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
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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.
My Valorebooks got my books on Dec. 2013, but I did not receive my sell-back check, as of today, April 29, 2014. Do NOT sell books back to Valorebooks, you will NOT get paid.
WATCH!!!!!!!!!!!
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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.
oh yes… it is very much a rip off and a scam at best. my experience was very different from most posted here. I have evidence to show this company is a scam. see my comment below:
February 11, 2012 at 11:30 am
Before being blocked from posting on their page, I was able to make this post on their FB account.
Okay Valore…. explain and comment on this. I have filed my complaint with the FBI, my local police dept and San Diego police. How do you explain a transaction that took place on Jan 18th, an order from a kid in Iowa where you gave him a huge discount, took his credit card information and then ordered the book thru textbooks.com under his name. But instead of you giving them the card of the kid, you give them mine. Did you not think that someone would investigate this activity? The fraud unit at textbooks.com is on to you. They gave the investigator and myself your information and the activity that suggests the unauthorized use of my card was done by your company. Further, all the posts I see when I research your company would suggest that this company is a fraud. All these kids posting here how awesome of a deal they received is deceiving. I imagine that when they go to return these books, they will see the truth behind your company. I will soon post the results from the investigator who worked with textbooks.com and provide my evidence to all these students who think they are doing business with a legit company. If you think I am wrong with my accusations, then provide me with how you obtained my credit card information and reimburse me for the expenses.
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
Hello Cristina from valorebooks.com. I have been having an issue with valorebooks because i sent them a book and i never received an “order #” by email or any confirmation whatsoever. I only downloaded the slip and sent the package. i tracked the package and the book was received on January 28. I have yet to receive any confirmation of receipt or processing or anything. and i still have not gotten paid. I have been emailing and calling and i have not gotten any response and i am getting very aggravated.
So I sold a very expensive text book to Valore about in about January. It is now March and I still have not gotten any sort of payment or an email back from them about the issues I have been experiencing. I know it does not take anyone a whole two months to get a payment or a book checked in. Apparently what they do is if they don’t accept your book they will just reject it and you cannot get it back. Nowhere in their policies did they state that. Also when you contact them it says that they will reply to you within 48 hours. This is absolutely the biggest lie ever. This company is either just scamming people and taking their textbooks for free and it needs to be taken care of. I have emailed the company every single day and calling and have gotten absolutely no response. I am going to give it one more week and if I do not get a response I will be going to my local police department about the issue. It is completely ridiculous to rip people off this way and I will never be using this website ever again. I have used various other sellback textbook websites and I have never experienced such an issue. I am beyond aggravated.
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
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.
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!
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 😉
How did you manage to get that??? I am having IMMENSE trouble getting my book money back! I sent them two of my books, both for about $90. I also sent them a rental as well the exact same day in the same box. They were mailing to the same address, so I thought nothing of it. What a mistake. Valore sent me an email promptly when they received my rental, so I knew I wouldn’t get a charge on that, and expected a check to come in the mail as promised.
The check never came and I’ve emailed(Alvin and Nicole), called (Steven at the warehouse and Edmund), and done as much as humanly possible.
Please tell me how you managed to give a second chance and have them actually do something about it!!! I’m on my 15th and am becoming more and more hopeless, so I read online that one mother filed a CCT to get $155 dollars back. I don’t want to do more than I already have, but I want my money back!! Or my books!
That’s impressive, Jon. I am really happy to hear that you won your right and achieve justice.
But still, after hearing your story, it’s hard for me to think this company is willing to correct their mistake. I think you MADE them to correct their mistake. Had you not called them and bothered them, they wouldn’t have corrected their mistake.
I only bought textbook from valore once and there was no problem. But your story convinced me to think that valore is not very reliable company to deal with, which is why I almost always buy textbook from amazon although their price is little higher.
@Jon – Glad to hear it. 🙂 Sometimes you have to be a squeaky wheel.
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.
I’m having a problem with this website too. And what makes me the most annoyed is that, every time I try and contact the seller, it tells me I have to wait a few days until I can write to them. I ordered my book with priority mail on the 6th of September. It is now the 12th and I still haven’t gotten my book. Every time I try to contact the seller, it tells me to wait until the 14th. This is making me very irritated because I have homework that I have to have in tomorrow. Plus, I should’ve already gotten my book in by now. If we’re paying for priority mail then we should get our books asap. And if I have a problem and need to contact the seller, it should let me do that now and now a few days later. Now I’m hoping I actually get this book because if I don’t, then I’ll have to drop this class. I doubt I’ll ever order from this website again. From a hard-working college student, this really disappoints me.
My experience selling books to Valore was not so positive. I just dropped it off at the post office without even thinking about tracking (my bad) since the postage is prepaid. 2 months later my order is still “pending” and when I inquired I was told it wasnt received and therefore, payment will not be sent. I find it hard to below that something was “lost in the mail” when the company is paying for the shipping. I am very unhappy with my experience and will return to powells.com where I had a fantastic sell back experience!
Hello Ericka,
Did you ever receive your book? If not, please let us know at customerservice@valorebooks.com, or 619-622-8896 and we’ll work quickly towards a resolution for you. We know it’s critical to receive your textbooks quickly, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
ValoreBooks.com
Hi Christina,
We appreciate the honest feedback, and really sorry for the long delay! Please contact us and we’d be happy to check into your sellback order right away.
