the books I ordered perhaps 90% of the time. However, over a three day period in July, I ordered 23 technical books from Alibris across seven separate orders. ...

Ordering from Alibris is not safe bet. Just because you receive a receipt and a charge is made to your card doesn't mean you will receive the book. I ordered a book for my husband's birthday on 02/24/06 via Alibris. I received a confirmation email ...

The very first book I ordered from Alibris was a Bill Evans book on Jan 23rd from the seller "A1Books.com"  If you look at their page in Alibris, you will notice it they are rated 5 blue circles which is the highest I had seen and I chose them ...

What a nightmare!! I placed an order for a very common hardcover book, Branch's At Caanan's Edge. I have a book allowance and I like supporting small businesses so, rather than get it from Amazon, I found it on Allibris. I made sure the description ...

There are only a few websites over the years that I have found that I can rely on to find great deal on the books that I am looking for and Alibris is one of those sites. Over the years I have been able to find some great deals at this site for new and ...

I found Alibris when a web search for an out-of-print book linked to the site. After browsing the extensive online catalogue, I bought ten books for $45, including shipping and handling. Two of the books would have each cost more than $50 new, so this ...

Alibris is the worst scam book seller. I ordered a Book Exploring Power Point 2007 from a seller on alibris who was very misleading the seller name was Nettextstore Lincoln, NE, UNITED STATES A very bad seller who sent me a cd instead of the ...

Update:A full refund from Alibris!!!  Customer Service the way it should be!!!  They really ended up tcb-ing [taking care of business].  Perhaps they were going to all along but my frustrations and impatience rushed to ...

I ordered several hardback books and got soft back books and audio cassettes from Alibris "highly" reviewed sellers. Now, I have a bunch of items I won't use, and their system does not allow for any recourse against bad sellers...there is no customer ...

Alibris is S L O W. Slow slow slow. Alibris has very good prices and an easy ordering system. The good news seems to stop there. Unfortunately I didn't read seller reviews more carefully detailing problems before ordering from Alibris. For ...

This online bookstore is a TOTAL scam!!!! This was my first time using this website, and I ordered my book through expedited shipping. which I had to pay extra for, thinking it would come with in a couple of days. I have ordered books before this way ...

This is the worst experience I have ever encountered! I ordered some course material for an engineering class from (usedbookliquidators.com) through Alibris. The material was on an OUTDATED FLOPPY "A" disc!! the seller Dotcom ...

This was a response I got to my e-mail for a book allegedly shipped 180 miles not received 19 days. It is probably a part of fotoconnection in Brooklyn and they don't actually ship, just say they ship then charge you a restocking fee when they ship ...

Previous reviewer is correct- don't even think of ordering books from Alibris if you have any timeline...or if you absolutely need the book. In trying to buy textbooks, two of the three books on the last order had problems. One seller who lists address ...

I have used Alibris to find used or rare books maybe 8 times over the past couple of years. Sometimes the experience is fine and I get a good deal with prompt delivery. Sometimes the experience is frustrating and I am left stranded without my desired ...

I ordered a much needed textbook for class. They charged my card, yet the book was not available. I was notifed via email about 3 days after I ordered the book that it was not available after all. They said they'd refund my money. I emailed customer ...

This is the worst online store ever. I was drawn to them not knowing all the bad things that were about to happen in exchange for a low-priced item. They will only accept returns if the item is damaged. My reason, that I'd accidently ordered 2 of an ...

This is absolutely the best place to buy used books on the internet. There are several great locations out there for inexpensive used books, but this one is the best. I always check alibris.com, addall.com, abebooks.com, and amazon.com for used books,...

Alibris is the worst! Placed order for 7 items and rec'd shipping notice that stated all of order would be received in about 2 weeks. DELIVERY SPEED: After two weeks I started contacting all of the places I had ordered through, as I had received nothing. ...

In general, Alibris has given me very good service (though I've only ordered books). The orders have always been accurate if not always especially timely-sometimes things arrive sooner, sometimes they take too long. WHAT customer service??-I have had one ...

I bought a couple books in the past with them, which was fine. I received it in about 14 days. Unfortunately, they just lost me as a customer after what I've been through with an order that got lost through them. I received an order confirmation, ...

I have ordered from Alibris before with a little trouble but this time was my LAST time. First time there was a computer glitch and it took me a LONG time to get a refund from them. This time, I ordered the $49 worth of books from Alibris itself to get ...

I ordered a book on 12/18/07 which was supposed to be a Christmas present for my daughter. Created an account with alibris.com so I can track the order. After ordering, my account "Order History" registered 0 orders. So I ordered a second time -- ...

Pros: Great selection
Cons: you can't see the books before you purchase

If you are looking for a rare book or just a used book, Alibris is the place for you. The site provides a wonderful search engine that is very detailed. It makes locating the exact book a snap. Also, prices seem to be VERY reasonable to me. There is...

When I placed the order, they sent the books on time but one of the book was not arrived. When I placed the second order, the book which was pending came. The shipping confirmation date was 19 Jan. 2005, but I received it only by the second week of ...

I ordered two in-stock books March 2. They were sent the next day but did not arrive until 11 days after that. I would be very hesitant to use their standard shipping. Even their customer service noted: "Packages shipped via this method usually take 4-14...

I ordered a book, but I was billed THREE TIMES for the one book. I've done online shopping plenty of times--this was the first time ever I was charged over a website that stated "experiencing problems..try again later.." which you get your credit card ...

Liars, Liars and more Liars!  I ordered Michael Jackson's Moonwalk 2 days after he died for $7.90.  3 weeks went by with no email from Alibris so I emailed them asking the state of the order.  They told me it was mailed on June 30th (3 ...

Ordered more than a dozen books through Alibris. Was told that my order shipped out MediaMail on Dec. 23-05. Today is Jan. 11-06 and still no sign. No way to contact them -- sent four emails with NO response from them. These people either lie about their shipping dates or their "partners" are lying. One or the other. This has happened before so it would look as if it is my fault for being stupid enough to trust them this time. Will never do it again....

The Alibris site does little to help you determine the total cost of an order before placing it and it is difficult to tell exactly when you order has actually been placed. I left the site after determining that my order would cost far more than ordering from Amazon. Later, I discovered an E-mail from Alibris stating that I had placed an order. When contacted, they stated the order couldn't be canceled. I had to contact my credit card company to get things straightened out.

There are too many reputable companies out there for me to ever bother with Alibris again.

These people CAN get you a book that you think is unobtainable! I ordered a book that all the "popular" book sites could not seem to find, and they got it to me in record time! It had ceased to be published many years ago. The price wasn't as high as I expected, either, even though it was a little pricey, I had hunted throughout the entire world, it seemed, for this book and they got me a good copy, so I expected to have to pay more.

I have ordered several lots of books from Alibris. In most cases this has worked out OK, except for the multiple shipping costs when each item comes from a different bookseller.

However the shipping times are often incredibly slow. So slow in fact that one forgets ever having ordered the book.

Trying to track a recent two month old order, I found that I had actually ordered it over three months ago... it took around a month to ship... and one other title ordered last year had not been shipped, but not received by me.

Contacting Alibris customer support line, I get a reply that the items were shipped via DHL and Alibris have no tracking data, and cannot give refunds on items not notified within 60 days.

Is this bad management or a fraud? I will not be shopping there again.

