Let's be intelligent here, fair & honest. The negative reviews here are not about Abe Books, but about the shops that have offered & sell the books. It's annoying & insulting to the rest of us, & it's misdirected anger at the expense of a retail service that is exceptionally supportive of customers who use the service.Abe Books lists books that are offered for sale by other, small book stores, Abe receives the customer order then passes it along to the store for fulfillment. If what you order isn't what you receive, a quick note/e-mail to Abe will rectify the matter. I've had experience with book stores that refuse to acknowledge correspondence but a message to Abe makes all good. As for the book store directly? I keep record & simply don't bother to order from them ever again.As for the condition of books, book buyers have learned to "read between the lines" where descriptions are concerned. There are specific rules & guide-lines where conditions apply. "New", "Like New", "Fine", "Good"... used books, like old coins, have specific descriptions. BUT, just as in all aspects of life, unscrupulous sellers will simply lie or choose to disregard the general "laws". (Personally, I don't like "stock photo" images of books on-line, but that's what we get. I've already taken this up with Abe, but again, it all goes back to the book store selling the item. If they're liars, they're liars. Report enough to Abe & Abe will stop representing them.)As for reviews here, just be sure to "READ" them & check to see if they're about Abe or the book store who sent the book. And when you post reviews, please stop taking the rest of us for fools. Be specific, tell WHO sent you the item because if you're dissatisfied, it's the book store who bilked you, not Abe. And when you approach Abe, my personal experience has been that Abe will do all possible to make good.Thank you for reading this & happy reading in general.