Thank you,
ValoreBooks.com
619-822-2247
customerservice@valorebooks.com
I used the valore books one and have mixed feelings about them. I mailed them 2 exact the same books and only got paid for one of them. When I emailed customer service about it they were very nice, and said there was an error and they will be sending the second check asap. Never got the second check…
Absolutely horrid. Stay far, far away.
I paid the fee to rent the book I had a bit longer and sent it back in the middle of January. The return slip wouldn’t pull up from their site, their “customer service” was completely useless and so in the interest of getting it off of my plate, I decided to ship the book via UPS. The book was sent back to me from UPS weeks later and after the return deadline. It should also be mentioned that I had never received an email referencing when the book was due initially or when it was due after I made the rental extension. I did however, get the final email telling me that I was being charged for the full price of the book. When the book was finally shipped back to me from UPS, I called Valore and was told that I had to send documentation that I had shipped it via UPS by a certain date. I explained to them that I had thrown away the UPS box and shipped it from a UPS store, and therefore couldn’t find my tracking number to get documentation. Not only wouldn’t they agree to take the book back and return my money, the two people that I spoke with were extremely rude about it. I figured that if they were going to screw me they’d at least do it with a smile, but it didn’t sound as if these two people had a pleasant bone in their respective bodies.
You would think that a fledgling company trying to build brand loyalty would be able to see the forrest for the trees. I am in my second semester of business school with hundreds of other students. The business that I stood to give them over the next two to three years myself and through recommendations would have far exceeded the $150 that they pried from me for the aforementioned book. As it stands, I will never use this site again and will recommend to everyone I come across to steer clear as well.
I just had the same experience as Christina did. I mailed my book back using Valore Books’ own prepaid mailing label and didn’t even think to get tracking on it (since the postage is charged to Valore Books and it has a barcode with my order number on it, I thought that would be a way to track a book down if needed). Anyway, my book stayed at “pending” status for quite awhile. I finally filed a complaint with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) regarding what I feel are “shady” practices regarding buybacks. Sure enough (which I predicted) and this may be a coincidence, but I received an email from Valore Books saying my book had been received at their warehouse the day AFTER I filed the complaint with the BBB (I also had an email from the BBB that same day regarding my complaint). Like I said, this may be coincidental, but then maybe not. What I would suggest to anyone selling books back to Valore Books would be to get some sort of insurance or tracking to go along with the media mail label Valore provides….would save a lot of headache. Now the waiting game for my refund……
I am currently having the same experience as Candice and Christina. I sold Valorebooks 2 books sent in the same package and its going on a MONTH and they are still “pending”. I was thinking the same thing about the tracking number.. I’ve contacted customer service several times and keep getting the same reply saying they are not responsible for lost mail. I may contact BBB also…
I’m also having the same problems as J, Candice, and Christina. I’m just sent out an emal to Valore and I’m seriously thinking about contacting the BBB. I’m really concerned that they cheated me =/.
I sent 2 books to Valore for sell back back in May. Today is June 16 and I have not heard anything from this scam company. My status in my account is “pending”. I sent other books to other sell back companies on the same day and have already receive my check. I feel totally ripped-up. Warning do not use this company for anything. I have contacted them twice and they say they are not responsible for lost mail.
Customer support takes forever and you have to send multiple times and they are completely rude. They lie and make up BS excuses not to send your money and refuse to answer any questions. STAY AWAY!
To bad….i have sold my book couple weeks a go and i have not received my check.Every time i try to call no one answers.It is so hard…..to reach them.I will never do business with them again.Also i am going to place a complain at BBB.
Crap…I should have looked up Valore BEFORE selling my books to them. I just sold them 6 books which are all in very good to brand new condition. Now I’m scared I’ll never see a dime for those books. I really wish they used Paypal as a form of payment instead of check; that takes forever and I just don’t trust things like that going through the regular mail. I guess tomorrow when I ship I will get delivery confirmation.
I e-mailed them as well…let’s see if they reply…
It took a week for them to receive the books and 3 days after that i got the check in the amount that was promised
My book is not in two weeks after I ordered it and I paid for expedited shipping. I needed this book for an open book test yesterday.
Don’t do business with them, it’s a scam!
I am having an issue with Valorebooks accepting my rental return. Their site says it is “not accepted” but it does not tell me why, nor have I received any correspondence from them. The only reason I even knew was because they charged my card for the full amount of the book. It seems to me that as long as they are in possession of the book they should not be charging my card. They also should not charge my card without any notification to me. Does anybody have a phone number I can call? I emailed them using their customer service link, but I would much rather talk to somebody since it sounds like their response is going to be cookie cutter. And, the book was returned in the same condition I received it, which wasn’t the greatest, but I didn’t refuse it.
Ordered books on 1/10/12. Email received on 1/11/12 that books were being shipped. Paid $48.65 for expedited shipping. Today is the 17th – still no books. Have tried emailing customer service – no response. Went online to contact us and sent message this way – no response. Also tried 888-825-6731 number that is listed on their extra mile guarantee same day customer service – answering service says the person you are trying to reach is not available, leave a message – still no reponse. Looks like I should have stuck with Chegg. Never had a problem getting my books from them and NEVER had a problem contacting them. They even have online chat and a real person to answer the phone when you call. I guess I was scammed. Learned my lesson – now I am out $213.25. I will file a complaint with the BBB and file a dispute with my credit card company to try and get my money back.
