• 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 45th 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 adrians195
2 reviews
17 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 5th, 2020

States that they ship via Fedex when they ship USPS standard, so high shipping charges for very long shipping times. When I inquired about the shipment up front in order to avoid delays, they specifically stated that they use Fedex, then sent through cheaper alternative anyways. When challenged on this, they continued to deceive. Buy your books elsewhere.

Thumbnail of user bjd2
5 reviews
5 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 11th, 2016

I have ordered from this company on several occasions and have been completely satisfied every time. The products, even though they are used have always been in great shape. Items shipped very fast as well!. Would recommend this company to anyone looking for great used books!

Thumbnail of user tiffanys25
8 reviews
37 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 27th, 2014

I've read several positive reviews, but my experience was terrible! I paid for several books and only received one. The books are very cheap, so I didn't lose much of money, but it's very frustrating when I order specific items and they're never shipped to me.

Thumbnail of user deem113
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 9th, 2018

I ordered a book from here. Gave them title, author, and ISBN # and 2 different times they sent the wrong book. Will never order from this place again. Im not sure if they know what they are doing or if they just throw any book in the mail and collect money. Very bad business!

Thumbnail of user gordonc139
1 review
15 helpful votes
  • Send Message
February 7th, 2021
Verified purchase

Don't buy from these guys especially through eBay. I paid and they did not send my book. EBay will not help after 90 days. ThriftBooks still state they have the book in stock on their website, but refuse to fix the problem saying it has to go through eBay. They have my money but are not ethical enough to send the book. Some people were lucky to get defective books when they paid - I received nothing and they will not support their customers.

Tip for consumers:
Don't risk ordering through these guys. I also ordered through betterworldbooks and they were fine.

Products used:
I used nothing as the book was never delivered.

Thumbnail of user carolynw502
1 review
24 helpful votes
  • Send Message
January 25th, 2021

I ordered 5 books from here with the hopes of getting books that I can use for copying for our Bible Study. I understand "gently" used, but not "totally" used. There is no where for us to write, let alone use our own thoughts as we study God's word. I am so disappointed with ThriftBooks for selling me "totally used" books, regardless of the price. Don't just take my word for it, judge the books from the pictures yourself.

Thumbnail of user jcd3
1 review
5 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 9th, 2015

I was leery of this company after I read all the reviews on this site, but I decided to go ahead and buy three books anyway (as worst case scenario I'd lose $11.52). My experience goes to show that you can't always trust reviews. I placed my order on 9/30, and received my books on 10/5,10/6, and 10/9. All three books were in as-advertised condition (two "Very Good" and one "Like New"). Their books were sent USPS, which always leaves room for USPS mis-delivery, but tracking numbers were provided, so I could see where they were. All in all a perfect buying experience and I plan to shop again.

Thumbnail of user karag102
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 7th, 2022

The whole process was easy, they shipped my books fast and almost every book was in really good shape. The only issue I had was with a little bending of the edges of some books, but they were more used than the others.

Tip for consumers:
I was skeptical at first because I had a bad experience with another site, but Thriftbooks was very reliable and legit.

Products used:
Books

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user sheril88
1 review
3 helpful votes
  • Send Message
February 3rd, 2023

I have not been happy with purchases from Thrift Books. I agree with others: they do not accurately describe the condition of the books. The last one was described as good and was marred by yellow and red marker on full pages, page after page.

Thumbnail of user donnav96
2 reviews
6 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 2nd, 2021

How unfortunate that so many people here seem to have encountered problems with ThriftBooks. I have not. In fact, I've been impressed by the speed of delivery, low prices, and low shipping costs (no cost for orders over $10).

Thumbnail of user pamb899
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 21st, 2022

I have ordered 5 books from them! Excellent priced, quick on shipping, and the books were in great shape! Where else can you buy 2 hardback for less than $10 & shipping under $4!
I've recommended this sight to several friends and will continue to shout their awesomeness!

Thumbnail of user eviez
1 review
16 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 21st, 2020

Wish I read the reviews... bought several books in "like new" state but all of them had some sort of defect. One had a gash on the cover, another had brown dirt stuck on the cover, inner spine ungluing, all of them had bent pages, etc. They send the books in a thin plastic bag with 0 padding, so they arrive even more beat up from the postal handling.

I understand this is a used book site blah blah but I specifically paid more for "like new" condition and they arrived looking like this.

Thumbnail of user johnt4120
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
February 9th, 2023

Thriftbooks has absolutely satisfied me completely... Anyone complaining about this company is really strange... The prices are low the service is fast... Everything arrives in good condition and I've never had to return anything...

