The Book Depository Online Store...

[emma_kate]

Sorry if this is a bad place to put this! I just figured books = Book club, and well, I found myself here :D

So I've been recommended the online UK store "The Book Depository" (cheers, Drummergirl!!)

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/

I have a question for those who have used it...

Has anyone ever had anything go wrong? And what is the security like, especially for credit card details, etc?

I usually pay with paypal, and I noticed this site doesn't allow that (I don't think...?) and I'm kinda wary of putting any card details in...

But I want new books ssssooo baaaaddd.

Can anyone give me a heads up on the reliability here?

Cheers! :D

[chocowrites]

Hi emma :)

I love the Book Depository, mostly because of free international shipping (yay!). I started buying books from them in December 2009.

The packages I purchased in the week of Christmas took longer than I expected to arrive--a few weeks. I think they were busier around that time & books were out of stock too. Since they're based in UK, I'm not surprised it took a while to ship to the US.

But things I've bought in January/February have arrived much quicker--maybe 1-2 weeks. Amazon is a lot faster though, at least for me.

As far as credit card security goes, I haven't encountered any problems yet.

Book Depository is pretty awesome overall, and there are some real bargains on that site. :)

Definitely my favorite place to buy books.

[DrummerGirl]

Hey Emma Kate :)

As you know, I am a HUGE fan of the book depository :D

AND you can use paypal... it's there as an option in the checkout. Just chuck all your stuff in the basket and proceed to check-out, and choose Paypal -- dont worry about setting up credit card details in you account if it freaks you :)

Having said that, I have my credit card details there, and have used that method of payment in over ten transactions, and nothing scary has happened :) (you still have to enter your 3 digit CCV every time you make a transaction.

And, I love the free postage. I've used it to buy books as gifts for family and friends and had them posted straight to them -- which has been so cheap, as usually I buy the gift, then waste $10 with Australia Post sending it across the state. I sent some books to my sister in Sydney and she got them in 5 working days. So far, my books arrive between 7 - 10 working days (to Coffs Harbour, which I guess is regional mail).

And I'm expecting some today! Yay!!!

[brainstorm77]

I have shopped with TBD. The shipping was slower then Amazon and the packaging left lots to be desired. Yet, the prices I found were better then any other online book retailer and I would use them again.

[emma_kate]

YAY Paypal!!!!!!!!!! Thank you SO much for that info! That was the only issue I really had, but that cleared it all up! I cannot wait to order from them!

Slow shipping isn't an issue, I get a lot of stuff from overseas so I'm used to waiting :)

Thank you sincerely to everyone who replied, I really appreciate all the info and insight :)

Cheers!
Emma :)

[Becky Black]

I've been using them the last few months and they are fine. The postage is slower than Amazon, but hey, free, so I can't complain! Also they send the books mostly singly in padded envelopes, which I like, because they will mostly fit through my letterbox! (Well, except for that copy of The Stand I bought recently. That wasn't fitting, no sir!) But generally, fewer "sorry you were out" cards from the post office = yay!

No problems with security so far.

[stephenf]

I have never bought anything from the book depositary. But I'm a book seller and I can tell you, it looks a pretty good deal on the postage . To send a book to Australia from the UK, 500 grams,would cost about me about £7.00 airmail , plus the cost of the packaging. Surface mail is cheaper,maybe about £4.00,but with an estimated 56 day delivery time it would be out of the question to send books that way. Sending books to America is even more expensive.

[emma_kate]

Oh cool, thanks for the info. (Wow, postage IS good! And thats funny about the single envelopes, LOL, it is convenient!). I can get them sent to my actual house instead of the PO box in the future! :)

I managed to get myself 8 books for $90, including a couple of hardbacks, so I'm almighty pleased. Just paid for it then! *kisses money from bingo goodbye* LOL.

Thanks everyone! :Hug2:

[Albedo]

I've given them the thumbs up before. Book Depository is by far the cheapest way to buy books in Australia, which kind of says it all about our book industry, and says nothing kind. I enjoy paying prices equivalent to those paid everywhere else in the world.

[trocadero]

I live in Asia and have made quite a few purchases from the Book Depository. I find the prices are a little more than Amazon, but because the international postage is free, it ends up being cheaper. I've always received my books within a week, but I've never bought over Christmas. They have a rather cool page where a world map comes up and you can see little flags popping up everywhere showing which books people from those places just bought. It's in real time, I think. I found that interesting to watch for a few minutes:)