This company completely scammed me out of my money. I returned a rented book that I did not use this semester and was sent an email to my SPAM folder that I did not notice till weeks later saying that the returned book was unacceptable due to water damage and they have CONVENIENTLY charged my stored credit card with an additional $122. They did not send me the book back which would have been another way of notifying me the condition was unacceptable bringing it to my attention they had charged my card $122..
I tried reaching their customer service representative that can only be reached through email because the number they have on file goes to voicemail everytime and they do not return your phone calls. I was replied to through email by a representative by the name Wolfgang who OFFERED to send me the book back. Now, I think that is something the company should do right away. Hence if I DID want the book back I could sell it to somebody else but now that they have waited so long, the semester has already started leaving there no students with need for this book until NEXT semester. As a student, I CAN’T have this. Students are charged, charged, and charged again for schooling, the last thing I need is a company claiming I returned a damaged book that I did not even use and have no way to prove that I did not cause the damage.
Who’s to say this company isn’t scamming us students out of our money and really damaging the books themselves so they can charge us and buy a new book for their company. OR who’s to say the book really is damaged, they could be choosing random students to charge once a book gets to a certain used point just to buy a new one! ONE THING I AM CERTAIN, that book was returned in perfect condition and now…. I am paying for it.
I wish I had read all of thee comments before selling my book back to Valore. Similar to others, I sold my Corporate Finance book (valued at $77) back to them on January 2nd, mailed it via USPS using their shipping label on January 3rd and I have still not received my money 24 days later). I have been back and forth with customer support and though they have been polite, no one knows where my book is…so convenient. Off to file a report with the BBB.
Just received an email from Valore Books stating box arrived opened, but the book was missing. I don’t believe that this is true – why would someone open the box take the book and put the invoice – used to contact me- back in a box…why would the post office deliver an opened box? I sealed the box tightly and so I don’t believe this excuse. I will never use Valore Books again and I suggest the same for potential customers.
Before being blocked from posting on their page, I was able to make this post on their FB account.
Okay Valore…. explain and comment on this. I have filed my complaint with the FBI, my local police dept and San Diego police. How do you explain a transaction that took place on Jan 18th, an order from a kid in Iowa where you gave him a huge discount, took his credit card information and then ordered the book thru textbooks.com under his name. But instead of you giving them the card of the kid, you give them mine. Did you not think that someone would investigate this activity? The fraud unit at textbooks.com is on to you. They gave the investigator and myself your information and the activity that suggests the unauthorized use of my card was done by your company. Further, all the posts I see when I research your company would suggest that this company is a fraud. All these kids posting here how awesome of a deal they received is deceiving. I imagine that when they go to return these books, they will see the truth behind your company. I will soon post the results from the investigator who worked with textbooks.com and provide my evidence to all these students who think they are doing business with a legit company. If you think I am wrong with my accusations, then provide me with how you obtained my credit card information and reimburse me for the expenses.
Horrible, horrible experience with Valore and their buy back of my text books!
I mailed four text books off the day I set up the account. I, as others have mentioned, did not purchase tracking because of the shipping label provided. Valore quoted me $105 for sale of my books. 2 weeks later I receive an email stating they received my books in the warehouse and that it would be 10-14 days before payment would be sent out. What happened to the 48 hour guarantee?? I then waited another week and still no response or payment so I contacted them by email as NO phone number is provided. 24 hours later I received an email back stating I would received my check in 10 days. However, Valore stated they did not receive 2 of the books out of the four I sent in the same box therefore my payment would be significantly decreased to $36 instead of $105!! It has now been a month and still no payment and I am extremely frustrated and plan to report to BBB. I was able to track down a phone number through these postings and will be calling them today. Very shady company and I will NEVER, EVER use Valore again!!
I purchased two textbooks from Valore Books roughly two weeks ago. One of the two arrived about a week after I placed my order. I am still waiting on the second one and falling way behind in my class. I have been trying to call them for two days now and keep getting an automated response saying that all of their operaters are busy and asking me to leave a message. I find it super odd that even though I have been calling every hour, I still can’t actually talk to someone. I have also emailed them and no response. I understand sometimes shipping can take longer than expected, but two weeks is way too long for a textbook. I would also be much more understanding of the situation if I could actually get a hold of someone or get them to respond to my emails, phonecalls, and messages. I wish I would have read all of the awful reviews about Valore before purchasing from them. If I don’t receive my textbook or a phone call/email by tomorrow I’ll dispute this with my bank and call BBB.
If you want to get them to respond, go to their facebook account and blast them! That is what I did. I also created a new facebook account under their name to inform people of the scam. Unfortunately I got no where filing a police report. And it is considered to minor of a case for the FBI to take.
They are slower than ever. I sent some of my sons books to Chegg and from start to finish it was 7 days and I had the checks. I would HIGHLY recommend them instead!
If you return the rental directly to the seller, like I did, even when the seller sends you packaging specifically for shipping it back to them, they claimed that you never returned the book. Why would I not send it to the seller if the seller asks for it? I contacted the seller asking them to confirm my return of the text with Valore Books. Let’s see if I still have problems..
