• ThriftBooks

ThriftBooks

Is this your business?
Write a Review

Overview

ThriftBooks has a rating of 1.9 stars from 369 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about ThriftBooks most frequently mention customer service, good condition, and dust jacket problems. ThriftBooks ranks 23rd among Used Books sites.

  • Service
    144
  • Value
    143
  • Shipping
    147
  • Returns
    85
  • Quality
    143
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 9.7%
Positive
3
Neutral
2
Negative
26
155
See all photos
How would you rate ThriftBooks?
Top Positive Review

“Happy customer”

Susan F.
4/7/22

I've ordered twice now from Canada. Books arrived earlier than expected, and in the condition promised. Unique titles of spiritual books that I can't get at our libraries and have to pay top dollar for at specialized stores. I'll keep ordering and hopefully won't have a negative experience like some have reviewed.

Top Critical Review

“Will not deliver to appartments”

Steve S.
9/12/24

Ordered a textbook for school. The delivery status says "no safe drop" "return to origin". I live in an appartment in a safe neighborhood. No phone call. No email. No attempt to contact me at all. So if you have a job or are a student do not order anything from this site. You likely won't be home when its delivered so they will just send it back. Waste of time and money.

Reviews (369)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (70) thrift books (34)
Thumbnail of user clairec207
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
July 3rd, 2020

My grandmother has been in isolation since March. She is an avid reader (I'm talking 5 books a week minimum) but can't visit the library at this time. I told her about ThriftBooks and made an order for her. Ever since she's been absolutely hooked! The price point is PERFECT for her (no more than $5 per book) and they always have the authors she loves. She tells all her friends about it. Since the beginning of May she's ordered about 25 books and they've all been very high quality. On top of bringing my grandmother immense joy, their customer service is PHENOMENAL. I was unaware that you could get points towards a free book until probably the third order or so. I emailed customer service to see if they could posthumously award points if I provided confirmation emails. They responded with in 6 hours and went ahead and put the points on for me, no effort on my end. Now my grandmother has credit for one free book and 391 points towards another. I could not give a more glowing review. We love you thriftbooks!

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user sarahs3415
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
August 30th, 2022
Verified purchase

They won't let me return a college book I accidentally bought. It came up in my search as the book I was looking for so I assumed, by accident, that the book was the one I needed. I asked if I could return it because it was the wrong book (on my part) but they refused my return. Those books are EXPENSIVE and they have the audacity to recommend giving it away when I need the money to feed my kids. DO NOT BUY COLLEGE BOOKS FROM THIS COMPANY!

Tip for consumers:
Do not buy college books here without double/ triple checking the title and the author match what your professor requires for class or you will be wasting money on books you don't need.

Products used:
I won't use it, but it's a college book.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user teresac441
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 14th, 2020

I've ordered from ThriftBooks numerous times, and had emailed them a complaint about one book. I received a quick response to my email, and now a replacement (free of charge) is on the way.

Thumbnail of user suzyk21
1 review
8 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 20th, 2020

I can't believe I paid $10 for a book that has a goodwill sticker on it "$1.99", and the book was in disgusting condition, what looked like dry blood on the cover

Thumbnail of user waynec339
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
August 16th, 2021
• Updated review

Thrift books explained the software glitch, apologized and gave me a credit towards a future purchase. Bought more books since & am happy with price, quality and delivery.

No book
November 27th, 2020
• Previous review

Ordered a book that I wanted to arrive quickly, so paid for second day service. After 5 days and no book I called customer service and a cheerful person said, "oh, we had a problem and canceled your order." Poor service, poor communication and no book! What a way to run a business.

Thumbnail of user marioni6
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 2nd, 2020

It's hard for me to believe some of the bad reviews here. Some seem to have vendetta against them- maybe they're competitors. I discovered ThriftBooks this summer (2020) and have ordered over 30 books, most used. I have had no problems. Good hardbound books for $4 - $5 is a great value. All the books are rated on their website from acceptable to very good and are priced accordingly. I'm not sure how the company is set up, but books are shipped from all over the country. So, if you order four books, they might ship two together from the same location and the other two from different locations. I also ordered new books from ThriftBooks. I compared their new book prices against Amazon. Some were more expensive and some were less expensive. All I can say is they are very close and you can compare. None of the books I received were damaged in shipping. That's always a possibility for anything being shipped, but I had no problems with ThriftBooks. Try a used book ~ $5, plus tax, always shipped free! You also earn credits and get a free book (l've received 3 free books so far). I am not affiliated with ThriftBooks in any way. But after reading the reviews here I felt the need to comment. Try them and you will be hooked! The photo below shows some of the books with white label that I ordered from ThriftBooks.