You feel they must be fraud when you try to contact Alibris
1)website delivery time changed 2) no customer service = help yourself or get lost (only recorded messages no real person to talk to 3)You feel trapped, frustrated because you don't get anywhere dealing with Alibris 4)Have tried to erase all the information I gave them but no luck 5)I do not trust Alibris because they were not going to deliver timely like they promised. This is a company to look out for big time!!!

on feb 18 i ordered books from alibris and i was surprised by the books i found in a month later that it was not i want to buy. i paid about 90 dlrs. for books but they sent me the wrong items that cost only about 15-20 dlrs.

i returned the wrong items on march 18 while was writing more than 10 emails to their customer service.

it is almost a month and a half and I have not received my refund. I feel I am cheated by the poor online bookstore that sent wrong books but charged me bloody high.

i am writing this message on april 23 and it is more than 7 days that alibris replied my mail. they suddenly disappeared.

i am thinking about dispute the payment and informing my bank that i was charged for unfair business. It's ridiculous and idiotic to make a wrong decision with bad/ crab/ online bookstore.

Shopping with Alibirs and you will realize dark side of online business. Enjoy yourself for being cheated your bucks without any return

I would NOT recommend this company to anyone! I ordered my book 12 days ago, it was processed, and supposedly shipped according to my account history, but still no book. I needed it 4 days ago- now I'm behind in my coursework. I emailed customer service and they responded with some lame automated response saying that if this did not answer my questions, to respond to the email and customer service would get back with the immediately. I responded, they however, 2 days later have not. So I tried calling Alibris by obtaining a phone number from the BBB website, as it is not listed on the Alibris site. Still, no real people behind the phones, just a bunch of automated crap. Can't get in touch with customer service and I still have no book. Oh, but my bank account has been charged! Go to the BBB site and look them up- apparently there have been MANY complaints regarding this company. I certainly don't recommend using them. They may be a bit cheaper, but it's worth spending a few extra bucks to avoid the hassles of crappy customer service!

Worst customer relations ever! No phone number with a live person on it; I paid for expedited shipping but books were sent via UPS Ground and didn't arrive when I needed them. No recourse; the biggest rip-off I've ever experienced in my days as an online shopper.

I made the mistake of ordering from a supposedly guaranteed seller on Alibris. The seller charged my credit card the full amount and never sent the books. Neither Alibris nor the seller would respond to my emails. I had to dispute the charge with my credit card and still do not know if there will be a satisfactory conclusion. NEVER EVER order from Alibris. If you need an out-of-print book, try a reliable local bookstore that will find a copy for you. It may cost more, but it will be worth it not to experience what I am going through. Good luck to you...

This store frustrates me so much! Everytime i click on one of their $3 links the cheapest book on the site is more than $10! They should prohibit that site from listing on shoppping.com

BUYER BEWARE: Alibris & Indoo

Book was ordered via Alibris based upon delivery promise of December 22. Day came and went without delivery.

Next-to-no customer service from Alibris. Mostly auto-responses ignoring any notion of delivery promise and will not address refunds. Alibris has been good in the past but perhaps something has changed. Certainly, they are dependent upon the honesty and professionalism of their vendors, and this one certainly let them down.

Indoo is an empty storefront without any company or contact info. Definitely stay away from this outfit.

I've been forced into filing a dispute with my credit card company and have a note posted outside refusing delivery, if it should ever come. I have the terrible feeling that this has been a disastrous and expensive lesson learned.

BEWARE THE POSITIVE REVIEWS OF ALIBRIS. I think most or all are fake. I have not spoken or exchanged emails with ONE person in the last three days who has had a good experience. I wish I had checked here first, BEFORE they tagged me for over $500.

Still not even an order confirmation from them, NO response from their "customer service" department, the site shows no order was even placed, yet my credit card company confirms that they took my money IMMEDIATELY.

The glowing reviews are even written like bad testimonials. Don't believe them.

I have used them for over four years and always been pleased with the quality and promptness of books when received. I use standard shipping (USPS) and they arrive within 5-7 days of placing my order.

Wow is this company ever BAD!

First they state there is no way of proving that they sent my order, which I find unbelievable.

Second, after many emails they issued a refund ... and it was less than the amount paid!

What kind of company sends a shipment without proof? What kind of company keeps a customers money in exchange for nothing?

The deals offered are false and I recommend avoiding Alibris.com at all costs.

TERRIBLE! TERRIBLE! TERRIBLE!!! Only thing good was the price of the books. I ordered 4 books from a store less than 100 miles from me. I was charged over $10 for shipping. It's not made clear that "standard shipping" is media mail. Okay, I realize that they have to make a profit some way. Now it is almost 2 weeks and I have still not received my package. Per the USPS web site it should take 2 days for the package to get to me at a cost of $2.47--Can you say RIP-OFF! I contacted customer service (BTW--NO telephone support) and they say I should wait 30 days. I will NEVER use thier service again. Richard

Very fast service. I ordered my book on a Thursday received on Monday. Exactly what was promised was in fact delivered.
Great overall experience.

DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!
Their listing of stock is just a suggestion - a lot of what they have is actually coming from 3rd party book sellers. I ordered a book from them and they charge my credit card immediately and said it shipped 2 days later. However, after 3 weeks I hadn't received it. I contacted the 3rd party merchant who said they didn't have the book, didn't ship it, and didn't charge me for it- what a lie! I had to dispute the charge with my credit card company to get my money back because Alibrius's customer service is unresponsive and awful!!

I have used Alibris on many occasions for books for work and home and have never been disappointed. The sellers ship promptly, the orders are right, and the books are as good as or better than described. Just yesterday (Friday) I received the book I ordered just this past Saturday and it was even better than expected (like new in fact). Besides that it's an easy web site to use to find the items you want, sometimes at an unbelievably low price. Recommended to all.

For about two years I always shop from Alibris. Till now I bought more than 12 books. They are friendly and offer good prices. Once the book was lost and they refunded me immediately. I am very satisfied with their service and I wonder about those last negative reviews.

I ordered a book with Alibris, it took 4 days to process, after which my order was canceled. This was an urgent matter, as I needed the book for a class which starts in a week, and the teacher just recently sent an email about this. The refund, it says, will take 2-3 weeks.
This is the most unreliable, unfriendly and in a bad sense "corporate" business that I have ever seen!!!! I will never buy anything from here again! If you want reliability, go to Amazon! Alibris maybe has some purpose for its existence, but obviously not if you need a textbook in 2 weeks! I wont be surprised if they cancel half of their orders!
-An extremely dissatisfied ex-customer

Online ordering was easy and prices appeared competitive. However 30 days passed and I still had not received my order. I filled out their customer service form, received a stock reply and waited. Still, no response. I tried calling the customer service phone number listed on the site, but all options are automated and speaking to a customer service rep is not possible. Meanwhile, I am out of my money, have none of my books ordered, and haven't received a response.

Very frustrating experience. The order seemed easy and received same day reply that order was shipped, indicating that I should receive it in 7 - 14 business days. 30 days later, still no book. I inquired about the delivery after 25 days, only to get a reply that I needed to wait 30 before they would look into. Also, they offer No Tracking. What kind of business does this anymore?

I ordered a two book order (expensive) and it was shipped to an incorrect address. I have written 8 e-mails (incl. one to the bookseller) have had no response except for a question "you are not at the wrong address?". No phone number no customer service.

Same as many of the reviews I have read - I ordered a textbook on September 24th and received shipping confirmation on the 27th it is now the 2nd of November and no book yet. Everytime I write to Alibris, I get an auto response that says the same thing again and again. 7 emails later still waiting for something more concrete. Will not be ordering from here in the future. Is there anyone whose books were to come from discountbookz, an independent seller with Alibris?

I ordered four RARE books from 2 different sellers (neither was alibris)and was e-mailed that both sellers shipped the next day. I received the books from one seller after 22 days. Though they specified that they would be shipped priority mail (the post office says priority mail takes THREE days), they were instead shipped media mail at a fraction of the cost I was charged. The other two books never arrived at all. I was told they were "lost in the mail", and I would be refunded my money. The books are still available from the seller, so obviously they were NEVER shipped at all. A refund was issued the next day for ONE of the books. It took several e-mails (I received automated responses which did not address my problem), and another week before the refund for the second book was issued.