I ordered my book Tuesday, August 21, 2012. I received an email on the the 22nd of August stating that the book was shipped. Mind you, I paid for the expedited delivery. It’s the 25th, my book is not here! I have books that were shipped using standard delivery that made it here faster! It’s sad that you order books from other places to save money and in doing so, you fall behind in assignments! Valore blows big time. I’ll use all amazon next semester, even if they cost $5 or $10 more! I could have went to my book store!
Total scam!
My daughter is starting college at UPenn in two days. She received her list of textbooks a month ago, and was thrilled when she found one of the books on the ValoreBooks website for a very low price. She confirmed that the item for sale was the 4th Edition of “Applied Regression Analysis and Multivariable Methods by Kleinbaum, David G., Kupper, Lawrence L., Muller, Keith E.” The day after she placed the order, she received a confirmation saying that the order had shipped, but three weeks later the book still hadn’t arrived. Finally, late last week she got the book in the mail, but it was the INDIAN EDITION – not even the same book.
When she emailed the company they told her to ship it back and she has to pay for the shipping. They also said the order would be subject to a 15% restocking fee. Now she’s ordering from Amazon and hoping to get the book in time before her class starts.
Avoid this company! They are a rip off.
I purchased a book from Valorebooks that came from Adoramus Books. I received the wrong book. The reply back from Valore was that Adoramus books would gladly return my money after shipping the book back to them. I paid for shipping on the wrong book and they wanted me to pay to ship it back to them. I did, they refunded the price of the book but not the shipping. I had called Valore multiple times, sent emails and emailed Adoramus as well. Not ONE word back from either on the emails and no return calls from Valore. POOR Customer Service, POOR ownership of responsibility of error. I paid to ship a book that was the WRONG freaking book. Don’t buy from these people!!! You will be disappointed!!!!!!! Rip offs!!!! Very badly done Valore and Adoramus, VERY BADLY DONE!!!!
Will never use them again!!!! dealt with them on many occassions with no problem sent in $216 worth of books but they only paid me for 3 claiming that the 4th was never received…thats not even possible considering that they all came in the same box!! Now I cant even get a real person on the phone and I will never use their services again
Hooray for reading reviews! Thank you all for being honest about your experiences and saving another person from being caught up in a scam! I was close to placing an order but I thought something was off about the very low rental price, so I decided to look up some reviews. Lo and behold, I read way too many scandalous reviews and close to no positive ones.
To Valore Books,
This is my formal goodbye to you as a company. You absolutely cannot treat customers like this and expect to remain afloat. What goes around comes around.
Sold books to Valore. Got my money in good time.When I had issues with the order I called customer service and spoke with a live person.Will Use valore again.My check came is handy for the holiday
January 22, 2013
Horrible experience! I went to the website and put in my ISBN’s for the textbooks I wanted to sell. Was quoted a certain amount for three of my books and decided to go with it. Just got an e-mail saying one of the shipments had been received but the one book which they had quoted me a price of 43.00 and some change had suddenly turned into $8.95. The book was in like-new condition and was the most valuable of all the books that I had sent. Edmond, of customer service, said it was because they didn’t take loose leaf books, but they had quoted me a price of $43.00 and some change online and now was offering me $8.95, which didn’t compute. He said that he could make an exception and cut me a check for $20.00 dollars but why did they quote me a price in the first place and then offer me $8.95 if they don’t take loose leaf books. I looked on their website for this Speech book and they were selling it for 89.00 and some change, but they said they don’t buy this kind of book. I say that you better beware because this seems like a scam to me. I have filed a complaint with the New York state attorney’s general office and I will also be filing one with the North Carolina state attorney’s general office. I am so disappointed because I had used them once before but I would never do business with them again. I think it’s a shame that this business seems to be preying on college students who already struggle with meeting their education costs. Seller beware!
After reading many reviews on countless websites I have decided not to use valorebooks. I am absolutely appalled that a website has had so many issues. Students really feel like they have been scammed. Shame on you valorebooks. I have been using chegg.com and I am very pleased with the out come. They don’t offer as much for the textbook buy back but I can honestly say that I nor has anyone that I know to use chegg has ever had any problems.
I shipped 4 books to sell back. Weeks later I got a reply that I would only receive payment for one. (it cost me more to ship these books). I sent an email asking about my other three books. Its been several weeks and i’ve yet to receive a reply to any of my emails (i’ve sent three) or any payment for that one book. Really, really bad customer service.
I am VERY UNSATISFIED with them. After a very delayed delivery on most of my books, I received one that had been completely covered in coffee stains and I emailed their customer service to ask about how I should deal with having received a damaged rental. After sending two emails, I still did not receive any response. When it came time for me to return the rental I was charged the full price of the book. I of course emailed them again to complain about the charge, but I doubt I’ll get any type of response to that email either. DO NOT use them for rentals or purchases. You may have to spend a little more at another site, but it’ll be worth the price for actual customer service.
DO NOT USE VALORE BOOKS
I rented a book way back in 2011. Returned it via their shipping process and forgot about it. Now I’m receiving calls from debt collectors on behalf of Valore Books. After sending numerous emails and filling out their contact us page numerous times without a response I googled for their phone number. I was basically informed by their manager that I never sent the book and since I didn’t have a tracking number from 2 years ago I was SOL. I repurchased the book and sent it again. According to their website it was received 17 days ago. I’m still receiving calls from debt collectors.
