Got cheated from AbeBooks seller?
Hello all, this is my first here in this subreddit.
I already saw some of the posts from other users asking about AbeBooks to buy books from, but I didn't see a reasonable amount of reports telling that they got scammed, or similar.
Well, the story is that I decided to purchase a book on there (never used this site before that time), from a seller called 'Irish Booksellers'. I never received it: to Spain, and also never saw a refund.
Order date: November 24, 2017.
At the time being, I decided to contact the seller through the platform (internal message system). I contacted 3 times with it (2-3 days between replies). They said all the time that I needed to wait the book to arrive, and they already checked that book was shipped to the destination address.
After 4 o 5 attempts (emails) I decided to open a complaint/demand (don't know the exact term in english: demanda), by going to my local consumer claim department. They just said to me that, as I have purchased it from another country outside Spain (USA), I'd have probably wasted the money, and there wasn't much they could do.
After some time, I decided to give up. Then, 9-10 months after, I decided to contact the book seller again just to see if something could be done. But, after few messages, nothing. They stopped replying to me.
Well, now we are in 2023 and I decided to give another try, but don't know how to proceed, if something can be done.
I think, I never contacted AbeBooks directly, just with the "seller".
What do you think about this situation?
Thank you!
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I decided to copy/paste and create a thread on their forum, just to see what they say if someone does:
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Order date: November 24, 2017
https://www.abebooks.com/Irish-Booksellers-Portland-ME-U.S.A/57531671/sf
It's been over five years, so I don't think anything can be done now. I think most sellers have a 30 day return/refund policy. In the future, if the seller doesn't respond, contact AbeBooks to initiate a refund. If that fails, get your credit card company/PayPal/etc. involved.
Reading through their reviews, other customers have similar complaints about this seller, though a lot of them seem to have gotten refunded. Like any online marketplace, you'll encounter good and bad sellers. This is one of the bad ones. My guess is their AbeBooks listings don't reflect their actual inventory, so they scramble (and ultimately fail) to fulfill many orders.
Yeah, the problem is that I decided not to press the button to make a refund on AbeBooks page itself, because that seller told me every time I send them an email, to continue waiting because the book is already shipped. That was my big fault, after the one that was purchasing from that specific seller (not a seller, but a bookjacker)
Irish Booksellers has tons of bad reviews and a bad reputation. They promise but never deliver, or deliver the wrong book or the wrong edition.
Sadly for you, it has been too long for any sort of recovery or refund. Abebooks won’t enforce anything that long ago, and Irish won’t refund anything ever.
Sorry for the pricey lesson.
Yeah, I discovered that just after having to contact them when I bought the book, after the first month.
Thanks for replying, let's see if I have better luck the next time if I purchase another book from them. But, never anymore from Iris Booksellers (bookjacker).
Irish Booksellers is a bookjacker. They are not reputable.
Here is an explanation of what bookjackers are and what they do. It also includes a list of bookjackers.
I'm sorry you were cheated. These corrupt book "sellers" need to be exposed.
In the future, consider contacting the marketplace as well as the individual seller when inquiring after a missing book. I always try to contact the seller within 30 days of the book being shipped and I also copy the marketplace in that message just so my bases are covered.
I've found that Biblio is more responsive of a retail site than ABE is, but I think five years is far to long to expect any resolutions at this point.
Thanks for your comment, I will have all of this into consideration the next time I purchase a book.
ABE allows anyone to set up shop. They aren't exactly known for their customer service and dispute resolution.
Best you can do is leave a negative review. Time has run out on this one
Yeah, I reopened an old thread on their forums, and also created my own exposing my situation. I contacted AbeBooks, but they told me the obvious: as per the long period (passed) we cannot do anything, so we will try contacting the book seller to ask for a refund to your book.