Valore Books Review: TextBook SellBack Experience
It’s been about a month since I wrote about selling back my old textbooks online. I ended up selling books to two websites, ValoreBooks.com and SellBackYourBook.com. I figured I’d do a quick review of each one, starting with ValoreBooks.
Reviews on the Web
There were some online accusations at RipOffReport and ComplaintsBoard from people who said that ValoreBooks was a scam because they mailed off their books and never received any payment at all. It’s hard to prove anything because ValoreBooks only covers your Media Mail postage to their warehouse, and it is your option to buy Delivery Confirmation or other sort of tracking. But if I’m only selling $15 worth of books, it’s hard to just paying another $1-2 in my opinion. Perhaps for a larger order.
The Better Business Bureau gives them a rating of A+, although I don’t really think it’s that hard to achieve such a rating. It does indicate that the company is willing to try and resolve issues, if you file a complaint with the BBB.
BBB processed a total of 21 complaint(s) about this business in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total 21 complaint(s) closed in the last 36 months, 21 were closed in the last 12 months.
My Personal Experience
After typing in my ISBN numbers into BigWords.com, ValoreBooks was the highest bidder for certain textbooks. I agreed to their price and terms, and they provided me with a printable packing slip and prepaid shipping label. Here’s part of the email sent to me:
Please follow the steps below to complete your order:
1. Include your packaging slip with your shipment.
2. Package your books tightly in a cardboard box or padded envelope.
3. Cut out your prepaid shipping label and affix it to your sealed package.
4. Drop off your package at your local Postal Office.
It took me two days to get around to going to the post office, as you have to drop off the package in person for items weighing more than a pound. “No, this is not an explosive.” Would I really tell you if it was?
Then came the waiting game. Media Mail is notoriously inconsistent, so I almost forgot about the book when 15 days later I received the following confirmation in my email:
ValoreBooks Ship to Us Order: 1026XXX Arrived
Your sell back order has arrived at our warehouse and will be processed within 48 business hours.
I’ll never know if it really took 15 days to get there, or if they just sat on it for a while. In any case, one hour later I received another e-mail:
ValoreBooks Ship to Us Order: #1026XXX Confirmed
Thank you for choosing to sell your book(s) with ValoreBooks.com. [...] Your order has successfully been checked in and you can expect payment within 10 business days to the following address: [...]
Six calendar days later, a check was in my mailbox from “Bucks4Books” of San Diego, CA. I did get the exact amount the promised me for my book and reported condition. In total, 22 days went by from mailing out to receiving the check.
Summary Timeline
Day 1 – Sent out book via USPS Media Mail
Day 16 – Email confirmation of arrival
Day 16 – 2nd Email confirmation of payment approved
Day 19 – Check printed and mailed out from ValoreBooks
Day 22 – Check received successfully
Find more in Frugal Living, Reviews | 3/7/10, 6:36pm | Trackback
March 7th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
I’ve stopped using valorebooks. I used to be an affiliate and user, but have stopped.
I ordered one book, and the seller shipped me the wrong one. When I requested to return it, the seller said no and I had to contact Valore Books to enforce their return policy with the bad seller.
I shipped it back to the seller more than two weeks later, when I finally received the address to ship it back to. The seller received it… and gave me a partial refund, charging a restocking fee, which is charged when you mark the return as “buyer’s remorse” on valore books.
I contacted valore books again, and they ignored my requests for three weeks. I finally just disputed the rest of the charge with my credit card.
Policies are only good if they’re enforced, and Valore Books has poor enforcement.
March 8th, 2010 at 6:59 am
After reading the “sell back your old textbooks” post here on My Money Blog, I tried BigWords.com. I decided to sell 4 books to ValoreBooks.com. I had a good experience with them. My experience was very similar to this post.
March 8th, 2010 at 11:09 am
Hello Jon,
So sorry to hear about your experience with ValoreBooks.com! When you have a moment please contact me, I’d really like to look into this issue.