Glad I came here before actually selling my books. Just printed off my return labels but don’t think I will be sending them anymore after reading the reviews!
So glad I came to this website. Had my packing slip all printed out. Will now send them to Chegg instead. Doesn’t pay the same but at least they pay!
I’ve bought & sold books with valore many times and never had an issue whatsoever..
what was the return address you sent your books back to?
I bought a book from Valore 18 days ago with epedited shipping and I am still waiting on thie book. Valore books is horrible with shipping, next time I will know not to get anything from here.
On June 12, 2013, I sent back two books to Valore Books, which I have conducted business with other book rental companies. One book was never opened and the other, purchased shipping materials and returned them. The one with tracking info was signed on June 17, 2013, by Mayer (Front Desk). I know the other must have been sent out the same day, why wouldn’t it? Just yesterday, received a collection notice for one of the books (w/o the tracking number) that it was never received. I have sent two separate emails to Valore Books and so far, no response, since it has not been quite 24 hours. I’ve read numerous reviews about this company’s lousy service and tactics in conducting bad business. I hope they contact me, otherwise, I will be contacting the BBB. Never utilizing this company again. Based on my experience, I have many friends who now know NOT to consider this business. Lets see how long it will take for them to contact me–if they do, at all.
******DON’T USE VALORE BOOKS******* PURCHASED TWO BOOKS FROM THEM, AFTER PAYING FOR SHIPPING, which other companies have free shipping even returns are free…With these rip-off artist you pay a huge shipping fee it comes in via snail mail(usps) almost two weeks later. having classes and missing assignments, went to bookstore and purchased books. STILL NO BOOKS FROM VALORE. When I finally received books, I turned right around and PAID over $30.00 to ship them back its been over TWO weeks 1 book was received but never processed and the other wasn’t even listed as returned..after reading all of the negative reviews I figured out that I don’t have time for the games and will just dispute the payment and not have to worry about 15% restock fee…..etc
I sold back 3 textbooks for a total of $72 and some change. I opted for it to be paid out as SmarterBucks to help me pay for my debt (I’m still a freshman in college, so I want to start early!) I sent the books in EARLY September around the week of the 9th. They didn’t receive my books until 9/23. I allegedly got paid on the 4th of October, but I called both SmarterBank & SmarterBucks & no transactions were processed. LUCKILY, I stumbled on to this thread because in my attempt to get this settled, I couldn’t located a phone number on their website! It’s October 16th, 2013 and I finally got around to making the calls. They are helpful if you call 1-888-VALORE1 . You can talk to a rep. about your problem.
IF YOU CHOSE TO BE PAID IN SMARTERBUCKS, IT IS PAID OUT THE 16TH OF EVERY MONTH. So, you need to be patient, unlike myself. haha
DO NOT USE! I was tracking my delivery online and was notified that my address was non-deliverable, which is odd because I live in a house and receive packages all the time. I tried contacting the shipping company and they said that Valore Books has it set up where they cannot provide me with that information, I have to contact Valore Books. After doing so they sent me on a wild goose chase to locate my ‘correctly sent’ package, having me call 30+ USPS stores to locate my package. When that didn’t work, Valore Books told me to go to the USPS stores to locate my package. The USPS manager looked it up in the system and said that Valore Books never put my address on the package and they already sent it back to them, and that Valore Books was aware of this the whole time. Contacting Customer Service only got me a non-apology, blamed it on USPS and then refused to provide me with another book – I had to go back in and buy a new one and pay for a better shipping service myself if I wanted it. Do not be tricked – it is not worth it! Use Amazon or Textbooks.com
I am having an awful experience with valore. They said they issued me 3 payments and were sent on October 30 and 31, still nothing from them. Anywhere in the U.S is 5-6 days. Feeling ripped off. I sent them 165 dollars in books!
Highly dissatisfied by there service. Only received credit for one text book. The other they said didn’t meet their policy for acceptable when it was in great condition. They completely ripped me off. I’ve had good experiences with almost every other sell back textbook site besides Valore. which in my opinion is a scam pretending they will give you the must money for your textbooks when really they’re scamming you!
I’ve just tried to use valorebooks for the first time. I got a quote for a book that was in excellent condition (in fact better than required since I included a CD that valore stated that they did not require). I followed instructions exactly and packed the book carefully with plenty of packing material.
Now I’ve just received an email stating the following:
“We could not accept this item because it was not in good condition”
The website says that, in this situation, my book will be shredded. I have little doubt that it will be sold.
I wish I had checked resellerratings.com before doing business with valorebooks. With 828 reviews, valorebooks has an average rating of 1.17 / 10.
Let the seller beware!
Jim
I agree with the rest this company was the worst I made the mistake of not selling my books back to where I got them from at BOOKBYTE for a few extra dollars. Valore then gave me a quote and gave me back a quarter of the quote. I was floored. this was not the first time I sold my books back just not to VALORE and I will NEVER AGAIN. Trying to get a response out of them is a NIGHTMARE. This is the worst customer service and company I have ever come in contact with. I was really depending on that money things have been rough and I can barely afford to pay my food bill. DONT order from here go to bookbyte great service and returns.
