Sitejabber Website Reviews and Complaints
  • Bookmark

    Alibris

2024 SITEJABBER AWARD

Alibris

Corporate Values
Write a Review

Overview

Alibris has a rating of 4.7 stars from 90,323 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Reviewers satisfied with Alibris most frequently mention great prices, good price, and shopping experience. Alibris ranks 1st among Used Books sites.

  • Service
    531
  • Value
    5937
  • Shipping
    5928
  • Quality
    5925

Proactively asks for customer feedback

This company responds to reviews on average within 2 days

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 93.2%
Positive
18,566
Neutral
807
Negative
550
View ratings trends
30
See all photos
How would you rate Alibris?
Top Positive Review

“Very impressed w/ orderly arrangement of products for...”

Cate Z.
9/16/21

Very impressed w/ orderly arrangement of products for sale, e.g., music, books, movie, etc. Makes sense! Also, the choice of sellers is easy to understand & navigate--I contacted one book seller Solr by email to find out if the used book they were selling was highly dusty (allergies) & they emailed back w/ details & evident concern. Alibris is now my "go-to" source for great prices, selection & quality of sale. Thanks for doing a great job!

Date of experience: 9/16/21
See positive reviews
Top Critical Review

“Very Difficult to change shipping address”

Stephen I.
5/17/21

Very Difficult to change shipping address. Had to quit internet browser and log back in again. Shipping choices limited. I know from past purchase that independent sellers can take their sweet time shipping items and often do. Why does alibris appear to charge at 1st class parcel rates and deliver at slower and cheaper media mail rate? Delivery window excessively wide.

Date of experience: 4/17/21
See critical reviews

Reviews (90,323)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

shopping experience (1088) web site (334) use site (204) credit card (484) billing address (196) coupon code (234) shopping cart (173) email address (78)
Thumbnail of user almab183
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 13th, 2024
Verified purchase

Wow. Fast, efficient and credible so far; thanks. Searching for online reading so near to a deadline was difficult; it's refreshing to find this website as soon as I needed it.

Reason I chose this business:

Needed more research material

Date of experience: October 3, 2024

Thumbnail of user glennw700
Pennsylvania
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 10th, 2024
Verified purchase

This was my first time, however, the various offers on this site related to the book I ordered were numerous. Also, the prices are considerably lower than other online shopping areas.

Reason I chose this business:

Rakuten notified me with a signal that I could save money and receive cash back.

Date of experience: October 31, 2024

Thumbnail of user adamt729
North Carolina
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 14th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

#1) I don't like leaving my debit / visa card with your records department.
#2) Here's the two reasons why that is. I just received an email telling me a couple days ago that I (falsely I will add) had just an outstanding bill from PayPal for $542 to pay for some Bit Coin, which I never ordered. Secondly, when I hit your prompt to by the above book it added to the bill a second book that I had earlier bought from Alibris, but that I did not just then reorder. I had to go in and reedit the bill to reflect that I had removed that order from this most recent order. That is deceptive advertising billing.

Reason I chose this business:

You had the cheapest price for this book Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist, by Sylvia Acevedo.

* Alibris attempted to help this customer through the Sitejabber Resolution Center, but the customer did not respond

Date of experience: August 4, 2024

It took a while to figure out how to revise my credit...
December 23rd, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

It took a while to figure out how to revise my credit card information.

Reason I chose this business:

Had right book at the right price.

Date of experience: December 23, 2024

Well organized purchasing website
August 19th, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Well organized purchasing website. Thank you.

Reason I chose this business:

Lowest price of the book on the internet I found here.

Date of experience: August 19, 2022

Thumbnail of user normanl222
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 13th, 2024
Verified purchase

Sign in unsuccessful, had to create new password and jump through hoops. Credit card option was not available, had to use Pay pal and then wait for a verification. Took way too long to order 2 books

Reason I chose this business:

Used before

* Alibris attempted to help this customer through the Sitejabber Resolution Center, but the customer did not respond

Date of experience: September 3, 2024

Thumbnail of user lisah6550
Louisiana
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 17th, 2024
Verified purchase

Glad to be informed that this DVD was for sale at a reasonable price. A bit chagrined to realize that although I had updated my addtress, that did not trigger a change in the shipping address. It went to my old condo, but fortunately I was able to get someone to retrieve it and get it to me.