Tip for consumers:
The used books are a great value. Most were hardbound books. Hard to find and out of print books can be found at ThriftBooks. All books are shipped free.

Products used:
Mostly used books on fine art, art techniques, woodworking, writing a memoir, poetry, and other topics. Also, I purchased several new books on identity birds, on light, and fine art.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user josho68
1 review
4 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 6th, 2021

Ordered an old Wii game from my childhood, the order receipt says game only, but what did I get, everything but the game… waiting on a response from customer service, 10/10 would not use them again.

Tip for consumers:
DO NOT USE THEIR SITE

Products used:
Wii game

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user lydiaj51
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 14th, 2020

I've bought over 70 books from this site in the last 3 years and haven't had any complaints so far. I personally love used books so this site is perfect for me.

Thumbnail of user kyliem1
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
July 30th, 2022
Verified purchase

I bought two books from this site. One of them was a rare, out-of-print book that I've wanted badly for a while, so I was excited to find it on Thriftbooks. They only had one available copy. Unfortunately, when my package came, it was the wrong book (the extremely boring book pictured below). It was a completely random book that had nothing to do with what I ordered--not the same author, genre, or even the same language! I emailed them, hoping to return the wrong one and have them send me the correct book as a replacement. But they said they no longer had it available, so they wanted me to just keep the wrong book and refunded me instead. Clearly, they sent my valuable book to someone else, and they didn't want to do anything to rectify that. It was so disappointing to get my hopes up that I would be getting a book I'd been searching a long time for, only to find out it was the wrong one.

In the same order, I bought a copy of the Lord of the Rings. I bought it with the understanding that I'd be getting the cover design that was pictured (as there were many covers to choose from, and I chose the cover I liked best). It came with a different cover. They don't disclose this upfront, but when you read their help section, it says that the pictures displayed for the books may not be the actual book they send. It's not the biggest issue in the world, but they do need to be more forthcoming about that when you order.

This was my first time ordering through Thriftbooks, and neither books came as I expected. The shipping time was also pretty long. Disappointed.

Thumbnail of user kristieh8
1 review
9 helpful votes
  • Send Message
May 3rd, 2018

I've always loved Thriftbooks until a few months ago. I think I'm done with them though because their shipping just gets worse and worse since they insist on using OSM Worldwide. I live in Georgia so more often than not, my books are shipped from Atlanta, from there they go to Glendale Heights, IL (even though I'm in Georgia) where they usually sit for 3 or 4 days, then they are sent back to Atlanta, then to me. I've had OSM Worlwide lie to me countless times and say they didn't have my package yet so I need to contact the sender. Then a few minutes later I get a tracking update saying my package has arrived at and departed from Glendale Heights. I've told Thriftbooks about this happening but they're not changing anything so I'm done ordering from them until they fix the problem.

Thumbnail of user chasem92
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
April 15th, 2021
Verified purchase

ORDERED AND PAID FOR a game for my original Xbox, Star Wars: Republic Commandos, when the package arrived it came with the correct case for the game but inside it was a completely different game, the simpsons hit and run. Not only was the game in the case a completely different game, but it was also so damaged it was unusable. DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE

Tip for consumers:
Don’t

Products used:
None

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user shayt31
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 31st, 2020

I LOVE Thriftbooks! It's like book heaven The availability & inventory is beyond GREAT! But above all, the Customer Service is AWESOME! VERY KIND & Caring staff! AND they mean it! I LOVE the selections they have! I ALWAYS get my books ahead of schedule! GREAT SERVICE! Thank you!

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user redae5
1 review
3 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 6th, 2019

Thieves never got a refund for a book, + shipments fees,

+ another order I never received, when I asked for refund, (the order took 3 months to show in the tracking and still haven't received it), they sent me this short message:

Unfortunately, any order over 30 days cannot be replaced/refunded.

THAT'S it, can you believe it
Got screwed for a total of 10 $

I'm from morocco and you can imagine me waiting for a book for about 3 to 4 months every time, to never receive it, AND NO REFUND (I call this theft) books i need, Zero PROFESSIONALISM
Be careful don't deal with this company.