I sent in two books and only one got accepted, even though it was pretty good condition. I think the thing that dissappoints me is that you dont get yoyr book back!! If I would have know that it wasnt going to be accepted I would have necer sent it in. Despite that on my address for payment I accidentally put the wrong city and zip so now who knowswhere the check for my other bookwill end up. I’ve contacted them twice but no reply! I wish I would have read these reviews before even considering valorebooks 🙁
It seems it’s time to think again.
I have Valore shipping labels that I printed prior to checking any reviews. Thank you all for the heads up!
I too wish I had read these reviews before selling my books back to this ridiculous business.
I had 4 books worth about 450 something dollars! I payed for them myself and they were expensive!
They gave me an estimate around 200, which was one of the best. I decided to go with them because I previously purchased books REALLY cheap from their site.
So I got an estimate, shipped out my books. They don’t ask you about the condition of the book or anything…hi they say they’ll buy back used books! Their was nothing wrong with any I my books. A college student would’ve been perfectly happy to purchase them…but they said that the “iTems did not follow our sell back policy” and that they received damaged books! That was a total crock of poo because I purchased the books used and they were in fair condition. Some were like new.
The email said the items were cancelled and under the price, it said “cancelled.”
No where in the email does it mention mailing my books back to me…so I’m just assuming they expect to keep my books for free!!! And at the end, “if you have questions about your order, contact us” with the link to contact them through EMAil!
After what took a minute, I finally found a customer service number!
I told her my problem. And I asked her “so the payment for those books are cancelled. They weren’t planning on mailing them back?” She said no. Books like that are put to the side.
Is that not crazy or what???? So…finally she says “I’ll have to send a request for them to mail them back to you”
Why should I have to call YOU to get my books back? If you’re not gonna give me ANY money at all, that should be a no brainier for the company….you ship the books back!!!!
Hopefully they get shipped back…all I can do is sit and wait now!
I will never sell anything to valore books!
No wonder why they want the books before they pay you…so they have an excuse not to pay you!
Beware of this site.
I sold two books to valore books, one of the books went through after a long waiting period I received confirmation that the first book had gone through and my check was on the way. Unfortunately I did not hear anything in regards to the more expensive book I sent, finally I checked the USPS website and saw that the book had arrived on location. So I sent an email to valore and they looked into the issue, finally I received a notification that my second book had went through and and the check was en route. The amount that was listed to be sent was half that of the quote they gave me, so once again I sent a message to vaore and got a response which read,
“Unfortunately the buyer didn?t leave us any reason to why you was only paid half. Therefore we have no way tell what requirements weren?t met for your full pay out.”.
So pretty much I got screwed out of money for no reason, I could have sold it to the university for more than I received from this long obnoxious battle, thanks valore books!
I too just sent valore a book and it was rejected, it was in excellent condition. No explanation just cancelled, this site is a scam do not use them.
Valorebooks gave me a quote on 2 textbooks. I sent both of the textbooks in the same box, but they only issued payment for one of the books. To this day, the book in question has yet to be received, although they were in the SAME BOX. I have contacted valorebooks customer service “team” multiple times via the online form, phone number, and email. Every time they promise to respond within 48 hours. But every time, I hear nothing and have to reach out for myself. If it wasn’t for customer action, this company would be STEALING EVERYONE’S MONEY. Do not use this company for any transactions. They cannot be trusted with any financial information, personal property, or even with their own customer service claims. I have filed a complaint with the BBB and am expecting a response soon. STAY AWAY.
Such a bad company! Don’t do business with them!
I first sold back three of my textbooks and got relatively good prices from them. However, it took over a month for the check to arrive. That was after I was constantly e-mailing them about getting my money when the said it would only take two weeks.
Then I rented textbooks from them for this semester. HORRIBLE IDEA. Out of 5 books ordered, 3 of them didn’t come with tracking numbers, so I couldn’t find where they were or when I was supposed to get them. That was even more e-mails I had to send to the company and wait for answers. I was waiting on one final one which was supposed to be here already. After I sent them 2 more emails about this book, they finally said the order was cancelled because they no longer had the book in stock!!! They never contacted me to tell me this, so I was waiting over 2 weeks for a book that was never sent. Thank god for Amazon student, I got the textbook for only $5 more there and had it within two days with free shipping.
Bottom line, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THE COMPANY. STAY AWAY.
This is the worst company to do any type of business I sent in six books and only got refunded for two books one book was lost in transit the other book I had a issue with the ISBN it wasn’t up to their part so they just through the books away I guess I have another issue is I had a book that should’ve been sent back to me and it’s been a month and a half now and they just totally lost contact with me I believe this company to be a scam of fraud and all students beware.
Valpre book is a fraudulence company. They are making money by selling the wrong cheap books under the name of the books they market on their website. I have been emailing them and asked for refund. At first they wanted to convince me that the book they sent to me was the same book that I purchased. Then they wanted to convince me that I purchased the wrong item at the first place.
I am sure they don’t have the items that they market on their webpage otherwise they could simply notice the differences between what they have marketed and what they send to customers.
They have ripped me off by selling wrong cheap version instead of the original item and refuse to refund me.
Its almost half way through my semester and I have not got the book I purchased a month before starting semester.
