Book Depository. Book Depository is an international bookseller shipping all books free of charge, worldwide, to over 100 countries.
No small number of jaws hit the floor following the announcement that Amazon was taking over The Book Depository. As the UK's biggest online bookseller with an international reach, The Book Depository had been one of Amazon's primary rivals. With the rapid collapse of both independent bookstores and major bricks and mortar chains worldwide, readers are turning to the internet to get their book fix. How will Amazon's gobbling up the competition change the way readers buy books?
The major concern is the lack of detail as yet released to the public. It's unclear how much money is changing hands, and there's a risk that a restructured business model could eliminate the features that made The Book Depository so popular to begin with. Aiming at stocking 6 million titles, the company has been a major source of books that aren't otherwise easily available. Coupled with its free shipping to more than 100 countries, The Book Depository is an international winner, with three quarters of its 2010 sales outside the UK. Whether Amazon will preserve these features is anybody's guess; Monday's press release has next to no details.
Why am I so suspicious? Well, with many other readers, I switched to using The Book Depository precisely to get away from Amazon. In 2009, Amazon quietly removed a number of books classified as 'adult material' from searches, suggestions and popularity charts, and stripped them of their sales rankings. Books tagged 'gay' or 'sexuality', for instance, were affected by way of making the site more family friendly. The thing is, that explanation didn't wash: children's book Heather Has Two Mommies was deranked, but the Playboy Centrefold Collection was not. Amazon never made its value judgement explicit, but, regardless, the result was that lots of books with gay and feminist themes lost much of their visibility. Amazon told the Guardian this was due to a 'glitch' in its system, but had replied to complainants that the de-ranking of some adult-material books was carried 'in consideration of our entire customer base'. In any case, the site was shortly flooded by users tagging books with 'amazonfail'.
That wasn't the only ethical mess Amazon got itself into, however. Also in 2009, Amazon deleted a number of e-books with copyright issues from users' Kindles, Amazon's e-book reader. No one can fault Amazon's protection of intellectual property rights. The problem, as particularly ironically highlighted in the deletion of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, was a little scarier than that. As Farhad Manjoo noted at Slate: 'The worst thing about this story isn't Amazon's conduct; it's the company's technical capabilities. Now we know that Amazon can delete anything it wants from your electronic reader.' Once you've bought a book, there's no guarantee you can keep it. Remote deletion capabilities entirely change the nature of buying books, and, as Manjoo points out, that's a horrifying precedent for an electronic future.
The Book Depository, then, was for many readers a worthy alternative. Since 2009, we've been using it to avoid Amazon's uncertain technical powers and in protest of that unannounced policy harming the sales of social justice-oriented material. Quite apart from concerns about Amazon's internal ethics, this takeover represents a distinct anti-competitiveness that is not going to serve readers. Here in Australia, we've recently faced the collapse of major book retailers Borders and Angus & Robertson. This was partly caused by the consumer shift to companies like Amazon and The Book Depository, and now there aren't many alternatives. The combined online powers produced by this takeover will threaten the fledgling Australian online book retail industry. We are doubtless going to see this repeated worldwide.
Anti-competitiveness harms the industry and reduces ethical options for consumers, pure and simple. Readers around the world anxiously await more news as to what Amazon's precise plans are. In any case, with the particular issues Amazon brings in its wake, it looks like many users are going to have to swallow their ethics or attempt to find an alternative to their beloved Book Depository.
2.9 from 588 reviews
See the Best Online Shops in 2019 as rated by Australians on ProductReview.com.au.
Becca89
Incorrect dispatch and shipping times
I ordered a book as a gift from BD as the advertised dispatch date and shipping time meant that I’d get it just in time for the party. Realised 3 days out that the order was still “processing” so I sourced the book from elsewhere and sent BD an email to cancel. Well how convenient I then get an email saying it was dispatched just a few hours later. What a load of crock.
HillBilly
Unbelievable
I bought and paid for a book that looked like it was in stock but never received it.