Thumbnail of user cordillaw
1 review
3 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 24th, 2021

I ordered a copy of poppy by Avi book #1 for my 4th grader. I specifically ordered book #1 and paid the extra fee for 2nd day shipping, due to her needing the book by the 27th of this month. Ordered it on the 20th and received the wrong book on yesterday the 24th. I immediately emailed to attempt to let them know about their error and to possibly get it resolved before Monday the 24th. Today just minutes ago I received an message stating that my message was blocked. This clearly shows that I was scammed and no one had any intention of contacting me, or correcting their mistake. I paid $19.67 for a used book, that has a good will price tag for $1.99 on it. I didn't have a problem with paying the $4.30 + 2nd day shipping for a used book, but I want what I ordered and paid for! Thanks for disappointing and scamming a 4th grader!

Thumbnail of user aimeea106
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
February 22nd, 2023

They sent the correct items ordered in the condition I paid for, the books were like NEW! One book started having pages come lose. I read the FINE print and it said ONCE THEY'VE SHIPPED IT, unless THEY send the incorrect item purchased, they do not HAVE TO refund or exchange it. So I was expecting them to not do anything! But I have a brain injury that impairs my coordination so the pages coming out was making it very difficult to hold and read. I was expecting to have to give them a bad review, but in 1 or 2 days they got back to me and a new one is on the way!
I AM VERY HAPPY w the thriftbooks.com company/service!

Tip for consumers:
GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE! It says they respond within 6 hours. This isn't always the case, but the wait will be worth it! For me think it was almost 2 days, but THEY WERE GREAT!

Products used:
I got 2 used books in VERY GOOD CONDITION and a used DVD in equally as GOOD CONDITION!

Thumbnail of user thomasm913
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 28th, 2021

Just dealing with the website is a nightmare.
The books may or may not arrive in specified condition.
The books may or may not arrive in a timely manner.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user nifeh
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 18th, 2022
Verified purchase

I bought 6 books in one order. All were either very good, good, fair or acceptable. The "acceptable" rated book was the best quality book, without any creases or discoloration of any kind. One of the "good" was a graphic novel with a very major front cover crease and seeing how cover art is a major part of comics and GN's, this should have been fair to acceptable at best. Another book marked very good, was in easy-reading large print, which should definitely be stated and wasn't.The print size is a factor for readers! The other thing is that Thrift Books puts their own sticker on all of the books which cant be removed without tearing the book itself, in my view, making all of the books less than very good.
I was excited about this company, and they even grand credit rewards for purchases, but its not worth it for the inconsistency and lack of consideration of the books themselves and readers. Id never buy from here unless I was desperate and they had something I couldn't get anywhere else.

Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user allisonr312
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
August 9th, 2023

I have purchased, probably, over a dozen books from ThriftBooks over the past couple of years. The books arrive quickly and in good condition, and their prices are very reasonable.

Tip for consumers:
I really like this company, and I buy most of my older books from them.

Products used:
Books

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user amypfleegor1
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 27th, 2023

I ordered a used book that cost over $10 which I needed "immediately" for my studies. Wrong book arrived. It's "value" is $4.99. I write to Thriftbook Store to explain that I received wrong item. Could they send correct item?

No apologies, no nothing except "Contact Abe Books". They want their book back and haven't even mentioned sending me my original book I ordered. I do think this was an intentional oversight by Thriftbooks and that they are intentionally sending out lower priced books to consumers who orderd a book that cost twice as much. Think about it...easily done. Especially since having to return the wrong book(s) is a total inconvenience by someone who is "older", helping my disabled husband manage his daily activities of life, in fact returning a book I didn't want is ridiculous!

I hate Thrift books. THEY HAVE ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY PASS THE BUCK AND DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS!

Tip for consumers:
Stay away from "Thriftbooks-Texas"

Products used:
Books

Thumbnail of user jc.pilcher
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 18th, 2023

I was waiting until I actually received the book before rating the service; I typically would delete these emails. I'm glad I didn't!

I purchased a used book, in "Good" condition; sadly it was placed in a thin, plastic bag and dropped into some random truck/bin/cargo hold/whatever! It really doesn't matter what the condition the book is in when it's on YOUR shelf, if you have zero regard for it's condition when packaging and/or shipping the book! It was completely beat-up by handling and shipping, the cover is all but destroyed, and all the corners are dented and damaged.

Now let's talk about the book itself... it's different th an the one pictured on your website, looking more like a children's story-time book, rather than this piece of American Literature with a classic, dark cover (as pictured). Instead, it's a 1970's cartoon drawing of Alice... not even a vintage/classic piece of art. C'mon man! This is a book written over 150 years ago (100 years before my birth, actually!).

Anyway... I'll keep the book and see if there is one somewhere else that resembles what was posted on your website. And the transit damage? Well, I won't be purchasing from Thriftbooks anytime soon! The company that could give two sh**ts about their customers! Seriously, thaaannnks a lot!

