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    Alibris

2024 SITEJABBER AWARD

Alibris

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Overview

Alibris has a rating of 4.7 stars from 90,195 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
    529
  • Value
    5872
  • Shipping
    5863
  • Quality
    5861

Proactively asks for customer feedback

This company responds to reviews on average within 2 days

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 93.2%
Positive
18,520
Neutral
802
Negative
552
View ratings trends
30
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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 (90,195)

Rating

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Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

shopping experience (1087) web site (334) use site (204) credit card (484) billing address (196) coupon code (234) shopping cart (173) email address (78)
Thumbnail of user johne3237
Virginia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 13th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

No need to buy new except to support your loyalty to a local bookseller. Prices are at excellent break points for book condition. This a good spot to build your library for keepers, or to get a well read copy if the latter is your sole purpose.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 3, 2024

My go to site for excellent results
June 26th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

When I find a book on Alibris that meets my search, I always find the books I receive are always in better condition than advertised. Often this means with tight bindings, good dust jackets, and reasonably priced. A real advantage is that books are always packaged with double wraps to prevent possible water damage and securely shipped.

Reason I chose this business:

For the reasons above

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: June 16, 2024

Books are always in good condition, often better than...
June 7th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Books are always in good condition, often better than expected. Packaging is also exceptional, often double-wrapped and protected in plastic bag/wrap in case of exposure to moisture.

Reason I chose this business:

Those book site is convenient and well organized. Very complete listings of multiple formats. Knowing that I do not settle for just any condition of a book, I can choose within my price range and receive a book to be proud to have.

Date of experience: May 28, 2024

Thumbnail of user agathac16
Texas
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 10th, 2024
Verified purchase

Canned or multiple choice answers is best sometimes.
This and review title should be optional. My only issue was the last title i ordered took awhile but the moment i noticed it finally arrived. Price was the most i have ever paid for Alibris bks, the shipping was more then i expected, boo!

Reason I chose this business:

You all were the only ones able to get the titles i wanted, at the price that was affordable, except for that $hipping Ouch!

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: September 30, 2024

Thumbnail of user elizabethl2538
Minnesota
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 1st, 2024
Verified purchase

I had been looking for this out of print book for about two years, and pretty much gave up hope of finding a copy. Imagine my delight when I received an email from Alibris saying they had a copy—and at a very reasonable price! Thank you, Alibris!

Reason I chose this business:

Great customer service!

Date of experience: August 22, 2024

Thumbnail of user scotta1955
Washington
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 27th, 2024
Verified purchase

Alibris is great for finding books not available in local shops, but I would prefer being able to consolidate shipping if I order from the same vendor. Since it's possible to shop a specific vendor, the only benefit to doing so would be to consolidate shipping costs.

Reason I chose this business:

It is more reliable for finding books that are not bestsellers.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 17, 2024

Thumbnail of user lysiav
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 9th, 2024
Verified purchase

Great prices and many options made this shopping better than I expected. Payment at the end was easy, with my choices, costs, and where each is shipped from completely clear and easy to find and see every detail I want to know. This is a great service!

Reason I chose this business:

Presented itself when I searched for a book on Google/Chrome

Date of experience: October 30, 2024

Thumbnail of user cb1280
Virginia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 21st, 2024
Verified purchase

I have been a loyal Alibris customer for several years. Good selection of books and generally good prices, though shipping costs have increased. Great if you can bundle enough for free shipping via Alibris itself.

I'm generally happy with Alibris, though some vendors on your site have not been responsive when there's an issue, but others are very quick to make it right.

Reason I chose this business:

I don't want to spend money at Amazon. I'm happy to get slightly used books from a vendor.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: November 11, 2024

Thumbnail of user nikitab77
Slovakia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 13th, 2024
Verified purchase

The book arrived seriously damaged - the hard cover is severely torn in multiple places, all corners of the book are bent, and the pages are partially detached from the hardcover. While it was displayed that the book had seen some use in the past, its condition is nowhere close the expected "Good" the book was marked with on the website when I ordered it. It is highly likely that the book was damaged in transit - the package was not wrapped in any kind of protective material and was simply put in a relatively thin standard plastic postal bag. This kind of wrapping is clearly inadequate, especially given that the order is trans-national.
I experienced delivery troubles that were caused by local postal service, and the customer service specialists treated the issue very responsibly and timely.