I shop online a lot, and Alibris has the worst customer service out there, hands down. I ordered two books from them in January. One (from an independent seller) arrived perfectly in about ten days. Love it. The other book (sold by alibris) supposedly shipped out the day after the first, and has yet to arrive (end of March). After waiting thirty days, I began emailing their cs dept. After six emails, three with automatic "we've received your message" responses, I've heard nothing but the snotty reply to my BBB complaint. Thank God the book was cheap, as I doubt I'm going to see it or my dinero ever again. As stated previously, no real email address, no phone number, no nothing. Unbelievable.

My item got lost in the mail, and it took Alibris several weeks to inform me that they would not assist me in any way or issue me a refund. All they said was that if I wanted a refund, I had to return the book. Since then, I have not been able to get a response from them.

My ongoing shopping experience with Alibris has left a very bad taste in my mouth. Thirty four days ago, on placing my order with Alibris, they debited my credit card. Fifteen days later (after I contacted them) they claimed the pre-owned book had been shipped to me that day but a further 20 days later, still no book at my mailbox. Earlier in the same month (Nov. 2007) I had also ordered pre-owned books from U.S. independent booksellers with 1) Amazon and 2) Abebooks. I received those books in Australia in less than 10 days from the dates of my orders.

In my opinion, Alibris offer a lousy service, with their shipping charges in line with the much superior service and shipping of Amazon and Abebooks.

I've order from Alibris before and had no issues but this time was different and because Alibris customer service was unresponsive, unhelpful and would not admit their or Bunches of Books mistake --all my future business will go elsewhere.

I ordered a used book through Alibris from Bunches of Books and received a used audio CD book instead. On my order confirmation, which I can still access on the Alibris website, it clearly states Media Type as Used Book. I included all the details of my order in an email to customer service and received a 'sorry but too bad' reply because they (Alibris) claim that their website had Media Format as Unknown.

I also contacted Bunches of Books and have not received a response.

Lesson learned and hopefully others will learn from my mistake: Do not order from an online business unless they have a valid phone number for you to reach them, otherwise they can hide behind the email and take their time in replying and in my case claim that they are not at fault.

Horrible. Placed an order for a college textbook from Alibris through Half.com.  Order was confirmed.  The next day Alibris sent an email informing me that the order was shipped.  Four days later an email arrived from Half.com  telling me that I was getting a refund as the order could not be filled!  This AFTER I was told the order had been shipped!  Alibris never contacted me that there was a problem, the only notification I got was the refund notice from Half.com.  All other books I ordered on the same day from different companies arrived!  Alibris never contacted me that "the seller"  made an error, made no contact at all  Learned there was a problem because Half.com issued a refund.  Result - no textbook - had to reorder at a higher cost, higher shipping - would NEVER use this company again.

My experience with Alibris was rather disappointing to put it mildly. The book wasn't sufficiently described in the add. When I asked for more info I didn't receive an answer. I took a chance and bought the book, thinking that the price was good and also their return policy in case the book turned out to be a softcover and not the expected hardcover. The book turned out to be a softcover, and so I returned it the day after it was received. It's been about two month now, Alibris got the book back, but won't refund the money. My e-mails don't get any answers, and I am stuck with a very sore feeling about them. Be careful when buying from them!

Extremely poor service. I paid twice for a used book that I need for a course I am taking; I paid for expedited service and as today, several days later, my book still did not arrive. Alibris does not care for their customers, all they care is to take their monies. The e-mail I received tells me to contact them again if my book does not arrive within 30 days. GREAT. They do not provide their customers with a customer phone number, nor a shipping tracking number. I DO NOT ADVISE ANYONE TO BUY FROM THEM UNLESS THEY WANT TO EXPERIENCE FRUSTRATION AND HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I was looking for an out of print book and found it on Alibris for a good price so I ordered it, the payment went through and a few days later it said my order had been shipped...that was almost two months ago and it still hasn't arrived, I've contacted them and have received no replies at all. I have no idea what has happened to it or if it was even shipped at all.

A year ago, I was looking for six hard to find books. Alibris had five of them -- all at prices lower than Amazon. All five books were delivered as promised. When one seemed late, Alibris answered my email immediately. The site is very easy to use and the prices are terrific.

During the past year, I have done ALL of my bookshopping on Alibris. The one book I returned, I received a credit immediately (much easier than returning a used book on Amazon!).

CAUTION. Alibris, like eBay, is a collection of sellers. They do give you ratings for each seller, but if you get a bad seller, you may have a bad experience. Choose your seller carefully.

Horrible customer service. Received a book , hated it returned it and for over two months will not give me a refund or credit. Have never had such a bad experience on line even with ebay who has a million separate sellers. They ripped me off and I'm angry!!!!!!!!

Very unfortunate experience. When I tried to order a specific book, and then reviewed the order, it was a different book than I had clicked on. When I tried to undue the order, there was no way to do this. There is also no phone number to call: only an email address.

Alibris says that this is my fault and all that I can do to get my money back is to wait for the shipment, then return it, I pay the shipping.

The website SEEMS easy to use, but it clearly deceptive, and without a phone to call to correct any mistake, either theirs or mine, you are stuck with whatever they give you.

I will never use them again.

I ordered a book 24th August and I got an email saying it was shipped 25th August. 23rd September came and no book, so I contacted them. I was told "it got lost in the mail" and they would issue a refund, to wait 7-14 days. 4th October I wrote another message acknowledging receipt of this one, and I was told again: we will issue a refund. What ? I thought it was issued a week ago. Today is 18th October, no book, no refund, no news. I am disputing the charges with my credit card company and I have filed a complaint with BBB Reno ( they have a nice record of complaints against Alibris already ) BEWARE, bad business practice.

Double billed - avoid like the plague.

I ordered two textbooks from the same seller (express books) on alibris for $76+.

I didn't get any order confirmation for my order. I got only one shipping notification.

I was doing online banking and found 2 charges from alibris amounting to $152+. I contacted them and they said that I have two orders and that they were filled and the orders shipped. Customer service is the worst. Also, seller didn't even reply to any of my e-mails.

May 3, 2007
Received both orders today. Express Books must be commended since they were sent by DHL.

I have checked the table of contents of these texts (international editions) against those on the publishers' US websites and they are not exactly the same. Since I need them to be exact I will return them.

Alibris seems to have a problem with its transaction servers/processes which they need to fix.

DO NOT ORDER FROM ALIBRIS.... THEY WILL NOT SHIP YOUR ITEMS AND BLAME THE POSTAL SERVICE, THEY ASE YOU TO WAIT 30 DAYS... IT DOSEN'T EVEN TAKE 30 DAYS TO SHIP TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD.

This company never has shipped my order and will not respond to my inquiries regarding it. They have no phone number.

Never shop at Alibris. They shipped me the wrong book and there is no way to contact them except through a very complex process.

No way to get my refund and I even sent them the book back.

Alibris is a scam, if you have a problem you are screwed. Stick to Amazon or Half.com or other reputable sites.

I have had a terrible time with their support. I ordered a book shipped standard 7/26 now 8/12 and no book. Website says 4-14 days standard shipping. When I received an e-mail back after telling them my class starts on the 23rd and need reimbursement if it doesn't show, they told me I will have to wait a full 30 days till the 26th of Aug. I won't wait for them to reimburse, I will just tell my credit card company to reverse the charge. I asked them to contact the seller but they just blew me off. Frustrating!

