"Hassle. Period. Whereas CengageBrain is a great and reliable site for textbooks, you'd think that the site that owns the domain for TEXTBOOKS would be even better. That is not the case here. Unfortunately, CengageBrain did not have the book for my Comm class in their catalogue so I had to look elsewhere. Textbooks.com seemed like the obvious alternative and I was pleased that they did rentals. However, I was making the order on my smartphone and the site kept bugging when I clicked continue after the first parts of entering my personal information and it took me back to step 1 all over again. This happened 6 times before I could even enter my credit card info! Plus, the only shipping that was eligible with my book was the standard ground rate that will take 8 business days to get here. The site said they offer different forms of expedited shipping that I would have been glad to pay for, but now I'm stuck for the moment writing this review. Another aspect that is a dealbreaker in favour of CengageBrain is that they offer a free eBook of your textbook while it ships. This was very convenient and an overall sensible customer-oriented move that should be a no-brainer for other vendors to emulate. Textbooks.com does not offer this helpful amenity so at the moment I am behind on my Comm reading.
Very displeased overall with Textbooks.com. I came to them as a last resort and it looks like it will stay that way."
"I order my book on June 29. they charged my card on June 30. But I didn’t get any tracking information about my order. I contacted with them after 10 days and they told me that they are not responsible for this order because other company will provide service for me.... ??????????
But they cannot give me other company phone contact. And they told me to wait next 20 DAYS!!!! And after that may beThey will help me.
"
"So...just read all the reviews 5 min after a sketchy order to textbooks.com. f me right? so...i just purchased two ebooks over the past two nights (tonight included), i was foolish and just assumed that the digital ebook i purchased was a .pdf file like every other sites' definition of ebook is. i soon realize that they force you to read it in an internet browser...there is no downloadable copy, which - by the way - there says to be on the initial ebook button! its total bs. now after reading these comments i highly doubt that what i just wrote to them (seen below) will get my money back.
"Hello - I would like my money back for both of these "ebooks". I was unaware that I would have to read in my browser and not receive a downloadable .pdf file. Your etextbook option is rather misleading, as the button before checkout claims that there is a one click download option...I was planning to print out the pdf of this book because I can't read from computer screens well. So please, you can see that I have not opened either of the two books I purchased. One was purchased just now, and one was purchased yesterday but I never checked into it until just now. My two order confirmation numbers are: XXXXXXXXX (today) and XXXXXXXXX (yesterday). Please notify me when refund is made. Please see that I have not opened or "checked out" either book. I expect this refund to be completed by tomorrow latest, as I have two classes next week to use these books for. Thank you.""
"Complete ripoff. Claimed they did not receive a book that I have sent and asked me to identify a book that they claim they have received instead. Refused to pay."
"I came here to check on resellerratings before purchasing on textbooks.com. The mostly negative reviews made me worry at first, but in the end I decided to give it a try as I found a book I couldn’t find anywhere else for such a good price. Let me tell you I can’t say anything bad about them as I received my order fine and in the described condition. I would place an order there anytime again."
"Sold 6 of my books online to them. Got a quote price of about $30, which was fine, as no other site was giving my that much money. Sent them the books and they email me back saying they can not accept 5 of the 6 books due to water damage. However, there was NO water damage on any of the books. The asked me to make a payment of $15 for shipping to get the books back. It seems like a scam to me, so I'll just be taking the $9 they decided to give me for one of my books they actually "accepted"."
"My microeconomics book with website access was almost $300 at the school and around $250 everywhere else online. Textbooks .com had it for $150 but I was really hesitant to by it from them given all of the bad reviews. I received the book extremely fast and in perfect condition, but after I had removed the shrink wrap my teacher changed the required material for class to another book and website. I had not even opened the book or taken the shrink wrap off of the access code. There were stickers on the book's shrink wrap stating that "under no condition would the book be returnable if removed". When I called Textbooks.com almost in tears, the operator told me to send the book & code back and if it was still in perfect condition (which it was) they would refund my money, or at least give me buy back cost (they were not currently even buying this book back). Well, less then a week after they had received the package back at their warehouse, I was reimbursed for the entire cost of the items! I will definitely use their website again and couldn't be happier with their customer service:)"
"I sent my book valued at ~$30 to this company. They refused to buy it and did not send the book back. This is modern day SCAM.