Sincerely,
Christina
ValoreBooks.com
1-888-VALORE-1
customerservice@valorebooks.com
March 9th, 2010 at 1:09 am
I have used ValoreBooks for 5 years now and have never had a problem.
They have been on time, quick to respond to e-mails, and always ready to help
Another good one is ecampus.com
March 9th, 2010 at 8:58 am
Dear Christina,
I contacted support and received the standard packaged answer (which is the same exact answer I receive every time I contact support):
“You have ordered an International Edition version of the textbook. The seller of your item provided notes at time of purchase, indicating that this item was an International Version. This item was also listed in the “Alternate Editions” section. Please see notes, “ Notes: "metric international version". Hardcover. ISBN is different from US edition but the content is same. Do not accept return. Fast shipping. Condition: New Media Mail ($64.00) $0.00 ($64.00) 30-Jan-10”.
Some sellers on our site choose to sell these versions in order to offer students a lower price for virtually the same content. An International Edition is basically the same as a regular Student Edition. International just means that this book was printed somewhere outside the US. Differences may include different ISBN numbers, a paperback cover, or a different cover design. Additionally, the pages inside may be in black and white rather than in color and the page numbers may be slightly off in some cases. Besides these cosmetic differences, the content of the International Editions are usually the same. If you wish to return this International Edition book for a refund, please follow our standard return policy, provided below.
Thanks,
Lani
Customer Service
ValoreBooks.com”
The same message last month while I was going through this prior to disputing my credit card was received from Amanda (instead of Lani).
This is ridiculous. I was fully aware that I was purchasing an International Edition book. The seller shipped me the WRONG EDITION. The content was completely different (the chapters were different, the questions at the end were different). I wouldn’t be upset if the seller hadn’t advertised, “ISBN is different from US edition but the content is same.” Even your support staff acknowledges that the book had this description.
You don’t treat customers like this. If the seller ships the wrong edition of a book that is not as advertised, you give a full refund, not a partial refund. This is common sense. I tried a credit card dispute, and was shot down because it was a “restocking fee.” I have called the number you provided, and they “forwarded my concerns” to the proper location, but said they are unwilling to do anything.
In my experience, Valore Books is a poor company to do business with; they are unwilling to protect their customers from receiving incorrect books from their sellers. They then lie to the credit card company stating that “It was a shipping fee,” when my receipt clearly shows free shipping. They then state on the follow up, “It was a restocking fee” to continue getting out of taking the loss.
Again, I’ve used Valore Books for more than 2 years now. This is the first problem I’ve had, but how a company resolves its problems is paramount to understanding how the company is run. If they fail to stand behind their customers, I can’t trust them.
If anyone at valorebooks is willing to make this right, I’d be more than happy to retract these statements. My contact information is squinky86 at gmail.com. I would much prefer a phone conversation, and will give you my phone number via email.
March 9th, 2010 at 9:11 am
I messed up a little bit. The amount in dispute is $19.95. The shipping charge was $3.95. Valore Books policy, according to the email I received, is:
“2. Orders that are returned due to customer error may be charged with a restocking fee up to 15% of total order price (total order price = shipping cost + book price).”
Let’s assume that this is the case – customer error (and it is not customer error, it is seller error)
Purchase: $80.00
Shipping: $3.95
Total: $83.95
Partial Refund: $64.00
$64 is NOT 85% of $83.95. Valore Books does not even follow their own policies!
March 9th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
FOLLOW UP:
I just received a call from April from Valore Books. She apologized profusely for the misunderstandings on their end, and issued a refund that should show on my credit card statement in 2-5 days! Bravo for Valore Books finally fixing the issue. It did take them four tries, but when they realized their mistake (and with a bit of persistence), they fixed it. I think that a company that is willing to fix its mistakes deserves a second chance
March 9th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
@Jon – Glad to hear it.
Sometimes you have to be a squeaky wheel.
March 13th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Well it seems like Valore really made an effort to make things right in this situation. I have had a great experience using Valore to sell some books that my campus store didn’t want. Its a great system for the sellers and the students.