When contacted them they said they don’t have it and don’t know when they will have it.
This is just unbelievable. Why take my money for an it they don’t even have and have no clue if they will ever get it?
Nathan C.
Great but non recyclable packaging
This company’s operations are streamlined and good.
My only issue is the mail packaging. Most companies are moving to eco friendly and compostable or recyclable packaging. This company still uses bubble wrap envelopes glued to a waxy paper envelope. It doesn’t belong in any particular recycle bin, is non compostable, uses raw materials including plastic and tears apart when opened so it is non reuseable. Do better please. Other companies send me books in recycled and compostable cardboard.
My only issue is the mail packaging. Most companies are moving to eco friendly and compostable or recyclable packaging. This company still uses bubble wrap envelopes glued to a waxy paper envelope. It doesn’t belong in any particular recycle bin, is non compostable, uses raw materials including plastic and tears apart when opened so it is non reuseable. Do better please. Other companies send me books in recycled and compostable cardboard.
Shipping
Return Claim MadeNo
Tino
No delivery, no response
I ordered a book, and it says delivery 5 days.
I haven't received it, and emails remain unanswered. Really? Does it have to be this bad? Australian businesses have no clue how to make business. I order from overseas next time.
Return Claim MadeNo
Ingrid
Beware of buying
I purchased textbooks for my daughter from this site and when I returned the books to them advising that she had actually been given the books through TAFE they continued to advise me that the books were never received by them despite me confirming through tracking that the books had been received by them. They continued to fob me off for 2 months at which stage I lodged a complaint through paypal who resolved the issue within a couple of days. Guess what, I got my money back because this business is dishonest. Buy from an Australian Retailer is all I can suggest.
Return Claim MadeYes
Unhappy
Books gone missing
I am a long time existing customer with an account. When ordering books recently, the delivery address was automatically generated based on my account details as it has done successfully for years. The problem was that whilst my street, suburb and state remained the same , the country was changed to be the UK! As I don’t live in the UK the books obviously went missing. They denied any possible glitch in their system and just sent a string of very unsatisfactory emails. I will never purchase from them again and would highly recommend others don’t.
Nicolina P.
Books not received once again!
Very disappointed that my books have once again not arrived! I have contacted company only to be told I have to follow it up at local postal depot. Once I can understand but more than that not acceptable. I enjoy the online convenience of shopping online if I have to chase up my own order I would purchase from a book store in person.
Diana
Good prices but poor customer service
I've ordered from the Book Depository for years and always recieved my items in perfect condition and on time. Sometimes my items arrived a little bit earlier than expected. They have a great selection of products with very competitive prices. I like how they always put a cute bookmark with every order even if it is not a book, and pack items very well. However their customer service is not that great. I've contacted them in regards to additional GST that they've charged me ( Their prices should include GST, my item didnt include GST in the price and I was charged extra), and they responded to me with very poor english and with unrelated to my question response. I am worried if I'll ever have a problem with their products how will I communicate with them if the staff doesnt speak proper English. It is a UK company and one would think that the staff have english background. Apart from their customer service I am very happy with the company.
Shipping
jeremy_duski75
Great savings and quick delivery
Have been buying books for off here for a few years now, free worldwide shipping, always seem to be the cheapest option, the books always arrive with a cool free bookmark and coupon, they send constant and up to date progress in regards to shipping, I don't think I'll ever buy books from anywhere else
Shipping
Return Claim MadeNo
Sophie
Never again
Use to be a loyal customer until a book that was suppose to be in stock wasn't and it took them 3 months to source it. Had to contact them, they never contacted me. Decided to give them a secound chance. Ordered books that said in stock and shipping within 1 business day. Long behold, 4 days later without hearing anything I contacted them and the books were not in stock, they had no idea when (or if) they could source them and no estimated date. This is highly misleading and false advertising, stating 1 day shipping when they don't even have it. Not happy as the items were going to be gifts and now have to organise something else as I wait for PayPal to process a refund, which we all know how long that can take. They are still advertising the books as 1 day shipping. Customer service did get back to me quickly but as soon as I stated how unhappy I was their tone changed. Even though they said they'd processed the refund at that time, it took a day or so for it to appear so I was a tad concerned but it did happen in a timely manner after all.