Tip for consumers:
Re-scheduled delivery - later!
Hardbound book placed in thin, plastic bag for shipping! WTH
Item was NOT as pictured.
Greatly Disappointed!

Products used:
Uhmmm.... a book?

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user elainew249
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
October 25th, 2020

Bought a used boo for $4.79... it finally arrived with a price sticker on it of $1.99. Had free shipping on the purchase (2 books in order) but obviosly it was a cheat!

Thumbnail of user autumnr59
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
February 8th, 2022

The first several orders I made with this company went great. However, the quality of the items I received took a sharp nosedive. It started with a copy of The Hobbit that was supposed to be in "very good" condition. When it arrived, the outside was stained by what looks like urine, and two pages were ripping out where the spine cracked. This item seriously looked like it had been used as a bathroom copy.

I purchased another book, only to have a different book show up. I got a refund, then reordered (very good condition) the book. The book showed up today, and when I flipped through the pages, an entire SECTION of pages fell out! On what planet is that very good condition? The sticker on the cover was also cheaper than what I paid for the book! It was dirty, dingy, and the dust jacket was torn.

Once the replacement for my replacement shows up, I will NEVER order from this site again.

It seems like Thriftbooks is operating with very little quality control, and aren't making sure their sellers adhere to a book grading system. Condition descriptions are general and vague, and do not often match up with the product.

Thumbnail of user gregh74
1 review
19 helpful votes
  • Send Message
February 16th, 2017

I have been buying books from Thrift Books now for ~ 18 months, to date 378 books to be exact. They have great books, and I lover their website, but their customer service is horrible. They recently deactivated my account. Why? Because I have rejected too many books for quality reasons. The majority of quality complaints are that they send library books not sold as library books. The second reason is that they send paperback books sold as hardbacks.
So, when they can easily check that the book in question is a library book or not a hard back book, why would they still send the book, and why would they be upset that I complained about it?
Remind you of any dinosaurs that went extinct due to poor customer relations?
So, if you want to buy from Thrift Books, be aware that you better accept whatever they send you, because if you complain about more than 20% of your purchases you are too costly for them to do business with.
Yeah, not one word about sorry we sent the wrong books and we are fixing that problem, just a my way or the byway attitude.

Thumbnail of user whynterstorme
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 2nd, 2023

I have used thriftbooks for years. I prefer used books and don't mind damage. I love when people have written in books and I can see what they thought or highlighted! I love the rewards system. I have ordered books every other week for years. However, lately, I keep having shipping issues. The last few times it has taken at least 2 weeks to get my books, usually I get them in 4-5 days. But this last time their website said my package was shipped. When I clicked on USPS tracking it said the label was created but not in the system. I waited 2 weeks and this was never updated. I emailed thriftbooks and got a reply almost immediately saying this just meant USPS missed scanning it for tracking. I waited a few more days and emailed USPS. USPS actually called me from my post office and said no, this status meant the shipper created a label and never dropped off the package. So I emailed thriftbooks again and they didn't try to solve the issue by actually shipping my stuff, just issued a refund with no apology. I didn't want a refund... I wanted my books. I think thriftbooks and I will have to go on a break. If I am always having shipping issues and now I can't even know I'll eventually get my stuff it's just a waste of time. I used them to stop using Amazon but alas.

Thumbnail of user ar263
1 review
7 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 13th, 2018

I have been ordering books from Thriftbooks.com for several years now, and up until recently I just raved about the place to anyone who would listen- I even planned on buying gift cards for Christmas this year for friends and family who are readers and don't need 'new' to be thrilled with books. I really loved this site. And then... I ordered books that took 3 weeks to show up but only after I complained. They sent out a replacement order, I received 2 of the 4 books, one of which was in awful shape. I had ordered some more books thinking it had to be a fluke, a one time thing. Wrong. I still haven't received them. When I check tracking, it says, "Moving within the USPS System"... I have no clue where. Or when I'll get them, or IF I'll get them. However, no more ordering from this company. No gift cards for everyone. No bragging on how awesome they are anymore, because they aren't. If they changed their mailing parameters, or something? They need to change it back. My guess is, they did like so many companies do and changed things to make more money. Ah well, like a bad relationship it's time for me to move on. I won't use them again. Sad. I really did like them.

Sitejabber for Business

Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.

About the business

ThriftBooks.com is one of the world's largest online new and used book retailers with more than 7 million books in stock at everyday low prices. Get free standard shipping on U.S. orders over $10. U.S. A: Standard Shipping - 4-14 business days - Fr...

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

  • 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 ThriftBooks?

Is this your business?

Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and manage your listing.

Claim Your Business