ThriftBooks: New & Used Books

I loved ThriftBooks and had no complaints up until last month. I was $22 away from reaching the next reading tier, so I purchased a pre-order book ($27). The money was taken out of my account. I contacted customer support to clarify that the purchase would count towards bumping me into the next tier. I was assured that I would be and had nothing to worry about, I just had to wait till Jan 1 and I would be in the new tier. Well a week or two went by in 2026, and I still wasn’t in the new tier so I contact support again. This time I was informed the purchase didn’t count and I’d have to spend the $450 in books to reach the new level. I sent the messages between the first support team showing what I was told and was they again said the same thing “it doesn’t count”. On top of this, three of the books I have purchased in “very good” condition have shown up with many marks, chewed up spots, folded pages, discoloration, and creased front covers. One of these was a Christmas present as well. I am deeply disappointed with the misleading information customer service provided, the lack of trying to make it right, and the now third book that came in worse shape than what I was expecting for “very good” condition. I will still use ThriftBooks on occasion but have started using other used book sites like AbeBooks. Where I found a “like new” “The book of Azrael” for $9 cheaper than ThriftBooks “very good” version of it.

I have accidentally used my free book rewards on Ex-library copies before and the condition will say “Like New or VeryGood” and I will get them and half of the front cover design will be missing. I wonder to myself what makes these LikeNew or Very Good. Honestly if it says Ex-library STAY FAR WAYDON’T TOUCH IT WITH A 10 FOOT POLE. Also if you are not using a book reward and you simply purchase and Ex-library book there are NO refunds, I sent back a few books that I wanted refunded because they were NOT LN or VG quality. even if you explain to the help desk person that the item is not LikeNew or in VeryGood quality They will say you should have known the risk you were taking when buying a discounted Ex-library copy. Love the site and the book rewards but it gets exhausting scouring the site to find something for the book rewards. First you have to spend 150$ to be eligible to receive a book 7$ or under for free. I find it mind boggling for the other reward tiers the second one you have to spend 75$ to get a free book that is 6$ or lower and the free one is 5$ or lower. Good luck finding a book that is under 6$, is in Very Good or Like New condition and isn’t a Ex-library book. Sometimes I don’t even bother with the free book reward thing cause it take me SO long to find anything that I would actually want to redeem my reward on.

I LOVE thriftbooks for their incredible prices and large selection. Their customer service is great, every time I’ve had an issue they have resolved it quickly and satisfactorily! The only reason for 4 stars is their quality control is SO unpredictable. I’ve ordered a book in “acceptable” condition (the worst condition out of their options) and the book arrived in brand new, untouched condition. On the other hand, I’ve ordered a book in “like new” condition (their top quality option) and received a 30 year old edition that was falling apart and covered in stains. This unfortunately happens often here. A lot of library books slip through the cracks too (there is an indicator on the website that tells you if you’re purchasing a used library book). Multiple times I have ordered a book not specified to be library, and I receive a library book. I’ve also twice received “unedited proof” copies of books. Like I said at the beginning, their customer service is incredible and has always sent me replacements or refunds if replacements are not available. I will never stop ordering from thriftbooks, but the unpredictable condition of books is very frustrating.