Customer service specialists treated the delivery issues they were addressed with very responsibly and politely.

Reason I chose this business:

The book I ordered is rare and was not available on any other website.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: September 3, 2024

Thumbnail of user margareth1999
Vermont
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 10th, 2024
Verified purchase

The default shipping address went to my grandson. Twice this has happened, so that I had to rebuy books intended for myself. Why doesn't your shipping default to the account owner? And require a change if it is being sent to someone else?

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

Date of experience: September 30, 2024

Thumbnail of user jonig73
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 18th, 2024
Verified purchase

The title said DVD. In the small print under item description which I did not see until after it arrived, it said VHS. So now I paid to ship it there and back and I'm not actually holding out a lot of hope I will ever get any of the purchase price refunded. The seller never responded.

I didn't get a response. I just used the contact seller button, so maybe that isn't Alibris. I don't know, but I'm definitely done using them.

Reason I chose this business:

I thought I found a deal. Clearly I did not.

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

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 8, 2024

Thumbnail of user claudiak228
Colorado
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 12th, 2024
Verified purchase

It was fine. I did not like that it was difficult to switch to another seller that allowed expedited shipping at check out. I guess I will know next time to put it in the search terms. However, that is the only reason for 4 stars. My book will likely be about a week late. However, it is my favorite place to buy textbooks.

Reason I chose this business:

Used many times over the years for text books. Never had a problem with any orders.

Date of experience: September 2, 2024

Thumbnail of user judithr992
Vermont
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 8th, 2024
Verified purchase

I'm just appointed that you didn't show me how much the shipping would cost until I had spent a lot of time ordering. I was very shocked at the total price and almost quit ordering. Can you now tell me how much it cost for each book to be shipped? Also, if it comes from the same store, Do I pay just one shipping price from that store?

Reason I chose this business:

You had a good price on the book, drop the rock, and on my favorite book, the gift shop near death experiences: you don’t have to die to experience your true home

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

Date of experience: August 29, 2024

Thumbnail of user lindaf3058
Massachusetts
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 22nd, 2024
Verified purchase

The book was in perfect condition and arrived in a couple days. I saw someone review this book on YouTube. I thought I would learn a lot from it. Happy to find it on Alibris, because I have had many positive experiences with them.

Reason I chose this business:

They had the book I was looking for at a reasonable price. I had a positive experience with Alibris in the past.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 12, 2024

Thumbnail of user elizabethd3204
Canada
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 31st, 2024
Verified purchase

Great experience, but I didn't know the seller had to ship my book to Alibris and then it would be shipped to me from there, the tracking didn't follow my package the whole way so I got stressed and confused, other than that, quick delivery and item was as expected. The shipping was more than originally predicted too which I wasn't keen on.

Reason I chose this business:

It was thee only place on the internet selling a copy of the vintage book I wanted complete with dust cover.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 21, 2024

Thumbnail of user juliec3993
Washington
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 9th, 2024
Verified purchase

Good prices on books that are not easy to find. From a technical standpoint, I was irritated that the shopping cart emptied when I entered my sign-in information, and so I had to shop for the books again.

Reason I chose this business:

Bookfinder.com link

Date of experience: October 30, 2024

Thumbnail of user dcl22
South Carolina
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 20th, 2024
Verified purchase

There is not any free shipping offered on books. The USPS keeps jacking up postal rates. When will they stop that. Who knows. Free shipping offers like some eBay sellers offer would be nice. I deal with eBay more then Alibris simply because of the free shipping offered on eBay, which is not found with Alibris book sellers.

Reason I chose this business:

Just to see if you had the books I was looking for as a Christmas gift.

Date of experience: December 10, 2024

Thumbnail of user gordonm670
North Carolina
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 25th, 2024
Verified purchase

No problems. It would be helpful if this form reminded me of what I ordered, because I also order books through other platforms, and it's been quite a while for me to remember what I ordered through yours.

