AESilva1 t1_iw8kwu1 wrote on November 13, 2022 at 7:59 PM

Reply to comment by GrenadeStar in Where do you buy your books? by nothumaninside

I also use thriftbooks (almost exclusively) and while I would recommend it, I haven't exactly had a similar experience. I love the app/website but it's pretty common to get a book in worse (sometimes better) condition than advertised. I made the mistake of buying some books as presents last year and several of the "Like New" were falling apart and not giftable. I've probably bought somewhere around 200+ books from them in the past 2 years and had to buy craft glue and book tape really early on because of all the repairs I had to do. I've also received the the wrong book occasionally, once they sent me the third book in a series instead of the second and another time i spent extra to get a first edition (advertised as very good condition) and they sent me a damaged 3rd edition (I was able to get a refund for that though, and they didn't make me send it back). It's a fantastic option for cheap books, but don't expect the quality control to be perfect

Dgfreeman t1_iw9fe78 wrote on November 13, 2022 at 11:21 PM

I too have had marginal experience with Thriftbooks. I find that I can really only purchase books from them when listed as "Like New" and that is even a risk. It doesn't help that the books are always thrown in a thin plastic bag with no protection whatsoever. I bought a "Very Good" hardcover last year that arrived with the cover RIPPED. Yes the hardcover board itself was RIPPED about 2". There was no damage to the shitty little bag it was in either.

I have had some OK purchases with them but I find the condition is always much worse than listed. I just assumed this is how they are. It's interesting to see others have had seemingly opposite experiences.