BOOKS etc. Reviews 207

Best prices for books in the UK and excellent service

Excellent...Books etc are regularly reliable and reasonably priced.

Trust Pilot's editing facilities leave a lot to be desired

I have placed a good number of orders with this company and have not met any of the reported problems. Mostly I have purchased large format books. Purchasing these from a well known American owned company results in books with damaged corners as a result of poor packing. Books from Books etc have always arrived undamaged in very adequate packing. The prices are nearly always the lowest to be found.

Their FAQ says "Books must be posted within 3 working days of receipt of our email stating that payment has been made for the books by the buyer." I bought a book in time for a relative's birthday based on that. I placed an order and paid on the 7th May for a book I needed on the 15th May. The seller did not post the book until the 18th May. I won't be using this company again for any book I need by a specific date, because they don't enforce their own rules.

Untrustworthy company avoid at all costs!!!!

A horrible experience overall.

I ordered something from them the first week of MARCH, spurred by their tag on the item that they only had “10 Copies in Stock Left”. After I ordered the book, the Arrival By date kept slipping back and back. First from April 9th. Then to April 22nd. Then to simply “Late but On the Way.”

When I contacted the seller, I was told the item had been shipped but was likely “lost in the Mail” or “taken on by the military base” that they use for transfers to the US. I was then told that a “replacement was on the way” but “sometimes things are just lost in the post” and there was nothing I could do about it.

But even before then, no tracking numbers were provided. No real sense of where and when it had been sent from (I had no idea this was a UK outlet before ordering, mind you). And still no timeframe at all was provided as to where my “replacement” was.

Since then I have now contacted them upwards of four to six times and no new information has been provided. Other than my order has been now “cancelled” and a refund provided (with my “replacement” nowhere in sight or even on its way to me).

Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. (Unless I guess you are in the United Kingdom).

I ordered a complete set of books which was clearly identified as being a "print on demand" set. The value was extraordinary and the complete set arrived within a week direct to my door in immaculate condition. Can't fault the service or the value and clear communication so I knew when to keep an eye out for the parcel arriving!

I have had to edit this review after a recent interaction and no longer feel the same way about these people. As you can see below I have bought multiple books from them and many more since then, I have two accounts but I have bought a lot of books. Yesterday I was in the MIDDLE of a purchase and was at the payment stage when suddenly there was no stock on completion. I checked and the book has suddenly sold out which i thought was very coincidental, right at that moment? I came back the next day to see if there was an error and there it was back in stock at a higher price!? They have taken it off sale in the middle of a purchase (and they know when it's in peoples baskets!) and put it down as no stock with the intention of making it a higher price. I know they know it was being sold. Everywhere you go online it has in 5 peoples baskets etc. I do not believe that at 8pm at night and right at that moment they would take it off sale and have no stock and then not put it back on. It would be an instantanious alteration in the stock. I know because I work in retail and have worked in massive warehouses and I know how POS works. You can see everything on the computer.
How many times do you get an EMAIL off someone sayin YOU LEFT SOMETHING IN YOUR BASKET?! THEY KNOW!!!!
I contacted them explaining i had it in my basket and can they offer me it at that price that was there when i literally bought it. You would expect someone thats bought from them for years that courtesy but the literally fell over themselves to get that price change in and say no. GREEDY GREEDY company. They know its low in print and has been released twice so they'd rather sack of loyal returning customers too make a quick buck.

Do yourself a favour and stay clear of this lot!!!
EDIT 2 Looking down the reviews afterwards there seems to be many people leaving bad reviews suddenly. They clearly have changed . Take note you have been warned!!!

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I have bought about 8 Spider-man Omnibuses from these guys and only once a book did not arrive. They replied to my email straight away and apologised. I got it a week later. No big deal it was a hard to find book!
Books seem a little slower to arrive than some but it is a smaller company. People going on about it takes amazon 2 days are cretins so disregard their reviews, no really.
Some books are harder to come by than others for smaller companies so it takes longer.
I trust these people 100 (now ZERO)percent and I have never had a damaged book (banged corners) like I have had from all the "big guys" and they have been the cheapest every time. They have great packaging!
I don't trust most reviewers anymore because I've found out that most people are cry babies and are not patient at all. They don't leave honest reviews because theyre selfish.
No he's not my dad I just hate it when people are not reccomended honestly but from a bunch of panic attack candidates that don't trust anyone.