You can read their reply to my return request below:
CASE_ID_NO: 6187737
Hello,
As stated in our buyback FAQ, once an item has been received by us we cannot return the item to the customer who sent it. Per the agreement as outlined when you created the buyback, you indicated that you read and understood our purchasing policies as outlined in our FAQ.
Even though it is not our policy to send back books once received, if we are contacted within seven days from the day we received the order, we may be able to let you pay shipping prices to get book back. If we are not contacted about sending books back within that time frame, the items are recycled or donated to make room for new buyback books. We do apologize, but the book has already been recycled or donated.
Thank you,
Lora "
"I had very POOR experience with them. Bought a $80 textbook (works out to be about £48) and when it came the packaging was ripped and the book was torn. Contacted them for a partial as I required it for university and the refund as the postage to send it back to them was the same as the price of the book! Received no reply and eventually escalated to Paypal.
Got a response but there wasn't even an apology!!!! Just sent me the address to return the book and nothing else. Rude customer service. PLEASE don't buy from them, horrendous! So in conclusion I didn't end up getting a partial refund and I had to keep the tattered textbook.
There's a reason why they're not participating at ResellerRatings it's because they're a horrible horrible company."
"I ordered a book in textbooks.com. But the damn seller said he sold out the book and cancelled the order. However, I still saw his item in stock even after being informed the order was cancelled. That meant I still could order again. I wanted to give the damn seller negative rating but I could find nowhere to leave the feedback. So I don't understand how the seller got their rating in textbooks.com. Very strange. I won't use this website again because it's very unfriendly and unfair to the buyer."
"Received books from Textbooks.com and then my son's classes were changed. I returned the books via USPS and (surprise) Textbooks.com sends me an email stating that they received an empty box. If the box was empty how do they know it was from me or what my account number is? They have been unable to show proof that the box was damaged or that there was any notes on the box from USPS stating that the contents were missing. I am now out $110.00 and will never, ever order from them again. I hope this review will warn others not to order from Textbooks.com"
"Absolutely no customer service and no response to enquirers
My advise , Never opt or pay for expedited delivery , as they don't expedite or even care update the buyer.
I bought an item and paid on 7 Aug 2013 including for expedited delivery,which they promised to delivery by 13 Aug 2013 to Australia.But the item was not even dispatched from Malaysia warehouse until 13 Aug 2013 morning , and I received on 16 Aug 2013. That delivery date fits with the standard delivery but not expedited .Worst of all,they never responded to any of my email chasing the item.I asked for a refund as they did not expedite the delivery but no response.
I don't recommend these guys,luckily I received my item,but I was worried to the point they may not even send it.You dont want spend money on someone that irresponsible."
"Total ripoff. Stole the online card the book came with and when contacted said tough. Do not use this company, totally shady."
"I ordered my books used, with the knowledge that they would in fact be used. I expected signs of wear, and that's exactly what I received. One of the books had tape to help hold it together, but I didn't mind, as long as it wasn't falling apart. The books were extremely reasonable, and I'm happy with their service. I saved money and enjoyed every single book I've bought from them as much as if they were brand spanking new....But with a little extra cash in my pocket."
"Ordered a book that was listed as "new" and "in stock" on their web site. Received an e-mail "the Authorized Seller fulfilling your order has confirmed the shipping date", then next day another e-mail from "Book Castle" aka "Bookshop4U": "We are sorry we could not fulfill your order. The item was found damaged on shelves and unfortunately that is the last item in our inventory. So, we have to cancel the order and issued the complete refund to your account." When I phoned textbooks.com customer support, I was advised to take it up by e-mail with "Book Castle". Next time, I'm sticking with Amazon Marketplace.
Bottom Line: Buyer beware - this site looks to be fronting a credit card phishing scheme."