Alibris
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy as a shopper hunting cheap used books, manga, or textbooks . Reddit buyers vouch for the prices and legitimacy.
New check
Comparison
Alibris vs AbeBooks
Alibris and AbeBooks both land on Depends.
AbeBooks
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you want cheap used or hard-to-find books and will vet individual sellers first.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Bargain used-book hunters | Bargain used-book hunters |
| Who it's not for | Sellers . fees and pricing rules squeeze margins | Collectors needing guaranteed condition or easy refunds |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | BBB, PissedConsumer, scam-thread complaints | Complaint threads call support unhelpful |
| Public sentiment | Reddit buyers vouch for Alibris's low prices and legitimacy, while Trustpilot, BBB, PissedConsumer, and a scam-forum thread carry steady complaints about sellers, refunds, and fees.¹ | Selection and prices win praise, while a vocal minority reports seller problems and weak support.13 |
| Biggest gotcha | Seller commissions stack on top of per-item fees, crushing margins on cheap books10 | Dispute threads describe slow, unhelpful resolution when orders arrive wrong.16 |
Pick Alibris when
- Bargain used-book hunters
- Manga and out-of-print collectors
- Students buying cheap textbooks
- Casual music and DVD buyers
When Alibris is not a fit
- Sellers . fees and pricing rules squeeze margins
- Collectors needing strict condition grading
- Buyers who want strong refund dispute support
- High-volume bookstores picking one best marketplace
Pick AbeBooks when
- Bargain used-book hunters
- Textbook buyers
- Out-of-print book searches
When AbeBooks is not a fit
- Collectors needing guaranteed condition or easy refunds
- Anyone unwilling to vet individual sellers first
- Sellers wanting responsive platform support
Sources
- Alibris Trustpilot reviewstrustpilot.comreview
- Is Alibris legit? (r/MangaCollectors)reddit.comreview
review
- Bought a Book from Alibris (r/Scams)reddit.comreview
- Alibris BBB complaintsbbb.orgreview
- Alibris PissedConsumer complaintsalibris.pissedconsumer.comreview
- Selling at Alibris: why it's pointlessjkkelley.orgreview
- Alibris seller fees threadtapatalk.comreview
review
- Alibris seller program feesalibris.comofficial
- Alibris seller help (fees)alibris.comofficial
- Alibris gets $30 million in fundingzdnet.comnews
- Read Customer Service Reviews of www.abebooks.comtrustpilot.comreview
- Is AbeBooks Legit? : r/booksreddit.comreview
- Do NOT use AbeBooks : r/BookCollectingreddit.comreview