Ordered book believing it was in stock, received sale confirmation. I heard nothing until after nearly 3 weeks I emailed them twice (didn't reply to my first one!) to ask when i was likely to receive my book, they then told me they had a problem with their supplier and had issued a refund, so it wasn't in stock! Never again! Amazon delivered in 2 days.

I never got the book but when I told them this they offered to send a replacement, but I had already found one for my son and asked for a refund. They refunded me the money with in just hours. This alone gets them a good score for me as I have had to fight tooth and nail for refunds from other places, thank you so much for not making me wait

Excellent customer service. Unfortunately the book I ordered was lost in the post (no fault of their own) - when I emailed to follow up on where it was, Michael came straight back to me and issued a refund straight away. Highlights how good a company is in situations like that and they have been great. Would definitely buy from here again.

Took ages for them to dispatch the items. When they didn’t arrive they told me it was in one parcel and it would be with me soon. One item (of two) turned up so queries the other to be told they had been dispatched separately?? Second item didn’t turn up and customer service have stalled and ‘batted’ me off stating Royal Mail did deliver item? Not sure how you can do that when it wasn’t tracked / signed for delivery!!
Stay well clear :-(

Excellent service. The book I ordered was very reasonably priced and arrived a week earlier than expected.

Very slow service - it took 5 weeks for the book to get delivered. Very unhelpful staff. Do not buy from them, you most like will regret if you do.
Furthermore, when the book finally arrived, it turned out that I received a wrong book... So, I'm still waiting for the book I bought on 13 December 2020 to be delivered.

***UPDATED REVIEW***
*Recently I've noticed an improvement in the packaging - particularly in the use of the right size packaging for the product. All items arrive in perfect condition now. 4 stars have become 5*

I love Books etc. They have a great selection and shipping prices are excellent for international orders.
They are slow to dispatch but this isn't something I consider a problem, plus they are honest about their dispatch time before purchase. I have found their published dispatch times to be accurate.
Customer service was excellent on the one time I needed to contact them.
I wanted to give them 5 stars but I find that their packaging can let them down a little. I'd like to order in the confidence that my item will arrive without any damage, no matter how slight. But, I am particular about my books. I like them in pristine condition, so it could just be me.

I order direct from their website rather than Ebay. They have a good range and often match Amazon for price and speed.

Time wasters extraordinaire. Ordered a book for my Nephew for Christmas on eBay on 4th December and it didn't arrive. Took them a remarkably long time to allegedly dispatch it. No tracking used by Books etc.

After I complained, a second book was allegedly sent and also didn't arrive!

I ended up getting a refund under eBay's guarantee. Company unable to provide any proof of posting on request.

Read the negative feedback on eBay before using them as it is remarkable how many of their orders seem to get lost in the post!

When I ordered I did so with the idea of not going the Amazon route to give others a chance after the year we've all had. However, in the case of BOOKS etc. sadly I lived to regret my decision.

I am so thrilled to receive my TeNeues Little Prince pocket diary. I am a psychotherapist in Kansas City, Missouri USA and have been using Te Neues pocket diaries for scheduling for many years. It has become increasingly difficult to find them here in the United States. I was absolutely delighted when I saw that Booksetc has them and that you are willing to send them over the pond. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You offer great products and service. I'll be looking for other books and services from you in the future.

I was dubious due to some of the comments I read below, so I emailed to check they had my book in stock. The reply was very short and said 'it will be on the website if it is in stock'. I needed a little more convincing, so I asked for a stock check. The lady who replied was very helpful and addressed my concerns fully. I received my book 5 working days after ordering (7 days total) and it is in perfect condition. On the website, it said it would be a paperback copy, but I received a hardback (I expected this would be the case as I don't think it is actually printed in paperback yet). Excellent value given that it's half the list price. Best price I have seen.

Terrible customer service. An order has apparently been lost in the post, but they refuse to issue a refund without Royal Mail confirming it has been lost.
Checking the tracking page on Royal Mail's site confirms Royal Mail have not been able to deliver it.
Very disappointing.