BOOKS etc. Recensioni 201

Purchased ‘Railways Remembered The Western Region The Blake Paterson Collection’. The book was sent promptly with no postage and packing charges. Very good deal as big discount off normal price. Great colour photos of the western region from Paddington west to Thames Valley and a little beyond.

My book was delivered within the timeframe promised on ordering. I was kept informed of the status of my order. It was well packed and so delivered in perfect condition.

Bought my book on 22nd April and waited over a week and it never turned up. Contacted Books etc and said it must be lost in the post and will send out another one. I'm still waiting for the replacement. This was a birthday present and the birthday has been and gone now. I bought from ebay. Wish I paid a few quid more and bought of world of books which I normally use. I'm not happy at all. It doesn't take nearly 2 weeks for a book to be delivered.

First order was for a large, heavy omnibus graphic novel. I have bought others from different sellers and know that they often get damaged if the packaging is not good enough.

Very glad to say Books.etc package my book very, very well and it arrived in perfect condition. I am a bit of a perfectionist so believe me I checked it all over and it was in great condition.

They are also the cheapest for these omnibuses. My new go to for these books from now on. Highly recommended.

Very happy with the service,post the first time was a bit slow.This was the second book i have bought, it was a gift for my Mam for mothers day and came quicker,with definately being using them, much more,price and availability of books is great,i have stopped using Amazon and go straight to company for my books now.

I purchased an imported book from them, cheaper than any other. Good service, speedy delivery.

Looks to be a new company still developing their web presence. Great: can't have enough books or bookstores.

The prices are good but everything else is poor. I was incorrectly charged postage which I eventually got refunded. Then the Royal Mail was instructed to not deliver the item but to return to sender. No explanation was offered. My purchase and delivery was time critical, so my intended gift has now had to be abandoned. I await a refund. Very frustrated.

I am impressed with the prices at BOOKS etc. New books are delivered quickly and at a lower cost than elsewhere - often at a better price than secondhand!

Just had some graphic novels delivered in a firm box, so no damage in the post. Quick, free delivery too.

The range is not as extensive as some other places, but worth checking out before you order from other websites; you might well be pleasantly surprised at the value for money.

They kept my money for 3 weeks for a book that was not is stock but appears as such on their site(they haven't corrected that still). I had to contact them otherwise I would just loose my money. The book now is OOP and if found costs way more. The only thing they had to say was "we're sorry". I had problems with customer service every time I ordered (lack of info for delivery on their part etc), but this was infuriating .

The efficiency of this book store is unmatched—I was thrilled to find the latest book I had been pining for, swiftly delivered to my doorstep, allowing me to indulge in its captivating narrative without hesitation. As always I can rely on Books etc to have the books I want that can’t be found - at a good price - elsewhere.

Took longer than expected for the book to arrive. When it did, it was badly marked and not in the 'brand new' condition advertised. I've raised this with Books Etc., but haven't even had an acknowledgement of my email, let alone a resolution.

Delivery was sooner than expected

I had waited too long to order a bird book for an upcoming bird watching trip. I didn't realize it was coming from Europe. The expected range of delivery gave the possibility that it might come too late.
I was holding my breath and hoping. The book arrived quickly, in plenty of time to pack. Thank you

I ordered a book from Books Etc. because I found it at this shop and the big A. Thinking that it'd be good to support smaller businesses and not needing the book urgently, I decided to purchase it from Books Etc. They give a delivery window of 2-3 days. The 2-3 days came and went and still being patient, I waited a while longer. Nothing. The status did not move from "Processing." Yesterday, I finally decided to get in touch with customer service via the email address on their website and asked for an update on my order. No reply but suddenly my book is down as shipped. This is not a coincidence after so many days so don't try to convince me otherwise. I read recent reviews of Books Etc and put them down to the Christmas period and the Royal Mail but I am starting to think that Books Etc are just not up to date with their orders, or how they process their orders. Either way, I am fairly disappointed and won't order from there again.

For the time being I am giving this experience one star. Happy to review and possibly increase the rating depending on how long it takes for the book to actually arrive on my doorstep, and the quality of the book.

EDIT: Customer service got in touch and my book is shipped, however, the shipping number is for the delivery group and not Royal Mail, which isn't really helpful to me. I have not received the book yet (3 days since shipment). Update to follow.

Also, provided further info to the company as per request.

Ist time buyer purchased 13th December attracted by competitive price but heard nothing for 16 days. Rather pay more and get it within a few days.
Rang them & they are 'resending' so fingers crossed. Received by 1st class after several weeks after 1st order. Maybe it was a combination of circumstances in and around Xmas

I have been using Books etc for some years now and found them to be very
Customer friendly good service and there books a reasonable price .always let you when your order as been dispatched.

I can't recommend enough!
Usually I'm afraid to buy this big comic books 1000 pages+. When I receive them from other sites the usual is the book in put in a box, or envelope with no padding at all, bumping all the way to me. Yo can guess the outcom: the book arrive ruined.
Well, here in books-etc; they do things properly. The book was packed with extra care and arrived perfectly.
I couldn't be more happy!
I want to thank them and be assure: I will be buying from the again.
Thank you!

Second time in a row that they “have had an unexpected problem in [their] warehouse with [my] item and have been awaiting further supplies”. And their support is useless and unreliable:

- They don’t inform you that there is a problem with your order unless you contact them first to ask about the status weeks later.

- They cancel your order without consultation and consent, and send a refund, but do not compensate for the high conversion and credit card costs. This in itself I can accept, but not if the fault lies repeatedly with them.

- When they ask you what to do with the rest of the order and you tell them to cancel it, they just send it anyway. That too goes wrong! Or maybe they just appreciate the money more than their customers?

- When you contact support again and again, you get an apology in every reply, but never a solution.

Avoid this company. They cost you time, and money and only give you more frustration. They were my favorite shop a few years ago, but after multiple bad experiences with my last orders, I am now completely done with them.

Shame!

Books Etc has long been my secret weapon for finding books at low prices while avoiding Amazon. I've always been happy with every aspect of their service (aside from their dated website and bizarre policy of asking customers to manually mark their orders as 'received') until my last two orders which, likely due to their size/weight, have been sent via Yodel.

Firstly, Books Etc don't tell you your order has been sent via Yodel, and don't supply you with the tracking number unless you email them to ask for it (or, I've since found, you use the new version of their website which is currently in beta). They also don't supply Yodel with your contact details, so you don't receive tracking updates - you have to check the Yodel website yourself.

Yodel, like other couriers, seems to vary depending on where you live. Some drivers are better than others. Where I live, they are terrible. An order I placed with Books Etc a couple of weeks ago was left in the entryway of my building, with no effort to bring it up the two flights of stairs to my actual address. Annoying. For my most recent order, the tracking was updated to say it had been delivered to a "safe place." After some investigating, it turned out that this "safe place" was literally outside my building, on the street.

I am so disappointed that Books Etc have chosen to trust Yodel with their deliveries, as it means I will be avoiding them in future unless I am ordering only single paperbacks, which surely would be sent via Royal Mail.

I contacted Books Etc with my complaint, and received a very brief template response. They don't seem bothered.

My book arrived exactly a week after I placed the order. It was securely packed and arrived in pristine condition. It was also £4 cheaper than another online bookstore where it was listed so I'm happy!

Great price (even cheaper than you know who), although I’d happily pay more for an independent business, well packaged, speedily delivered.
Great book seller, recommended.