I sold back books to Valore in mid November 2013. They received the books according to their website as well as the shipping website on November 25th, 2013. It is currently February 17, 2014 (almost 3 months later) and I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED PAYMENT ON ONE OF THE BOOKS. Though their guarantee states it will be roughly 17 business days total, do not believe it. I have emailed their customer service over 8 times, 4 of which asked them to call me, and they never did an nothing got handled or paid. I called and talked to somebody for an hour, and they said somebody would call me back, and they never did. If you do not mind taking the risk of this company considering your sellback as a donation, go with them. If you want to get paid for your property you’re selling, they I wouldn’t suggest it. They stole my book and I will never get paid for it nor get a hold of anybody. It is a loss cause, but I can at least share my experience and hopefully prevent this from occurring to you.
I was quoted 43.00 for a book which i mailed for sellback. The book was BRAND NEW! After they received the book i got an email saying that the book was damaged and that I’d be receiving no payment! This is such a scam and is so disappointing that they’d rob college students! RIDICULOUS!!
I sent them 3 books in 2 different shipments for sell back. They received them fine but of course the most expensive book ($53) was “rejected”, how convenient. I have sent 3 emails to customer service to get an explanation since that book was purchased new and sent to them with no damage and have gotten no response. Very frustrating. Also their system shows they paid me on 02/05/14 for the one book ($19)they accepted but I have received nothing. My first and last time working with this company. Terrible customer service and seems very shady.
whats the address to send the books back
I agree. They will rip you off. You send the books not to Valorebooks but to some third party customer. That customer tells Valorebooks they never received the books so you get no money. Or they reject the book claiming there is water damage or a torn page. They don’t return damaged books. They get to keep the books and you get nothing. They probably sell them at a reduced price.
Fedex to Grandview Heights, OH. They say they received only 2 or the 3 books yet all 3 books have a status of “Received” on their website for my account. So Why does the book have a status of Received yet in working with customer service they say it wasn’t received? Good question. They had no answer. But That’s what you can except from ValoreBooks. When you’re dealing with cheaters you will just receive lies and information that makes no sense.
SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM. Horrible company.
BE WARE! DO NOT SEND IN YOUR BOOK!
I noticed the good reviews are very detailed and long, seem “built” to me. I usually trade in my books to Amazon; however, I was tempted to send in my book for a higher quote here. I understand the policies; however, they are very vague in their Q&A. They did not define the book condition, rejection only refers to different ISBN/material.
My book is consider good condition with high amount of highlighting and bent corners. It was “REJECTED”, $0. They should at least give me a partial of the quoted amount! I contacted them to return the book with a prepaid shipping label from me. THEY REFUSED!!!
So, are you just letting them get away with it? How much money did you end up selling? (Look at my post below) I want to do something about it!! ARG
How did you manage having a good experience? I am having IMMENSE trouble getting my book money back! I sent them two of my books, both for about $90. I also sent them a rental as well the exact same day in the same box. They were mailing to the same address, so I thought nothing of it. What a mistake. Valore sent me an email promptly when they received my rental, so I knew I wouldn’t get a charge on that, and expected a check to come in the mail as promised.
The check never came and I’ve emailed(Alvin and Nicole), called (Steven at the warehouse and Edmund), and done as much as humanly possible.
I’m on my 15th and am becoming more and more hopeless, so I read online that one mother filed a CCT to get $155 dollars back. I don’t want to do more than I already have, but I want my money back!! Or my books!
I sold TWO books to Valorebooks.com and NEVER Received payment. When i contacted them, they said the books were “rejected” for no reason given. I sent them books that were nearly NEW and there is no reason for them to have rejected the sale.
INTERESTING POINT: They are paying the HIGHEST amount of money for a book online….just check it out (I used bookfed.com),,,,,they are paying insanely high amounts of money for a given textbook. This smells of a SCAM….here is how I think it works:
1. Offer a ridiculously high amount for a book.
2. Get thousands of expensive textbooks to your warehouse….
3. Reject most of them; pay some of them off….
4. So there……thousands of expensive textbooks collected for free. Sell them further and ka-ching!
5. Obviously, the suckers who sent these books to Valorebooks.com don’t know each other so they’ll never group up and say anything….
SOMEONE NEEDS TO SUE THESE PUNKS AND START A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. At this point, I don’t even want my payment, I need these ppl brought to justice!
I AM TOO HAVING PROBLEM WITH THEM. I RECIEVED A BAD CHECK AND MY BANK CHARGED EXTRA MONEY BECAUSE OF THIS BAD CHECK. INSTEAD OF GETTING MY MONEY, I PLUS PAID 12$ FEE FOR THIS STUPED SERVICE. I AM STILL TRYING TO GET MY MONEY BACK, SO FAR NOBODY CALLED ME FOR AN APOLOGY. I AM VERY UPSET AND GETTING NOWHERE BUT FEEL LIKE JUST TALKING WITH MY COMPUTER BACK AND FORTH. I WILL MAKE SURE FIRSTH TO GET MY MONEY BACK AND THAN SEND A PETITION TO AUTHORITIES.
I am in agreement with most of the posts on here. This website is a SCAM! I sent them a textbook along with the brand new access card. They sent me an email saying they rejected it and that was all they said. There was no talk of returning the book. So I called them countless times (which was hard to find the number) and emailed them several times as well. Finally I got through by phone and they told me they would send me back the book. A month later they returned my book but the access card was not in there! It was brand new! Unopened! I am ONCE AGAIN calling and leaving messages, hoping it works, but so far no response.