I shipped two orders from Alibris on a Sunday night. One was with an independant bookseller, the other with Alibris itself. I got an email saying the books were shipped on that Monday and as I paid expediated shipping, they would arrive by Friday. The shipment from the bookseller came three days later from Oregon (I live in California) I emailed Alibris to see when it was shipped and where they shipped from and they responded with a generic computer email. Then Friday came and no book. In emailed the company again, and they said the book was mailed on Monday. Funny thing was that when the book arrived on Saturday it was datemarked from Wednesday. This company is horrible, with bad service and on top of all that they lie.

Be aware that the ratings for the seller do not come from customers giving feedback. I tried to give feedback to a seller who did not respond to my emails. He sent wrong items, missing items, and used items when I bought all new books. I have tried contacting customer service to which I solely get generated answers that don't answer my question. As far as their return policy, they don't have any for individual sellers AND if perchance you are able to return your books, be aware that you will have to eat your to and from shipping costs, even if it was the seller who made the mistake.

I am highly disappointed in their service and am sticking to amazon. The prices may not be as low, but for the frustration, loss of money and time, it is not worth it. If the price looks a lot lower than other websites, beware. If it is too good to be true, than it probably is.

I purchased books by mistake. That is, I clicked the 'place your order' by a sheer stroke of oversight--my bad, I agree. However, I instantly clicked the back button, but the order went through like a dream (read nightmare).

I then decided to call Alibris hoping that a human voice would respond at some point so that I could cancel the order. To cut a long sob story short, I am yet to find a human voice at the other end in Alibris. Apparently, you CAN'T cancel an order. Strange, indeed. My order is scheduled to arrive in a couple of weeks. I hope to speak to a real person in the while. By the looks of it so far, I would not hope for much.

Absolute horror.
I ordered a book from More Books (one of Alibris' 4-star vendors) paid for expedited shipping and told to wait at least two weeks for delivery. After I was notified that the book shipped I was told that they no longer had the item.
The book (same edition and inventory) miraculously appeared the same day with prices which have gone from 67 to 3-400 dollars.
Alibris has no phone number where you can contact them. It took 10 days to get my refund. (Btw Amazon doesn't charge you until the item is shipped.)
Do your homework before you use this vendor. I can imagine that they have honest vendors as well but after this experience I'll never work with them.

Being warned by all the negative reviews I saw, I was very suspicious about risking the order, but I did. And I am absolutely happy with the result: all 13 books came, they were in excellent condition (all were 2nd hand) and the delivery was on time. I have an idea why some people might have gotten disappointed: you must read AND UNDERSTAND their fine print well, before ordering! There are some hooks, like when you order a book from a vendor instead of them (because the vendor might offer the book cheaper), that amount will not count for your free shipping&handling amount. So in case somebody did not pay attention, they might have been surprised. Your own fault! Learn the conditions, then you'll be served well, like I was.

Placed order on 5/22/06. Received confirmation of shipment on 5/23/06. Was told book would arrive BY 6/3/06 (which I thought was ridiculously long for a domestic state to state order - - this typically happens in 3-5 days.) Needed for a gift by 6-9-08. Needless to say, it has not arrived and when I inquired into the whereabouts, was emailed a canned auto-reply which said the book could take up to 30 days to arrive and they could not track the order nor could I cancel it. Alibris was not the cheapest source for the book and definitely not worth the aggravation. As the book still has not arrived it is apparent that someone lied about either having the book in stock or shipping when they said they did. Do not recommend. I wish I would have read these customer comments before I ordered as my situation sounds fairly common for this company.

I'd rate customer service as a 0 if I could since I'd say 'what customer service?'. There is no phone # to contact and they don't answer their email. I ordered a book over a month ago and never heard back about it. They say it's shipped on their website and no other info.

Good luck with these turkeys. You'll need it.

Of my many years of ordering items over the internet, this website is the ONLY one where I lost a very important book in the mail,a book my father had illustrated during World War II. I did receive my money back from the Mastercard. Still is just wasn't the same. The book I ordered was very rare. I will never order from Alibris again. Their employees must make $6/hour and just don't care.

DREADFUL!! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!! If a seller rips you off, forget about customer service - it is all automated emails with absolutely no regard for your situation!!

I ordered a book which was allegedly dispatched on April 26 although Alibris could not provide proof of shipment. By May 27 it was still undelivered and deemed to be "lost in transit". I am galled to discover I must wait another 14 days for a refund. In my view, Alibris has had the use of my money for 6 weeks in what amounts to sharp, if not fraudulent, practice. Moreover, their customer service seems incapable of generating anything but formulaic replies to e-mails.I will never use Alibris again and will warn all my friends of the disappointment in dealing with this company.

Alibris actually has a lot of rare books that even Amazon.com doesn't have and they're also a lot cheaper too! That's what made me first buy a book from them - I needed an art history book but was more than $100 on Amazon but only $35 (minus shipping) on Alibris!

HOWEVER! I paid EXTRA money for the book to be shipped within a week because classes already started and my professor said we'd need it within the next week. I thought it'd be a pretty quick job done since Alibris seemed very assuring.

It's currently been OVER TWO WEEKS and I have NOT RECEIVED my book yet!!! I refuse to buy another book just to wait for the book I bought from Alibris to come later.

If you are to buy from Alibris, make sure the seller is a good one. And maybe don't pay extra money for shipping. You  might as well go somewhere that actually will bring your package on time.

I've ordered a couple books from Alibris with no problems, but, most recently, I ordered a $40 book that has never arrived. So, following Alibris' instructions on their web site, I e-mailed them with the order no. and, after receiving a reply from them asking me to respond again, I did so. Never heard anything. I've e-mailed them again and again with no response. Just want to say it here - congratulations, Alibris! You must be so successful that you can treat customers so poorly. Highly recommend you not use them. Abebooks has much better service.

I have dealt with Alibris on 8 separate occasions. On my last order (3 books to a friend as a gift)they informed me that one book was cancelled because they found that the item was "unavailable". Perfunctory apologies and refund etc. What surprised me was that this was a newly released book. My "beef" with Alibris is that they could have offered the same book from a different seller at a higher price, which they did not. In addition, trying to communicate with them can be done ONLY thru email. They have no listed, live phone contact. All the emails are "boiler plate" messages, some of which are signed "Rosamaria" and do not address what one is writing to them about.

I ordered a textbook and it was cancelled just hours after I had placed the order. I received an e-mail from Alibris telling me that it was cancelled, and that my refund would be received in a separate e-mail that has already been sent. Well, it is now a week later and I have yet not received my refund e-mail or my actual refund. I have contacted customer service three times and have not received a response whatsoever. I would not recommend this site to anyone.

Terrible Experience! Customer service is non-existent. I'm not saying that there is a customer service dept and it's terrible; I'm saying that it does not exist. I imagine that this is a one or two man operation. I've emailed them three times over the past month, and I have yet to receive one response from them. I accidentally shipped my item to an old address and I needed to contact the seller to inform him of my new address. The only way to contact them is through email. After you send an email, you receive a response saying that they will contact you shortly.... It's been three weeks now and I haven't heard anything from them.
Their prices are great, but save yourself the stress and order from somebody else. It's been three weeks and I still don't my book and I haven't heard from them. My credit-card has been charged.

Alibris is a great place to find a book that you already know you want. I've purchased a couple of dozen books from them and have never had any problems. Good selection and good prices. If I need to have a lot of information first about the book before I buy it, though, I check out Amazon first and then buy through Alibris.

Would definitely not buy from them again. I found a book I wanted through an internet search and ordered it from Alibris. The book that was received was not the book I ordered. I contacted them to return it for the correct one, but they could not find the right one in stock. I shipped the book back, received a refund but they will not refund me the return postage. So, I end up paying the postage to return a book to them that I never ordered in the first place. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. This is a small amount, but the principle of it is more important to me. Terrible business practices, so I won't be shopping there again.