Reason I chose this business:

Because Alibris had what I was looking for at the best price.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: November 15, 2024

Thumbnail of user katherineh496
New Hampshire
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 18th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

I've never a bad experience! Recommend to all. Every order I've placed, has been satisfactorily filled. I belong to a small book discussion group of older folks & are very impressed with the price & condition of every book we've ordered.

Reason I chose this business:

ALWAYS choose Alibris. Never disappointed.

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 8, 2024

ALIBRIS... ALWAYS A GOOD EXPERIENCE
July 30th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

I've never had any problems buying books from Alibris - ever! That's why I continue ordering!

Reason I chose this business:

I ALWAYS choose Alibris when buying books!

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: July 20, 2024

Always a good experience!
March 2nd, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Date of experience: March 2, 2024

Always 5 Stars!
November 2nd, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Date of experience: November 2, 2023

Best way to buy books!
October 10th, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review
Reason I chose this business:

I choose Alibris every time I order books!

Date of experience: October 10, 2023

Always a pleasure!
September 6th, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review
Reason I chose this business:

Always choose Alibri.

Date of experience: September 6, 2023

Always a pleasure!
July 17th, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Always a pleasure! Never a problem!

Reason I chose this business:

Always choose Alibris.com

Date of experience: July 17, 2023

Usually find the book(s) I am looking for here
April 27th, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Usually find the book(s) I am looking for here. Never a bad experience! THANKS!

Reason I chose this business:

I choose Alibris every time I want to order a book@ a decent price. I don't care if it is used. They're always honest about condition.

Date of experience: April 27, 2023

Always a pleasure..
April 21st, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Always a pleasure. Never a hassle!

Reason I chose this business:

Choose Alibris every time I order books! Great prices, usually they have the books I want.

Date of experience: April 21, 2023

Never any problems!
March 7th, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Never any problems! Have always been pleased with my purchases! THANKS!

Reason I chose this business:

I choose Alibris every time I buy books! The titles are always in stock, have never been disappointed.

Date of experience: March 7, 2023

Always satisfied with books from Alibris!
January 28th, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Always satisfied with books from Alibris! I recommend to friends!

Reason I chose this business:

I ALWAYS choose Alibris!

Date of experience: December 29, 2022

Never had a bad shopping experience with Alibris!
December 23rd, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Never had a bad shopping experience with Alibris! Keep up the good work!

Reason I chose this business:

I ALWAYS chose Alibris for my bookneeds!

Date of experience: December 23, 2022

Always a pleasure to order books from here!
October 19th, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Always a pleasure to order books from here! Never disappointed in condition or speed of delivery! THANK YOU.

Reason I chose this business:

My "Go-to place" for ordering books! Always Alibris!

Date of experience: October 19, 2022

Always a uneventful transaction when purchasing from...
August 19th, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Always a uneventful transaction when purchasing from Alibris.

Reason I chose this business:

I choose Alibris every time I order books! The books are as described - no bad surprises.

Date of experience: August 19, 2022

Repeat buyer..
July 20th, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Repeat buyer. Never any problems! THANK YOU!

Reason I chose this business:

I choose ALIBRIS every time I order books! Never have a problem. Easy to order & you always have the titles I want.

Date of experience: July 20, 2022

Always find what I am looking for..
May 18th, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Always find what I am looking for. Easily! And the prices (and shipping costs) are well within my budget. THANKS!

Reason I chose this business:

Joined a Book Discussion group recently & find that ALIBRIS has my current choices available at extremely reasonable prices.

Date of experience: May 18, 2022

Always easy..
April 29th, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Always easy. That's one reason I like Alibris.com

Reason I chose this business:

I choose it EVERY time I order a book!

Date of experience: April 29, 2022

So far...
May 18th, 2021
Verified purchase
• Previous review

So far... So good.

Reason I chose this business:

Made it easy to find

Date of experience: May 18, 2021

Thumbnail of user eleanore95
Michigan
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 5th, 2024
Verified purchase

I'm very happy to have ordered my book from Alibris. To be honest I quite forgot about it until they sent me the email asking if I received it. The book, on Saint Gemma Galgani, is in great condition!