Reason I chose this business:

Good selection of vendors.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: November 7, 2024

Thumbnail of user petern1176
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 5th, 2024
Verified purchase

I'd been hoping to find this title for a reasonable price since I lost my copy years ago. So happy to have found it here. Easy to order, arrived when and as expected. Great seller!

Reason I chose this business:

I’ve used them in the past with great results.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: August 26, 2024

Thumbnail of user anthonys5134
Michigan
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 5th, 2024
Verified purchase

Not impressed with paying more for shipping than for the things that were purchased. Tired of companies passing off cheap prices by inflating shipping costs.

Reason I chose this business:

Used Alibris in the past and had a much better experience.

Date of experience: November 25, 2024

Thumbnail of user timothym2168
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 23rd, 2024
Verified purchase

Easy to find what I wanted and the check-out process was straightforward. I especially appreciated being able to easily choose PayPal as my payment method.

Reason I chose this business:

I could not find the title I wanted elsewhere...well, I could, but the price was outlandish. The alibris price was much more reasonable.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 13, 2024

Thumbnail of user bernardr162
Illinois
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 23rd, 2024
Verified purchase

Not good. Just received my order that was filled incorrectly Ordered a hardcover book. Have requested return label. Have placed this new order. Thank u

Reason I chose this business:

Just received my order that was filled incorrectly Ordered a hardcover book. Have requested return label. Have placed this new order. Thank u

* Alibris attempted to help this customer through the Sitejabber Resolution Center, but the customer did not respond

Date of experience: September 13, 2024

Thumbnail of user annz297
Rhode Island
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 21st, 2024
Verified purchase

This book was highly recommended by someone I respect very much. Of course, I began searching on Amazon. Then I searched for specialty bookstores. Bingo!

Reason I chose this business:

Alibris had the best copy and price I found.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 9, 2024

Thumbnail of user adamc2492
Massachusetts
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 16th, 2024
Verified purchase

Shipping is too high; when I've attempted to consolidate orders by using the same bookseller, no reduction is available. BPM is MUCH cheaper than $4.99.

Reason I chose this business:

Availability

* Alibris attempted to help this customer through the Sitejabber Resolution Center, but the customer did not respond

Date of experience: November 6, 2024

Thumbnail of user markw4460
South Carolina
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 8th, 2024
Verified purchase

I've shopped at Alibris for years. I have always been happy with the depth of inventory and delivery. I guess a good portion of the business model is to make money on shipping, but when, today, I bought 5 used paperbacks for my grandson's English class reading, and with all five purposely bought from the same seller, and shipped to the same location, paying $3.79 per book (list price for shipping is $3.96 per book, so a very slight reduction in unit shipping cost), shipping was over $18 for the order and the cost of the books was +$10. This seems too steep for shipping, and I believe there should be larger discounting when shipping multiple books from the same seller to the same location. Thank you.

Reason I chose this business:

High likelihood of finding all the books I needed, fair pricing on books, and based upon having good results using Alibris Books for many years.

Date of experience: July 29, 2024

Thumbnail of user donaldt649
Tennessee
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 6th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

The book is what I have been looking for a long time.
Other sites were very expensive for the same title.

My only dissatisfaction is with the small typeface and extensive use of italics which is the publishers fault, not Alibis.

Reason I chose this business:

Mos economical way to purchase this particular book

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: July 27, 2024

All costs up front would be helpful for possible future...
July 16th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

All costs up front would be helpful for possible future purchases

Reason I chose this business:

Article suggested this & 9 other Internet sites to purchase books

Date of experience: July 6, 2024

Thumbnail of user leandrop30
Argentina
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 31st, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

Good price and good service but when it comes to international shipping most books DON'T HAVE international tracking information. They provide a tracking number for domestic shipping (within US) to the Alibris factory but don't provide the buyer an international tracking number. I find myself not knowing when the book arrives and this is a con. Let me clarify my stance, I like the price on international shipping but I think the international tracking number is important.