Didn't recieve my book yet, payment has been taken out of my account, what's going on let me know please, because its not fare you said you going to recieve book in 2-3 days and i am still waiting, i need this book urgentely what's the point for taking payment out of the account straight away if you cannot deliever on the time you have given,how the person ever going to trust on your site, please find out for me why my book has not been deliverd yet.

Alibris is awesome. I ordered a book printed 13 years ago in perfect condition (Sahara Clive Cussler Hardcover) worth $30 13 years ago. Now probably worth in that condition $50 for $10! no tracking number but still came over a week early. Great condition and selection A++++

If you have a question, correction or complaint you will not gain access. Alibris has a no contact system cemented in place. Try it before you buy, Emails, phone calls, send you in circles then go unanswered,they don't care. The city of Forrestville, CA is tired of taking complaints about this company and Better Business Bureau has no jursdiction.

Please be careful when placing order with alibris. They are extremely slow in shipping and sometimes they claim that they have shipped, but the item will never arrive. The only offer a refund after 1 month of waiting and not receiving the item. Not to mention, they immediately charge your credit...

30 days later and I still have not received my order. It was to be sent by "standard shipping". I cannot imagine what kind of standard shipping would take 30 days, even around the world.

Well, I found most of the books I wanted, and they were shipped ok, but then the dreaded Double Billing. Glad I caught it.....I will not be shopping here again.

Awful! My book still has not been delivered after 30 days! There is no way to contact Customer Service. I am now 2 weeks behind, of an 8-week class (hoping that my text will arrive some day!).

I purchased a book, which was from one of their resellers. After two weeks, I had not received the book so I contacted Alibris AND the reseller. I never received a response. After a couple more days, I contacted both parties again, and still no response. After almost 3 weeks, I finally received the book, which was described by Alibris as VERY GOOD. When I opened the book, nearly every page was highlighted. Technically, under Alibris' definition, this qualifies as GOOD (although I wouldn't even describe it as that). I mailed the book back and contacted Alibris and the reseller to ensure that I received a full refund including the initial shipping & handling as well as the cost for me to ship it back given that they did not send me the described book. I still have not received a response to my last message nor any of my other messages.

This company is the worst yet I have dealt with for online buying.





I ordered the movie "Home for the Holidays" from them, it supposedly shipped on November 18th. It is a Thanksgiving movie I totally love and was hoping to watch it on or before Thanksgiving.

It is now November 28th, the day after Thanksgiving, and it has yet to show up at all, should have been here November 20th since I paid for expedited shipping. Do NOT buy anything from this company! It is NOT worth the hassle.





I have already sent them one email, they sent me a canned reply, so I sent another one back demanding a refund including the expedited shipping charges I paid. Some expedited shipping, my package never showed up! Also, I cannot contact anyone by phone as they have no live customer service, it is all automated.





I give this company the worst rating you can give them on your ratings review system.

BUY FROM ANYONE ELSE. I purchased a book, which was advertised by Alibris.  After a couple of weeks, I contacted the company to find out where it was.  Through research, I saw the exact same item relisted by them for more money on the website where I had originally purchased the item.  Alibris refused to send the item as promised and did not send any communications indicating that was their intent.

BAD BUSINESS....BAD COMPANY. 

If you deal with them, it's going to be dicey to see if they deliver ANY product. DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM.

Terrible shipping.  Still waiting , its been over 20+ days, and still nothing.  Same response as other wait 30 days.  Avoid this place at all costs.  You may receive your item.. several months later.  Ridiculous. Do your homework prior to ordering from here.  If I had,  I would never be in this situation.  I imagine all the positive reviews are plants by the company .  

You got watch out this company. If you are lucky enough, you can get the book you REALLY want. In the book's description, they didn't tell you everything. For example, if a book comes with CD(s), you better check with them, all the CD(s) is included. Recently I bought a book, the description said "like new", but didn't mention the CD was not included. It took too long to deliver the book. I am not sure they have a customer service at all. They never response your e-mail.

I, too, am having problems with Alibris. My book was shipped in mid February, and it is now mid May and I have yet to receive it. I've sent three e-mails with no response. The 510 number they give to call is a joke. I would like any feedback on what other people have done in this situation and was it ever resolved.

I have made two attempts to buy books from Alibris. Alibris has cancelled both my orders on the basis of not having the book. If you don't have it, why advertise it? If you advertise it, make the effort to back-order it. Or let the customer know you don't have the damn book. Don't charge the credit card and then change your mind in a week. They are the only booksellers that have done this to me. It is totally unprofessional and as a result I won't try to buy from them anymore. Very disappointed with Alibris. Stay away from them!

DO NOT order from Alibris! I ordered a book only to have them cancel the order the same day. They CHARGED my account anyway, and 3 months later I am still trying to reach someone to get a refund. Their system of course shows a refund was issued. But my credit card company has never received one. It's impossible to reach a person on the phone with a billing problem. All you get is a promise for a call-back...which doen't come! There are better booksellers out there. I highly recommend you find someone else.

I'm completely dissatisfied with the way Alibris does business: I duly paid for a guidebook , which I need today, and for expedited delivery. The promised delivery date was April 9, otherwise I would not have placed my order with Alibris at all. The book has never been delivered. The advice from Alibris customer service is ridiculous, at best: they tell me to contact them after 30 more days of waiting. Also, they sent you, repeatedly, a whole bunch of boilerplate nonsense which has nothing to do with your case. When you ask them about where your order is they tell you you have to find and deal with their subcontractor, whereas you pay the money to Alibris.

Nobody needs a guidebook after returning from a trip, right? So I stopped the payment for this order because of non-delivery of merchandise, and asked Alibris to cancel the order.

I feel very bad about my experience with Alibris and I'll never deal with Alibris again.

Alibris has tempting prices, an easy site to navigate, and absolutely AWFUL customer service when something goes wrong. Frequently, the independent booksellers delay in shipping items, or announce the book is "unavailable" after you place an order. Alibris does not provide a way for customers to directly rate their sellers, so you can't depend on the Alibris ratings of individual sellers. Trying to get a refund is big trouble. Trying to convince them you never received a book when a seller has goofed up is an even bigger problem. It takes a minimum of three e-mails to their customer service to get a reply.

They have no customer service, as far as I can tell. I have sent somewhere between a dozen and two dozen emails regarding a lost shipment and have never heard anything back. Nothing. I repurchased the item(s) on Amazon and called it a learning experience.

They take a long time replying to your e-mails. Some sellers on the site will not reply to your e-mails at all. Some sellers will try to rip you off. You won't be able to get a refund from Alibris either. Don't trust their seller rating system, it is almost a scam to get you to buy something. Users can't rate the sellers, only the sellers can rate themselves. Usually they rate themselves as reliable sellers.

I love Alibris. I have ordered many times from this site and love it! Generally wide selection and what is not available today might be there next week! The prices are very reasonable and I have found the expected delivery date either right on the date or many times the books come even earlier. I would, and have, recommend this site to anyone. I love the recommended books when I search on a book or author. I have found some really great books that way. The one problem I did have with a book not shipped from an independent seller and the condition of another from the same seller was taken care of by Alibris promptly. They refunded my money after my email to then with no problem and it was credited to my card in just a couple of days.

I've been ordering books thru the net for the past 10 yrs, and my experience with my bookseller is nice. I get delivery within 2 weeks, and this is international shipping. I tried placing an order thru ALIBRIS since they had the book I was looking for, and at an attractive price. Well, I waited two weeks and my order was still pending. This is probably not the worst case, but it just simply discredits the seller, given the fact that they have competitors who do things more reliably. It is disappointing, especially when you can't even cancel the order, and try another seller who can do it better.

This is the worst on-line shopping experience i have had in my entire lifetime. I paid for expedited delivery, got deliveries in 14days after several emails. I returned the book 4 weeks ago and they still claim not to have received it therefore no refunds for me as of now. They are dubious.