Reason I chose this business:

Because of the price of the book and the price of shipping!

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 26, 2024

Thumbnail of user judyb917
Kansas
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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November 5th, 2024
Verified purchase

Quick and easy to order once I got the password changed. Actually took me a couple of time. I wish it would have saved the book for me. I want more copies in the future but at a more discounted price.

Reason I chose this business:

They had the lowest price, BUT early afternoon there was one for 9.99 and I had to leave and couldnt finish the order and when I came back it was $17. Still the cheapest but original price was 21.99 I think

Date of experience: October 26, 2024

Thumbnail of user michaelp10399
Massachusetts
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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November 27th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

I wish your mobile web interface was more easily used. Some things that are on the main website are not here, or are harder to use. Example would be looking for just hardcover books in a specific condition. Or, when I reach the bottom of the screen, clicking the nav link to the next page doesn't move back to the top of the list.

Reason I chose this business:

I always shop books here.

Date of experience: November 17, 2024

We are down to two companies
November 5th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

We are down to two companies - HPB and Thrift Books - for the top of the list for "sort by price low to high" in most cases. HPB lists books by individual store; I know that HPB is not shipping from a store, it is shipping from a main warehouse. I know this because I once contacted them with a question about a listing, and the person who replied told me as much. This really degrades the experience.

Reason I chose this business:

I have shopped here for over 10 years, but more and more I have to resort to individual stores because Alibris no longer gives an accurate display of the available store options.

Date of experience: October 26, 2024

Thumbnail of user chrisa3583
Virginia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 7th, 2024
Verified purchase

Anytime I find an older book I head straight to Alibris as they tend to have the best deals and books in the best condition. I'm in no way a collector, I just like to read older titles sometimes. I have ordered books in decent to good condition and find they are always better than I thought. Shipping is slow but it's not like I need the book today. Overall pleased

Reason I chose this business:

Good quality, good selection

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: November 27, 2024

Thumbnail of user robins1933
Canada
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 22nd, 2024
Verified purchase

I didn't see anywhere in the description that the copy of the book I was purchasing had no dust jacket. Had I seen it, I'd have found a different copy to order. Without the dust jacket, it's useless to me. I would request that when there's a large flaw such as this, that it is highlighted or started or somehow made much more obvious in the description.

They simply told me that it did indeed state No Dust Jacket in the description.

Reason I chose this business:

Because they had the best price turn up on bookfinder.com

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: October 12, 2024

Thumbnail of user sureshd29
Oklahoma
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 17th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

I am so happy that alibris is alive for sure and appears well. I have used alibris over the years to locate hard to find books, especially collectible and early printings and editions. Keep up the strong work.

Reason I chose this business:

Have used for many years; love that I can find hard to find books here

Date of experience: September 7, 2024

Good, hard to find books
October 19th, 2022
Verified purchase
• Previous review
Reason I chose this business:

I used store before and happy

Date of experience: October 19, 2022

Thumbnail of user angelian11
Tennessee
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 11th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

Quick and easy. I was surprised this book was in stock. I'm very thankful and excited to know in a few short days I will receive the a true blessing. For the price was perfect, but feel this read is going to be life changing, priceless.

Date of experience: October 1, 2024

Pleased
December 16th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Price, price, price...mm...

Value
Shipping
Quality

Date of experience: December 16, 2024

Thumbnail of user stephenm1792
Wisconsin
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 20th, 2024
Verified purchase
• Updated review

Very straight forward although I purchased two books different from the one I originally looked for, mainly because your review allowed me to see the former seemed to consist material I've already went through.

Reason I chose this business:

Better price for same books.

Date of experience: September 10, 2024

Went smoothly
August 22nd, 2023
Verified purchase
• Previous review
Reason I chose this business:

It came up in a search for a book. And I've liked previous service.

Date of experience: August 22, 2023

Immediately got exactly what I was looking for
August 15th, 2021
Verified purchase
• Previous review

Date of experience: August 15, 2021

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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

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