Library Lover.
A trusted online book seller.
I've bought many books from Book Depository over the years. In most cases, their prices are cheaper than what we have to pay here, in bricks & mortar shops. If I am wanting to buy a new release book from Book Depository, I will first check to see if its cheaper at Big W. Theirs are $16 each. Got to know your prices when it comes to books. I don't worry about places like Dymocks or Angus & Robertson etc. They are far too expensive. Just rip-off merchants if you ask me!
The times I've bought from Book Depository, the books have always arrived in brand new condtion, as stated on the ad. They come all the way from England. Gotta say, I can't fault The Royal Mail! My god, they could teach Australia Post a thing or two about what customer service is all about! I've had some books arrive from England in less than a week! Most arrive on my doorstep within 2 weeks. They arrive well packed, in a nice bubble wrap bag. Each book always comes with a free bookmark, too.
I've had no problems at all with Book Depository, & will continue to buy from them.
If you're looking to complete a book set by a favourite author, you can usually find the ones you are looking for at Book Depository. Not always, but most times.
I trust them with my card details. Haven't had any issues with them when it comes to paying online.
In my opinion, their customer service is up there with the best. If you are wanting books, & don't want to have to pay the exhorbitant prices we are forced to pay here in OZ, I can highly recommend Book Depository. They offer free shipping worldwide, too. What's not to like about that? :)
Shipping
Return Claim MadeNo
Pennylou
The best book store
I have bought many book over the past few years from the book depository. They have never ever let me down. The books always arrive in perfect condition, with a cute bookmark.
On the very rare occasion it is late or doesn't arrive, they dispatch another one, no questions asked.
Thanks BD
Return Claim MadeNo
Lyn
Great customer service
Mucked my book order up. No details input. Contacted BD. They located my book order and is on its way as I type. Can’t fault the customer service. Well done.
Disgruntled
Incredible incompetence
I ordered a book from them, only for them to cancel the order claiming that my bank had refused payment. I provided evidence that this was untrue but they refuse to either return my money or post the book. When my bank took this up with them, they refused a refund claiming that the order had been sent. I asked them about this discrepancy, only for them to claim that the money had not been received. Either incredible incompetence or outright fraud.
Andyis
Good customer service when returning product
With so many hassles these days trying to return stuff, I was dreading having to raise an issue with a damaged product I'd received in the post from the book depository, particularly as they are overseas. But I was pleasantly surprised by the response - which was - 'I am very sorry to hear that your order arrived in an unacceptable condition.
We have immediately reordered this for you and it will be dispatched to you shortly.
There is no need to return the damaged item to us.'
Immediate rectification of the issue with zero hassle to the customer was really great, and will definitely make me keen to order from these guys again. Good customer service is rare these days, so I feel it should be appreciated, when encountered.
We have immediately reordered this for you and it will be dispatched to you shortly.
There is no need to return the damaged item to us.'
Immediate rectification of the issue with zero hassle to the customer was really great, and will definitely make me keen to order from these guys again. Good customer service is rare these days, so I feel it should be appreciated, when encountered.
Shipping
Return Claim MadeYes
Amandine
Never again
Ordered a book and received an email the same day saying it was in stock and about to be sent. 2 weeks later, still no book and no update. So I've sent an email to know what was going on. Never had a reply. Called a week later, the book was never in stock. Not even the country. And I was on a waiting list!!! The person I had on the phone was helpful and helped me cancel my order (I'm obviously not gonna give money to this type of companies) but why did I have to wait 3 weeks, an email and a phone call to find out the book was never there?!
