I started seeing a lot of people posting unboxing videos from Book Outlet online and wondered what all the fuss was about. I decided to check out the site and when I saw the prices I had the same thought as many folks “there is no way this can be real”. I was thinking they had to be damaged books or maybe different versions of the books. But, the prices were so cheap and there were a ton of books on my wish list so I decided to give them a try.
They have the book prices color coded according to type, such as red for bargain books and green for “scratch and dent” so when you are browsing you can clearly see what you are getting. I went for all bargain books because I wanted them to be in the best shape possible and for only a few bucks more they were still totally worth the buy up for me. My first order was 11 books and with the additional 10% off coupon I used for signing up on their site before my first purchase I only spent $66…. and they were almost all hardbacks
Shipping: In the U.S. they have free shipping on orders of $35 plus, but I have heard that international shipping gets pretty outrageous. I also heard some complaints about shipping time, and while they certainly are not Amazon Prime I placed my order on 12/16 and received it on 12/24. I thought that was pretty impressive especially for the holiday season on something I didn’t pay expedited shipping for.
Now a few things to keep in mind if you are picky about your books.
1) Most of the books that arrived do have “reminder marks” on the pages. This wasn’t a deal breaker for me but it does affect the overall condition rating of the book long-term.
2) There were some books that had sale stickers from their original retailers on them. This I was actually not really happy about, but both books that I purchased the stickers came off really easy and there were no marks left on the books.
3) There were just a few books that had a little wear on the book jackets but this is really something that I see with all retailers. I have pre- ordered books from major book chains that have come in with a decent amount of damage on them so I don’t take this away from them at all.
Would I order from them again? Well…. I already have!!! They had a great coupon for $40 off $100 (which I think is actually still good for a few more days) and I got 18 books for $60 shipped!!!! I will be sure to share the haul and any quality or shipping updates I have when they arrive!
Lovabull Books 