I paid for a text book in new condition from seller pleasereadcommentsb4purchasing on Alibris and it arrived damaged (looked as if book was dropped on corners). Then, as I was going through the class the text book was for I realized that it was missing a whole chapter. The seller refunded my money for the text book but refused to respond to my requests for the shipping refund. In the end, I paid shipping to and from my house for a defective book. To add to that, a classmate of mine ordered her text book from a different seller (name unknown) using the unique ISBN number and received the wrong edition. Alibris would not refund her shipping costs either. She and I will never use Alibris again.

i ordered a book and it wasn't what was described on the website. i received the 7th edition of the book and what i wanted and what was shown was the 9th edition. i promptly sent it back and expected a full refund minus the shipping fee. but instead i received an email stating that my refund was denied. nowhere on their refund website does it state that a refund can be denied! i am very frustrated!

The day after ordering a textbook, I received an email stating the order has shipped. Seven days later, I contacted Alibris to find out the status of my expedited shipment, and they replied: "Thanks for writing in. I have gone through the status of your order, your order has been refunded in full due to OUT OF STOCK. If you have any query related payment please contact with Alibris Clients Services because payment related issue solely handle by them only." They never notified me that they did not have the textbook but were eager enough to charge my credit card the day of ordering. And, after ten days, they still have not refunded my credit card. I finally had to dispute the charge with the credit card company.

A formal complaint was filed with the BBB (Golden Gate & Northern California). And, as always, it may prove prudent to check with the Federal Trade Commission for possible violation of interstate trade laws of the Wheeler-Lea Amendment and the Robinson-Patman Act for deceptive online practices including false representation, deceptive advertising and selling claims.

Will I ever shop Alibris again: NOPE.

Do not be misled by Alibris's low prices. You get what you pay for. I ordered a book for a class, and I assumed it would arrive in a reasonable amount of time. Two weeks after receiving an email stating the book had been shipped, I still did not have my book. I contacted Alibris through email (they do not list a phone number), and they responded with a canned email that instructed me to wait 30 days from the date of shipping before making another complaint. After 30 days, I had yet to receive my book. Again, I contacted Alibris; and again, they provided no help. They claimed that this was not their fault. I doubt I will receive a refund. I feel like I have been robbed.

HORRIBLE. Paid 11.00 for expedited shipping, for in-stock books. They shipped on time, but 3 weeks later, no books. They have no phone#.

UPDATE: Received an auto-response email, saying wait 30 days before contacting them further, saying "it's rare, but sometimes the USPS encounters delays." I'd read many reviews and knew this delay wasn't "rare." I didn't like that they're trained to pin the blame on USPS. Also, how "rare" could it be if it happened to both my books, which shipped separately?

I wrote back to ask what $11 shipping method was used, and they responded saying they can't control the seller's delays (What?). Anyway, that wasn't the problem since other sellers weren't involved, and I didn't appreciate them again dodging blame. They also wrote "I understand the additional expense to receive your order quicker." Again, what? Glad they understand. I don't.

I wrote back to say their emails are negligent, that they're dodging blame, and to again request a shipping refund. This isn't about money, but it irks me that their shipping estimate dates are faulty and misleading. Though I doubt I'll receive a refund from Alibris, I hope they'll address this common problem.

Stick with Amazon!

Terrible company! I hope that people will stop buying from them until they take responsibility for their mistakes. First of all, they send me the WRONG book, and then I, YES I, have to send it back to them and I, YES I, have to pay for it, in order for them to refund me the money for the book (but not the shipping). So I pay for all the shipping, but I STILL don't get the right book....HOW THE HELL DOES THAT WORK??? Brutal. I hate online stores, especially this one!
I also could not contact them by phone, so I had to do it through email, which is even worse. Like who is running this thing?? Delivery speed was slow as well. What a headache... don't bother one second with this company.

SCAM!!! It's been 2 1/2 months. No book. 3 emails to customer service (that's a joke) no response. This is a theft ring. They should be arrested.

I need to say ALIBRIS.com is really bad. I ordered my book at their online bookstore, and they told me that I need to contact individual bookseller when I did not received my order book for 13 days!

It is SO ridiculous, maybe they can tell reader going to individual booksellers' website and buy book on these website. Furthermore, I can NOT find any contact phone number at its website.

In the viewpoint of service, Alibris.com is really NOT good. Amazon.com is much much better than Alibris.com

Placed my first and last order with Alibris. Supposedly book was shipped 2 weeks ago from ONE state away. Even by media mail I’ve gotten books faster from across the country. My emails to Alibris receive a quick response, but they really don’t read them entirely. No response to why it’s over 2 weeks from a nearby state and no book. Either Alibris lied or their seller lied, either way Alibris won’t take the time to check, plus they’re not set up like Amazon to get on a seller’s back.

I only shopped with Alibris because Amazon didn’t have a new print of the book I wanted. But from now on I’d rather take a dingy, old copy from Amazon.

Also, no system here to track packages. No way to contact seller. In short, no proof book left other than Alibris’s email saying said book has shipped, and that means nothing.

Alibris is just a middle man service. If problems occur, it's the individual seller you're dealing with. Some are excellent, some are not. I am happy to say I had a flawless transaction.

I searched everywhere for a used title and it was the only one out of my list that was priced well thru an Alibris seller. I used a $1 off promotional code that worked flawlessly. The seller emailed me within 12 hours to let me know my book was in the mail. It arrived four days later via USPS Media Mail. It was well packaged and exactly as described. Couldn't have been smoother.

I'm very satisfied and highly recommend Daryl Beyers as a seller via Alibris. I always recommend contacting the individual seller to ask if they have the book in stock, etc. So that you can see if they contact you in a timely manner before you make a purchase.

Very poor experience. Alibris is just a broker for independent booksellers. When I did not receive books I ordered, Alibris would not refund my money or get the books delivered. You're better off dealing with the bookseller yourself,

I paid extra for expedited shipment and was informed I would receive my book in about a week. Two weeks later I still had not received the book. I emailed customer support and all I got back was a generic email. I will not order from these people again!

I ordered a book at what seemed a very good price with expedited shipping and never recieved it, even after complaining to the company. This outfit is a fraud. Report your similar experiences to the FBI internet crime bureau at www.ic3.gov/.

I ordered two books last year. After 6 weeks I still hadn't received either of them, finally I got into contact with them after multiple attempts and they blamed it on the post office, even though somehow I always receive everything else I order online. They only would reimburse me for one book because it's the only one "the post office" returned. I tried them again this year and ordered one book about six weeks ago, I still have not received it even though I was charged the second I ordered it, and they are not responding to my emails.

Alibris is a scam. Do not use it.

Bad customer service and unreliable delivery.

Better to go to bookfinder.com and find the same merchants at a cheaper price.

The most unreliable of all online sellers--and I have tried them all

I placed an order almost a month ago, was told that the package had shipped two days later, and was told that I would receive the package two and a half weeks ago. No package, and so far I've been unable to talk to a person about the problem.

I've read so many reviews for Alibris and wished I would have read them before placing an order with them. I'll keep this short. You'll lose your money because they have terrible service that is inept with keeping track of their own orders. Forty-five days after my order shipped, still no book, still no refund after several requests. Seriously, just don't bother.....the worst of service.

Had a great experience - great prices, really easy to use site. Got stuff faster than I expected.

Didn't have to interact with customer service, but things were pretty clear to me.

Don't order from Alibris. I sent 3 emails to inform Alibris that my order did not arrive 3 weeks past the scheduled arrival date. No one bother to respond to my emails and there is no phone contact number. I can't cancel the order either because customer service is non-existence.