I have voiced my opinion on the shipping info but didn't receive much of an explanation for it.

Reason I chose this business:

Because I can buy used books and new books with a fair price on international shipping. Also I like the discounts Alibris provides every week.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: August 21, 2024

Excellent site
September 17th, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Excellent site. Very recommended.

Reason I chose this business:

Because the price of worldwide shipping

Date of experience: September 17, 2023

Thumbnail of user williams4835
Virginia
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 3rd, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

I can find copies of 'mature' items - books, recoprdings, etc. - on Alibris that are not available elsewhere. The items are relatively inexpensive, although the shipping costs offset that value to some extent. Unfortunately, because it is usually notpossible to source everything that I am looking for from one of the Alibris vendors, the shipping costs do tend to mount. Nonetheless, I continue to use Alibris because I can find items not available elsewhere. My one complai9nt - while I usually get ordered items very quickly, most of the vendors do not offer any way to track the sttaus of ordered items, so I don't know when to expect the items to arrive. That is not a 'deal breaker', just a minor inconvenience.

Reason I chose this business:

Because I can find items not available elsewhere.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: September 23, 2024

Good source for many items
July 20th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

I often use Alibris when looking for 'older' books and movies, that may not be available elsewhere.

Reason I chose this business:

Availability of used material

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: July 10, 2024

Easy to find what I wanted
March 10th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Easy to find what I wanted. Efficient ordering / payment. I trust that shipping / delivery will be as good. :)

Reason I chose this business:

Availability of used copies of a book that I wanted.

Date of experience: March 10, 2024

Thumbnail of user scots70
New Mexico
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 19th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

The amount you charge for shipping is onerous. I seem to remember that if you purchased books from the same seller you got a discounted rate on any books more than the first book. No longer the case so it is troubling.
You responded that "you can try searching just one seller's inventory so that you can take advantage of our consolidated shipping rates" which is what I did and you still charged me $3.99 for each book so either you aren't aware that the policy has changed or there are 2 different Thriftbooks Dallas which I find difficult to believe. Still pissed offffff.

Reason I chose this business:

Past purchases

* Alibris attempted to help this customer through the Sitejabber Resolution Center, but the customer did not respond

Value
Quality

Date of experience: August 9, 2024

Average
July 23rd, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Average. Your shipping costs are outrageous if you ship special media mail rate.

Reason I chose this business:

Well not for the shipping costs which is a large problem. Your selections and sometimes good pricing

Date of experience: June 23, 2022

Thumbnail of user maryv1790
Pennsylvania
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 1st, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

I like your platform. It is easy to find the books that I want. I am a satisfied customer of over 10 years. I recommend this to people at my Church and Bible study groups.

Reason I chose this business:

Can't beat the prices and the quality of the books.

Date of experience: November 21, 2024

You always make it so easy to order
February 27th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

You always make it so easy to order. Thank you. I recommend your site to all book lovers.

Reason I chose this business:

It is my first place to look for any book that I want.

Date of experience: February 27, 2024

Thumbnail of user richardm8665
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 25th, 2024
Verified purchase

Quick and easy to understand the instructions were great and easy-to-use and my books will be on the way soon. Very happy with this place. I've been buying from this company for a long time.

Reason I chose this business:

Because it was a good day to come back to this book company.

Date of experience: November 15, 2024

Thumbnail of user mindam4
Oregon
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 23rd, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

I love Alibris! My go to source for any book. Books are always in great shape even though used. Today I got the book I wanted for $7.20 with shipping. A new one is $25.

Reason I chose this business:

I always check with Alibris first when shopping for books. Great prices, fair shipping costs and ecologically great. I have introduced at least a dozen people to Alibris!

Date of experience: October 13, 2024

Great product, shipping took too longg
June 16th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

I generally have positive experiences with Alibris. This was as expected except for the long shipping time

Reason I chose this business:

I always start with Alibris when I am looking for a book.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: June 6, 2024

My go to source
February 15th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review
Reason I chose this business:

I always come to Alibris first when I want a book. Huge network of resources, great prices, reasonable shipping.