What a terrible company. I will make sure no one I know ever uses them! And I am going to try to review it everywhere I can. I agree with the poster above me who said he just wants them to get a lawsuit or something… this whole things is ridiculous. And no one should be making money by scamming people. I hope everyone really is reporting them to the authorities. But I’m sure karma will at least get them.
This is the MOST HORRIBLE company online I have ever used! It is a SCUM and I hope my post will save others from the same horrible experience I had.
I got the wrong book (wrong edition) from a seller named “BOOKSMAZE” . The seller obviously knew she sent me the wrong edition. After I provided them with the pictures of the contents to prove that the book they sent me is the wrong one they still insisted it is the right one(!)
I asked for a refund and the seller didn’t respond because she was waiting for the 30 days to pass so that i AM NOT eligible of a return/refund. I contacted Valorebooks and they didn’t care at all. They were trying to convince me that BOOKSMAZE has sent me the right book!
I have already contacted my bank and I will dispute the charge PLUS I will contact my lawyer to file a lawsuit against BOOKSMAZE and VALORE….It is not about the $28…I will do it so they stop robbing people. Both the seller and Valorebooks is a fraud!
Be aware!
I sent them a 2-volume set of books that were in very good condition. They damaged volume 1 and wanted to pay me only for volume 2. I told them to forget it and that I want both books back. I’m still waiting for a reply. They will damage textbooks that are in very good condition that are sent to them for buy back and then refuse to buy them.
I received the volume 1 book back this week. It is so severely damaged by Valore Books that I will have to throw it away. It was not in that condition when I shipped it to them. Please, please, please avoid doing business with this company.
I sent in 2 books for buyback quoted at 74.96 in the same box. I checked the status and one of the books says not received. I sent an email to customer service and got a reply saying they did receive both books and would make a note on the account. If they do not fix this issue in 24 hours I’m calling every police station I can find to report them and press charges of theft.
Exact same thing happened to me in Aug 2013.
It seems they’re still using the same scam because it continues to work.
Now before I do business with anyone online, I always search the Internet for *several* reviews of the business. The key is to search *several* because you will find some sites which report Valore as a good business. Those false sites are probably paid for by Valore. You can’t trust *everything* on the Internet.
Absolutely horrible company! I too was scammed. I have contacted them and let them know that I want all of my books back. This company is unbelievable and I absolutely will file a lawsuit. As a previous poster stated, it isn’t even about the money (though I am a full time college student with two small children), but it is about principle. This is flat out stealing. I work hard for everything I have and it is infuriating that this company takes advantage of others. If I do not receive my books back I will take this as far as I have to. I would love to help make sure that this never happens to anyone again. I’m so sorry that you all have been robbed the way that I have been. Best of luck in getting what is owed you or is rightfully yours!
It’s been over two years since I was hacked by this fraudulent company and it frustrates me to not be able to do anything about this company but share my story and hope that it is one day corrected.
Please like my page and share your experience so that we can draw enough attention to this company!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Valorebooks/304694019587554
I sent a like new book for buy back to ValoreBooks.com. The book included a CD. When my payment came, it was substantially less then the price quoted with no explanation. When I contacted them, they stated that the book did not include the CD and that someone would contact me back. After a week and no contact, I called again and was told they were still “looking into it” and would contact me again. After this, I called a week later escalated the problem (this has now been over three weeks since they initially paid me with no return communication). They stated that they suddenly found the CD and would mail a check for the remainder of the amount owed to me.
The check never came so I contacted them several more times, three to be exact, and the check was reissued. It’s now been over 2 months since they received the book and the second check still has not arrived. It’s been two weeks since it was reissued. Interesting how two checks never arrive and no communication from them.
Since then, I have sold several more books through Chegg and received prompt payment in the mail. I find it interesting that their checks make it to my mailbox but ValoreBooks checks seem to be issued but never received.
Post your complaint to
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/view/ValoreBooks/review
ValoreBooks *does* monitor the above site.
I received a $53 check when posting to the above site for an Order Number from Sept 2013 which was still unsettled.
I posted to this moneyblog site several times complaining about ValoreBooks but never received any feedback from ValoreBooks.
But just one post at resellerratings and I got *some* money.
You will be prompted for your ValoreBooks Order Number when posting at resllerratings.
Good Luck.
-Joe
Don’t order from this website because I ordered 3 books and I didn’t receive one until like 18 days later. And now because of that I am behind in my homework and reading!!!
PLEASE do not order from this website. Order from a TRUSTWORTHY website called textbooks.com. I ordered a book from them and the book went COMPLETELY UNTOUCHED during the semester. At the end of the semester, they emailed and said I could sell it back, blah, blah. So I sent it to them and they said they would send me a check. 4 weeks later, they are telling me they cant accept it for whatever reason and they will “recycle” it if I don’t contact them in 4 days! I bought the book from YOUR website! It isn’t a wrong ISBN because you emailed me that ISBN number, I packed it correctly and I didn’t even use the book!!! They are a scam! They just want to use the book without paying for it!!
I ordered a automotive book that i needed quickly i got it but it was the wrong book i got a music teaching class book. i don’t get how one can screw this one up so badly. i would not recommend buying from this site. So spend a little more money so you receive the correct product