Thumbnail of user alecb101
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 3rd, 2022
Verified purchase

Only did one order with ThriftBooks but I got a book that would have cost me $200 on Amazon for $6. Good condition despite being over 20 years old, even signed by the author. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. Was initially skeptical based on the 2.5 stars they have here, maybe others are having far worse experiences

Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user jordanr162
10 reviews
44 helpful votes
  • Send Message
July 26th, 2020

I first saw about thriftbooks on a post on social media, as you could get books at a cheaper price. Several years later, I still use this site over big name websites. Sometimes I run into the issue that something I'm looking for isn't available, but that is to be expected at times. While it's not much cheaper, I like to stock up on new manga and multi-book series, so it's nice to be able to purchase multiple volumes in one go for a discount. They're really good at letting you know right away if a title is unavailable after you purchase it, which just happened to me. I purchase books that are anywhere from acceptable to new and have yet to experience any problems with anything I purchased.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user kommanderk
2 reviews
15 helpful votes
  • Send Message
May 16th, 2020

I received the wrong item. Not even close to what I was told would be shipped. A refund was issued (may take 2-5 days) because the original ordered item is no longer available?! So I assume someone else wrongly received my order and vice versa. Thriftbooks what are you doing? You need to do your customers right. Sure, I can just find another and purchase it, but what does that say about your company? This is basic knowledge of customer service and life in general: NO ONE likes unmet expectations.

Thumbnail of user darrens282
2 reviews
6 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 11th, 2021

Thriftbooks gradually increase their prices on poor quality used books. It seems like every time I place a book order with this company, the books arrive in what's supposed to be like new condition, but the pages are riddled with stained pages and many pen markings... Very poor and untrustworthy used book vendor. Years ago this business was dependable but they have gotten significantly worse over time and you just can't trust them, you never know what's going to arrive. You pay for like new or even very good and they ship you VERY POOR conditioned books, we spend a lot of money on used books and now we've been forced to shop local where we can inspect the actual book that we're purchasing. Save yourself a lot of disappointment and hassle, look for used books locally or at least with a company that has better reviews. Happy reading my literary friends.

Tip for consumers:
Shop elsewhere, they quality is terrible and the customer service is even worse (they promise a refund but never process one, very poor and deteriorating business).

Products used:
Books

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user saraha956
1 review
8 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 4th, 2020

This site used a picture of a book with a similar name and then sent the book they actually carried (title is similar but wrong cover and author). I searched by ISBN and it showed the correct book that was needed for my class. Once I got the book, it was a similar title with a totally different cover. I called to ask what happened because I had screenshots of the book I ordered as well as a copy of the ISBN. I was told that they didn't even carry the book I needed and that she was sorry. I was told that I had to pay for the return shipping and a restocking fee. After all was said and done, I lost almost $10 from my pocket because of the shipping and restocking fee. False advertisement and this customer was screwed. Never, ever order from this site! (First picture is what was sent, second is what I ordered. As you can see, they show the correct book, but sent the wrong one).

Thumbnail of user michaelr5795
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 26th, 2023

I've been collecting Books for years and had my doubts when things went digital.
Thrift Books have changed my mind. Been buying from them for...IDK...8-9 years now and do mistakes happen? Of course they do. But there customer service has always made things right!
The King of Online Used Books.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user jeremiahw9
3 reviews
10 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 13th, 2016

Thriftbooks cancelled my order for 7 books. TB didn't even give a specific reason why. What the hell TB. Order from another company as this company is unreliable. I have read other reviews that state similar things happened to other customers too.

Thumbnail of user erinf143
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
November 9th, 2020

The site's quality ratings are extremely unreliable. I have ordered "books" titled acceptable or good and they're far from it. Six of the books I ordered were excessively written in or damaged. A lot of the books look like you're purchasing one with a new cover. However, the book that comes in the mail has a cover from the 1990s. This is extremely frustrating as I'm trying to buy books to help build my classroom library. I don't want my students to have falling apart books from the 1990s.

There are higher quality and cheap books on this site. It's not worth gambling to see if you're actually going to get one of these books though. An in-person used bookstore would be a better choice than ordering from thrift books or just spending the extra money to go to B&N.

Thumbnail of user mightyhuntress
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 26th, 2023

I have purchased separately two old cookbooks I was missing that I used to love. Both times the books were in great condition, arrived incredibly fast - mere days - and the cost of both the items and the shipping were very low!

Products used:
Books

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user laurencea.g.m
1 review
3 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 9th, 2023

Thrift Book continues to grossly misrepresent the condition of their books, and this problem has increased considerably over the past 4 years. And further, when one tries to contact ThriftBooks about rectifying their error, it takes at least 20 min., if at all possible, of being shunted around the internet to register a complaint. Bottom line: do not buy from this company.

Products used:
books

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user andrewa1104
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
December 10th, 2022
Verified purchase

Boy, I wish I had looked at the reviews first before ordering from these goobers. They send out a rare book worth hundreds of dollars in a plastic bag and of course, it got beat up in shipping. The stupidest and the most ignorant thing I have seen in ages. I would not order anything from these people.

Tip for consumers:
I personally will never buy from these guys again. Ughhh.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user krystall13
1 review
5 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 14th, 2017

"I paid over $160 for a collectible book listed in "very good" condition. Nowhere in the description did it mention the two huge tears in the dust jacket or the overall wear to the book. When I asked them to send me a return label they said I had to pay for the return and they would refund me minus the original shipping as well. Avoid these scammers, they are a horrible company.

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