Date of experience: February 15, 2024

As always, finding my book is easy, purchase is simple...
September 2nd, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review

As always, finding my book is easy, purchase is simple and fast. Books have always been in great condition, often better than described.

Reason I chose this business:

I always check with Alibris first when purchasing books - I'd rather buy used for saving both money and the environment. I always recommend you to people when we talk about books. I have even introduced Alibris to my high school students who read a lot - and there are kids who do read a lot and actually prefer a book!

Date of experience: September 2, 2022

Alibris is always my go-to for any book
December 18th, 2021
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Alibris is always my go-to for any book. Sometimes the shipping takes awhile but it's always worth the wait. Books have always been in better than anticipated condition.

Reason I chose this business:

Always my first choice - great prices and eco-friendly. Also supports independent businesses.

Date of experience: December 18, 2021

Alibris is my go-to source whenever I want to buy a...
October 10th, 2021
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Alibris is my go-to source whenever I want to buy a book, and they come through for me at least 90% of the time! Shipping is sometimes a bit lengthy, but always worth the wait.

Reason I chose this business:

Buying used is not just economical, but environmentally sound. When I want a book, I always come to Alibris first.

Date of experience: October 10, 2021

Always great!
March 7th, 2021
Verified purchase
• Previous review
Reason I chose this business:

It's my go-to site whenever I need/want a book.

Date of experience: March 7, 2021

Thumbnail of user beverlyannc
Georgia
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 2nd, 2024
Verified purchase

Its painful to have to fill out the form by hand to place an order. I have auto fill with dashlane for 15 years but somehow your site made me type in each section manually.

* Alibris attempted to help this customer through the Sitejabber Resolution Center, but the customer did not respond

Date of experience: September 22, 2024

Thumbnail of user wilmad125
Kansas
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 3rd, 2024
Verified purchase

I've been a member of Alibris for many years. Very seldom have I had a problem, and never a serious one. They usually have any book I seek, even those not carried by other dealers.

Date of experience: October 24, 2024

Thumbnail of user robertc8591
Connecticut
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 3rd, 2024
Verified purchase

Alibris delivers what they say. The books generally all come from different vendors, but they arrive in good condition, and I love being able to buy used books and then pass them on to friends.

Reason I chose this business:

A good history with them.

Date of experience: September 23, 2024

Thumbnail of user ukumbwas1
Massachusetts
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
July 31st, 2024
Verified purchase

You seem to most always have what I need at great prices. Ive appreciated your presence and service for years. Have sent many past students here for textbooks. Don't tell the college bookstores that. 😉

Reason I chose this business:

Past good record of price and service.

Date of experience: July 21, 2024

Thumbnail of user ruthb1640
Utah
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 21st, 2024
Verified purchase

Easy to search and find what I was looking for! It showed pictures of the book cover so I could ascertain which title was correct for me (many are similar).

Reason I chose this business:

Because this book was out of print

Date of experience: October 11, 2024

Thumbnail of user briano1076
Arizona
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 22nd, 2024
Verified purchase

My original order was cancelled. I was given an option for another book but at a higher cost. This is almost sounds like "bait-and-switch". I hope this never happens again

Reason I chose this business:

Prior to this last experience I have always had good purchases.

* Alibris attempted to help this customer through the Sitejabber Resolution Center, but the customer did not respond

Date of experience: September 12, 2024

Sitejabber for Business

Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.

From the business

We love browsing books, drinking coffee, and talking with people who love good stories.

Business History

Born from Interloc, a database for proffesional booksellers, Alibris has spent over two decades connecting book lovers to book sellers. It's the premier marketplace for textbooks, used books and rare, out-of-print books and supports countless small booksellers across the country. With over 270 million books, Alibris has something for you.

Company Representative

Thumbnail of user mikef1003
Mike F.
Director of Client Services
Typically responds within 2 days

How do I know I can trust these reviews about Alibris?

  • Sitejabber’s mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
  • Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
  • Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Have a question about Alibris?