Buyer Beware!! What a disappointment. We ordered a book, which took forever, and when it finally arrived, the CD that came with the book was broken in half. It is virtually impossible to contact this company via e-mail, telephone, etc. Unlike Amazon, Alibis does not pay for the return postage. We will never do business with them again.

Very dissatisfied with my recent experience at Alibris. Ordered a text for my husband in January 2008. Was told that the order was shipped weeks later and that I should be receiving the book shortly. NEVER RECEIVED THE BOOK and it was paid for in full. In my communications with Alibris, they did nothing to remedy the matter and placed the onus on the customer. I simply wanted a $32 credit for an item that was never received. Cannot recommend Alibris and felt that others should beware of their poor customer satisfaction if a problem was to occur.

I have made 4 purchases from or through Alibris. All items have arrived in the stated condition promptly. Some books were hard to find but available through Alibris. In each case, Alibris had the best price. I have been very satisfied with this merchant.

TOTAL SCAM! Ordered 3 books (all HARDCOVER) as gifts. Books took several days longer to receive than quoted. Books shipped were all PAPERBACK. Emailed and telephone but got no response other than an automated email response. Wrong items, wrong price, delayed shipping, NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT.

I Placed an order for 3 books, all of which were in-stock at the time of order. Three days later I received an e-mail stating that one book was out of stock. Then came the e-mail that the two remaining books had shipped. Only one has made it. Repeated e-mails go unanswered. There is no way to speak to a HUMAN to resolve issues. Alibris in fact acts as a middle man for other sellers. STAY AWAY FROM A1BOOKS.COM

Would never buy from Alibris again. After waiting nearly 3 weeks for my book I discovered in the fine print of my order status beneath the date it was shipped that my order was refunded 3 days after the ship date. Never got an e-mail notification that I wasn't going to receive the book, never got an explanation why it was refunded. I wrote twice and the first time only got a form letter telling me to wait 30 days before inquiring about the shipping status!?!?! Then wrote again after I discovered the refund tucked away in the fine print of my order status page and received another form letter saying I will be contacted by a customer service representative, but never got a reply of any kind. Talk about poor business and poor service, it's more like pathetic!

The product was shipped on May 04, and I finally got it on May 23rd, when Alibris had mentioned that Canadian shipping time only takes about 10 days or so. Lucky I could borrow a book from the library, or I couldn't even do my earlier school assignments.

I have purchased at Alibris for four years and that comes to 412 books. In the last two months they have cancelled every book I have ordered from the Alibris stock. Something is wrong at Alibris. I have written and faxed them without a response.

Bought 3 books through Alibris. As would be expected, the sale was immediately completed and I received an email informing me that they have processed my purchase.

What this mean is that they received my payment.

However, after two weeks, according to their website, my order is still pending. Still "Pending" means that the books have not been shipped. Meaning basically that NOTHING about my order has yet been handled except their receiving of my payment.

Upon ordering I made sure whether they had th books in stock 'cause if not, I would've opted for another seller with books in stock.

I mailed customer services 4 four days ago, but have not received any response.

I will DEFINITELY not use their service again. Why???

Because there is NO service. Not even poor bad service. Just plain NOTHING!

This company should not have the legal right to be running a business.

At this point, seeing that they are the recipients of my money (US$400), but a sale pending and no help customer service who responds, this boils down to THEFT!!!

Oh, but yes. It's probably just my mistake for trusting them

i worked with ALIBRIS for about 2 years and most of the time recived the books in timely manner.
3 monthes ago i orderd a book which didn't arrived (To Israel).
I've contacted their support by mail after 1 1/2 month after ordering, and i was asked to wait for 2 weeks to see if the book will arrive.
The book did not arrived, And when i contacted their support again, a guy named ABDUL promised me that i will be refunded of the book money (Which was around 20 $)
this is what he wrote : "I will issue a refund to your credit card for the full amount of this order. Please allow 2 to 5 business days for your bank to post the refund"
I've contacted them 5 times from then (22/12/05), and got NO RESPONSE AT ALL.
Shame on them. It's their loss

awesome prices.Great sellers. I enjoy the fast service and great packing.If you are looking out of print books.this is the place to shop.thanks

I had a horrible experience with Alibris, and recommend buying anywhere else. I ordered a book on 12/19 because they promised they could delivery by Christmas, and Amazon couldn't promise delivery until 12/28. They sent confirmation and charged my account immediately. On 12/20 I received e-mail from Alibris telling me the book sold out at the precise second that they ordered it. They put it on backorder, and did not offer me the choice of canceling the order *or* dropping the 2-day delivery charge that would have ensured arrival by Christmas. Today, 1/4, I received a message that they will not be able to get the book at all, and now *they* are canceling the order!
I guess I should have checked their reputation first, but I've never had problems like this from anyone else. Hope you learn from my mistake.

Alibris seems to use shipping as a profit center- big time. Single book that would cost less than two dollars to send by first class mail was sent by some slow boat. Yet, they charge more than $3! The envelope does not cost a dollar. So watch out -- slow slow slow delivery.

I bought an expensive book, and it never arrived. They did answer my emails to tell me to wait for 30 days. When I wrote again to tell them that the book hasn't arrived and I wanted a refund, the emails went unanswered.
They have no telephone number so you cannot talk to anybody, so ignoring your complaints or requests is very easy for them. I'll never shop there again.

takes way too long to ship and didnt show that when the order was placed.. only after i recieved a confirmation email... horrible. dont buy from here unless you want to wait a month for a book

I ordered a new or like new book from Alibris on Dec 8 and paid extra for the Priority mailing to ensure I had it by Christmas. However, I did not receive it until Dec 30.

The packing slip indicates it was to be shipped within 2 business days of Dec 8. However, the mailing label on the package indicates it was not mailed until Dec 23! In
addition, it was mailed MEDIA MAIL RATE!

I wrote to Alibris describing my displeasure and requesting a refund of the shipping cost of
$5.79. They responded nearly 7 days later, but they apologized and promptly refunded the requested amount.

At least the condition of the book was as stated.

Book I paid expedited shipping for has yet to arrive. Post office says it is probably lost and they did not use tracking even though charging for "expedited" shipping. It was for a college class so I had to buy another book. Would never do business with them.

I ordered a new copy of a recently released book I had been looking for and received it pretty quickly (total delivery time with regular shipping took 6 days). The book arrived in excellent condition.

I have been ordering for more than two years. Nary a problem. Easy to use. Fast and accurate in delivery.

Very low prices and fast service. I am a professor who buys very regularly from these guys (an order most weeks) and LOVE it. Responsive CS. Better selection and prices than Abebooks.

Pretty good overall. Alibris is really like a book mall with a ton of smaller bookstores selling through it. Really good for obscure books that mainstream bookstores won't carry (in my case old martial arts books that aren't in print anymore) or used books to save some $. Some booksellers can be slow. If you want your books quickly, sometimes better to choose your seller by state than just lowest price.

I purchased two textbooks totalling $122.60 from Alibris. They charged my bank account four times for this one purchase totalling $490.40....It put me into overdraft state.

I could not get a human on the phone and had to do business with them by email that came too late to stop the overdrafts. They offered me a $5.00 coupon on my next purchase.

I will put out the word of what has happened to me and I will never purchase anything from Alibris again.

I am getting a lawyer and going after Alibris.

Alibris.com said they shipped me a Quicken book on January 2, 2006 which I paid ahead for plus shipping. Now February 4, 2006, no book has arrived at my home in Fairfax, VA. I asked Alibris.com to give me a credit for the book. Alibris.com is not paying attention to me. I've lived in my home address with my wife Carol and daughters for over 21 years. It isn't hard to find our house. The book should be delivered by now. Alibris.com keeps telling me to wait. I am getting frustrated. I want the book or my money back. Before this incident, I was happy with Alibris.com. Kenneth Ekmancarlson in Fairfax, VA

I have ordered two books from this site. In the first case, the seller shipped the wrong book. I returned it and received a prompt credit, although not for the shipping costs. In the second case, a "like new" book was filled with highlighting, margin notes, and had a torn cover. I'm still waiting for a refund. If you want a book promptly and you want what you ordered, go to Amazon.

