AbeBooks Review

AbeBooks features an extensive variety of old and relatively, new book releases, sold via their site by book sellers from across the globe. Although more than reasonably priced, many of these books are virtually collector’s items, given their rare or out-of-print, status.  

An appealing feature is the AbeBooks “reading room” which is essentially a section devoted to articles, book reviews, featured books, and the latest news. Listed by genre, e.g. travel, sci-fi or romance, specific books can be easily accessed by author, keyword or title. The AbeBooks reading room also features the ‘author of the month’, and a list of the ‘50 most popular authors’.

AbeBooks offer convenient payment options via Visa and MasterCard, although some sellers offer other payment options. These payment options can be accessed by first clicking on the seller’s name - shown below book title/author details on search result pages -then clicking on the “Bookseller and Payment Information” link included at the bottom of book listings.

If you are a first-time visitor to the AbeBooks site, or haven’t visited it in a while, chances are its new, redesigned, appealing look and well-organized layout will hook you, as it did me. Insofar as user-friendliness, AbeBooks surely delivers the goods. That’s because you can either search by keyword, title or author, or do a blanket search with all three, and get what you want ... within minutes.

An advanced search has also been simplified, in that it allows you to access information by specific booksellers; by bookbinding; by price range and by country. What’s more, AbeBooks also features a unique glossary that offers definitions of abbreviated words and terms you may come across on the search pages to help you understand them.

The AbeBooks site provides almost instant information on booksellers; sale terms; payment options; shipping costs; and other useful data. These are some of the many reasons why the AbeBooks site is so easy to use, and why I am one of its devoted fans.

As a medium-sized online bookstore, AbeBooks is able to offer closer and friendlier customer support than most other big names in online bookstores. I found their support staff to be highly responsive and knowledgeable, and never once were my questions left unanswered. The AbeBooks on-site “Help Central” link provides quick answers to specific questions, and they can also be accessed via email or phone. Because AbeBooks pays such serious attention to buyers’ and sellers’ needs, their customer service is indeed one of the most reliable, friendly and responsive among online bookstores today..

AbeBooks does not maintain warehoused book inventories, as it is essentially a website that only features books sold by a network of booksellers. However, AbeBooks acts as a ‘facilitator’ for shipment of books between booksellers and book buyers. Shipping rates and delivery periods are therefore set by individual booksellers, corresponding to orders placed via the AbeBooks site. Precise shipping details and deliveries of different booksellers can be accessed on the search pages of the AbeBooks site. While AbeBooks will exert every effort to be an honest facilitator and broker, refunds for undelivered books corresponding to orders made via their site, require at least 15 calendar days from specified delivery dates.

Security is one of the main reasons why I’ve book-shopped on the AbeBooks site so many times. AbeBooks is seriously committed to protecting sensitive information, such as your name; credit card number; phone number; e-mail and postal addresses, etc. Such information is closely guarded by state-of-the-art, SSL (Secure Socket Layer) servers, and encryption technology for ‘transmitted data’ protection. Moreover, in no circumstances will AbeBooks pass on or transmit sensitive information via e-mail, e.g. credit cards numbers, etc., without receiving your specific (written) authorization to do so.