Return Claim MadeNo
Sakurashinmachi
Cheapish prices but shipping times are too long and customer service poor
I've been ordering through Book Depository for some time now. The prices are good without being great but nonetheless are still usually lower than Australian bookshops, including the on-line ones (even with the GST which I note that Book Depository now adds). As much as I'd like to support local bookshops they're still charging ridiculous mark-ups on what are basically an international commodity, the prices of which don't vary much across countries and currencies. The local bookshops say that it's not them, it's the distributors, but in any case I'm not willing to pay their 'Australia Tax'.
One thing I have noticed is that Book Depository's shipping times appear to have stretched out - I don't recall it being this slow in the past. Note that their stated shipping times are from when they dispatch the book. In a current order it took them 7 days just to dispatch the book, which is ridiculous and suggests that they either didn't actually have the book in stock or don't have enough staff actually packing orders. Once the book was actually mailed they say 5 to 8 days to Australia, but it's already been 13 days [Edit: as discussed below, as it turns out they actually mean business days]. In contrast I ordered some chocolates from the UK around the same time and my order was shipped the day the order came in and turned up here just over a week later - so it is possible to get things here in an acceptable time period. It's also odd that they don't offer parcel tracking - they're the only international supplier I've used, for any product, that doesn't. All of which suggests that they're squeezing profits out by cutting back on their service.
I also had to return a book to them recently as, bizarrely, it was simply not as described (it was a computer manual) - but whilst they agreed to refund the price of the book they didn't pay for the cost of shipping it back to them, which I believe that they should've. Customer service was also somewhat unfriendly and unaccommodating.
Edit: they're now claiming that delivery is 5 to 8 business days, excluding weekends and public holidays - but their order confirmation email says upfront 'Shipping from the UK: Australia: 5-8 days'. However, if you read above that it says 'business days'. Therefore it should say '5 - 8 business days' to avoid any confusion.
As it's 5 - 8 business days that's even more ridiculously slow.
Shipping
Eden
Excellent customer service
Took a little while for my book to come, (ordered on the 30/3 came 25/4) but I emailed customer service and received so much help and so much kindness. She wasn’t sure was to why I had not received my book within the 5-8 day time frame, so she had organised a replacement for me and I just received that. Couldn’t be happier. I was super sceptical on this site as I have never used before - and after reading the reviews I was actually scared! But 4/5 that 1 star off being for the shipping - otherwise my book arrived, perfect condition and the staff member I got the pleasure of dealing with was a 5/5 herself!
Shipping
Return Claim MadeNo
Luke
Two of the five books I've ordered didn't show up.
I've ordered four or five books from The Book Depository, and on two occasions books just didn't arrive. They don't use tracking numbers for whatever reason, so after several emails of them asking me to make sure the books haven't arrived, they then say they'll resend. By this time it's been a month since ordering, so they're expecting me to wait another month for a book without a tracking number. This is madness.
Shipping
Return Claim MadeNo
Scott R
Poor Customer Service.
Ordered Books for my daughter to take on holidays next week, Web site said books where available in Australia and delivery would be 2 to 4 days. Day 5 I contact them via their website as this is the only way to contact them. Get a response saying the books have not been posted as their supplier doesn’t have the books. If you are going to guarantee a delivery time frame to me you should have the item in your own warehouse not rely on someone else stocking the item. Asked when I could expect to receive them , No reply.
Will not be using this place again Nor would I recommend it to anyone.
I run my own business and if I treated my customers as you treat yours, I would expect not to have any.
Poor service
Shipping
Return Claim MadeNo
Questions & Answers
How do you write a book review on this site for a book you are selling?
Ordered books 2 months ago living in South Africa still no delivery. Any ideas?
It is best to email book depository and enquire about where your books are , you need to give them your order details and they will be able to advise if they are on back order , unavailable or on way to you . I’m in Australia and have always received mine quite quickly . Good luck and enjoy your books They are the most dishonest company I have every dealt with. Do peruse it but don't hold your breath you will get your books or your money.
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