I placed an order for 'Creative Collage Techniques' although this book was more expensive than other sellers of the same book my seller was the only one based in England the others in the US and as I live in London it goes without saying.My order was placed on the 24th August money debited from my account PRONTO. Alibris state orders are placed 2 to3 days prior to shipping .My order was placed 19 days prior to shipping. To cut a long story short, after dealing with Alibris customer service!!! Alibris told me that they first had to send the book from ENGLAND to there warehousein the US and then back from the US to ENGLAND If I had been aware of this ludicrous practice I would have purchase this book from a US seller at a much cheaper rate.I still have not received this book its over 6 weeks.BY omitting to put the customer in the true picture this company is trading under false representation and I am not sure this is legal. The customer service is evasive and totally unhelpful.Albris is the worst company I have dealt with

I wish I had checked this site before I ordered anything from them!! I paid for expedited shipping, and it is 23 days later with no DVD in site. I could have walked to Virginia, from Maine , and picked it up in less time!!!!!They "share my frustration" with this shipper, they say. I have gone from being polite and patient to now simply demanding a refund. What can we as a group do to stop the flagrant disregard for decent service?? Don't shop here!!!!I have never had a problem at Amazon, and I have learned my lesson....

Alibris is a good resource for out-of-print books. I have bought 6 out-of-print books from Alibris within the past two weeks. One of the books was "not in stock", I guess the person who had posted it for sale had accidentally sold it before they put it into my order. I was refunded that money immediately, but when I went to see about purchasing a different copy, I saw that the price had gone up by about $30, so I was unable to purchase a replacement. Besides that one experience, the other five books were actually bought at a steal, I paid about $5 for a book that sells for about $50 on E-bay or Amazon. The key is shopping around- Alibris will have the same book listed at varying prices. The shipping was quick and convenient and cost about $3.50 per book. I would and do recommend this to people searching for out-of-print and rare books.

... at least then I could have saved two weeks and been entertained a little.

I'm a poor college student and so I tried to save some money by ordering a book on-line from Alibris. Big Mistake! I never received my book even though I paid extra for expedited shipping. So now I get to spend too much money at the college bookstore AND pay Alibris for a book never received.

Oh, yeah, I contacted their customer service twice and got nowhere. What a bunch of rude jerks.

I am mad now that I've read all the reviews here. How is Alibris allowed to stay in business? Why we paying good tax dollars to our justice system and consumer protection agencies if they are allowing these thieves and liars to steal with impunity?

I was misdirected into ordering the wrong item, and then was unable to contact anyone to correct the error. What a joke. I am so disgusted at having fallen for their trap.

Buying from Alibris was an horrific experience. One of the worst on-line merchants I have dealt with since I first bought a book from Amazon about 13 years ago. It seems like very few people are interested in making an honest buck any more. I ordered $100 worth of text books last night on the basis of a $10.00 off coupon. When I clicked "buy now", the order was immediately processed without a review. The $10.00 coupon was not applied and I can't revise or cancel my order. There is no customer service phone number and my e-mails are answered by a computer.
"Caveat emptor"! Be very cautious in your dealings with Alibris. Their pricing is not really cheap.
I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole!

Customer Service Non-responsive.
I returned an audio book using their return link on the website.  My mistake was not to get a delivery receipt.  The audio book I received was a different ISBN that the one I ordered - a different reading of the same novel.  I could have ordered the one I received from anywhere at half the price.
After the point I should have received a refund, but did not, I email Alibris on their web site.  I received an email back telling me to contact the seller directly.  I have sent multiple emails to "Just Imagine It" in Ashland, OR and not received any replies.
Now I note that "Just Imagine It" has been suspended.  I called the Alibris main phone number and was directed to the customer service number.  That number "cannot be connected as dialed".  Now I can't get the mail Alibris number to answer the phone.
So, now I'm out $75 for a $40 book I don't have.  My next step will be to dispute the charge on the credit card.
This is an unforgivable offense and Alibris will no longer receive my business.

I've ordered an Item on Alibris. In few minutes the order has been canceled and the price of the item raised from 25 to 88 usd holding description, seller, etc.
I've very fast informed the Customer Care about the happened. They tried to "mask" the story with very unsound reasons. I've immediately asked for closing my account.

Francesco, Italy

My experience was as a seller.  I do NOT recommend any sellers to this site.  I have still not been paid for a sale (over $100)  made over 6 weeks ago. I sent numerous emails but was only sent a response AFTER I mentioned going to small claims court.
 
  There is no way to reach anyone by phone.  They post Phone numbers online but I was told (by email) after leaving messages that were NEVER returned, that the phone number is just an answering machine.

  Like Amazon they take 15% from sales but Alibris CHARGES  a fee for posting on their website.  Amazon does not charge any fees.   They also claim they can post your books on Barnes and Noble and Borders websites but only if you pay and ADDITIONAL monthly charge.  
  
  When you sell on Amazon or Ebay you are paid immediately through Paypal.   This company asks for your bank information and then tells you that they need to send a check.  I am still waiting for payment.  When it hits the 2 month mark I will file a claim in small claims court.   SELLERS BEWARE!!! 

I ordered two books the same day.  Payment was made immediately online.  One order was cancelled 3 days later (book no longer available).  No refund given.  The second order was cancelled 6 days later (book no longer available).  No refund given.  The customer service sucks.  VERY unpleasant shopping experience - avoid ALIBRIS.

My order went well as far as receiving it.  But it was not really as described.  It was not a book, but a pamphlet.  Also, I followed their return policy completely, but I never received my money back.  I contacted them and the first response was incorrect. They said I had purchased the book from and independent seller through them, I did not.  The seller was Alibris.  Now they are telling me I will get my refund.  We will see.  The whole sorry process has been a couple of months just for seven plus dollars.  I would not recommend this seller to anyone.

ALIBRIS = BUYER BEWARE!

I ordered a book and received the wrong book. I was shocked to find that they have NO customer service phone service just a answering machine that says they may send an email because they don't return all calls.

I will in the future call before ordering from an online source to see if they have a living customer service rep. and I recommend everyone to do that.

We live and learn from bad purchases.

Alibris does not have a system of ratings or reviews for its merchants in order to ensure accountability. As a result, when I bought a book listed as “new” from ABBA Books, one of its “high-quality, 5-star” sellers, it arrived with a bent and torn cover as well as an advertisement instead of the picture that was supposed to be on the cover. If Alibris implemented a system of ratings and reviews, its merchants would be much more descriptive of their products and careful to send products corresponding to their listing on the website.

I agree completely with the previous reviewer.  It is a nightmare when something goes wrong.  For example, the book I ordered, coming from England, is somehow being mailed to an extremely out-of-date address.  It hasn't been valid for 3 years but somehow alibris reverted to this.  The billing address was just fine, of course.

As the book has already been shipped, alibris' automated response encouraged me to contact the seller, which I TRIED to do through their website.  No such luck, "seller not found" it tells me.

The phone number listed on their website has been disconnected.  I cannot contact a human being and have only received automated responses.  I know the book is not going to make it to me.  I am going to have to fight this with my credit card company eventually.

DO NOT order from them.  Not worth the chance that something will go wrong and there will be no one to help you.

Mine is a selling experience. I sold a DVD through Alibris and they only reimbursed me 50% of the shipping costs. I used their recommended method of shipping...media mail. They also took 25% off the top of the selling price, this I have no problem with as they need to make a profit as well, but to keep half of the shipping...indeed a crime.