Comments on Research and Musings: Motor City Books, no book, no contact, I want a re...

I am on online bookseller who is also a 3rd party ...

2011-03-13T11:27:18.560-05:00

I am on online bookseller who is also a 3rd party affiliate through Amazon. I am always very quick to respond and work hard to make my customers happy. While occasional mistakes are made through the post office, it is the sellers responsibility to ensure delivery of the book. Basically, it boils down to this, you get what you pay for. If you pay a penny for a book, you are not going to get very good customer service. Just like shopping at Wal-Mart versus a local mom and pop shop. Mom and pop may charge more, but you know they are going to treat you with respect, as where you go to Wal-Mart, you are going to get the worst service possible...

I suspect that Motor City Books is a scam! I orde...

2010-12-31T11:59:13.647-05:00

I suspect that Motor City Books is a scam! I ordered a book from them in November, with anticipated delivery of first week in December. I still haven't received the book, and their "customer service" department has been lacking in service. I'm still trying to get a refund!

I have ordered over 50 books from Motor City books...

2010-11-01T14:54:23.516-05:00

I have ordered over 50 books from Motor City books over the past few years in about 35 orders. Also visited their Eastpointe store when it was open (it's gone now). Never had a problem. Timely shipment and every single book was as advertised. Just ordered another textbook today. Received confirmation of shipping within two hours.

They were/are a real business and the people who worked at the Eastpointe location were very ethical. The store closed because they couldn't renew the lease. All profit went to sending textbooks to third world countries for poor children to use, and they actually did it.

They probably did have serious problems with deliveries when the store was closing (summer 2008 I believe). I was there the day it closed and it was a bit of a mess. Walked out with about $4,000 in textbooks for $45. Still have many of them, but have given some away to other students.

I ordered a paperback from Motor City about a mont...

2010-09-03T11:33:30.310-05:00

I ordered a paperback from Motor City about a month ago and never got it. They also never responded to my e-mails. I'm saving my Amazon claims for more expensive items and just contacting my credit card company.

Motor City books just send me a hardcover book tha...

2010-07-11T09:48:28.579-05:00

Motor City books just send me a hardcover book that was so moldy we couldn't have it in the house. You could actually see the mold. The binding was seperated from the spine. I couldn't believe someone would sell a book in this condition and it was rated as good. The book was delivered right away so they did deliver fast.

I buy many books and intentionally try and buy from them and have done so on many occasions, not any more. I always bought from them because the live in Michigan, a state that has been devestated by the eceonomy.

I ordered a book through them via Amazon and I got...

2010-05-21T15:41:07.213-05:00

I ordered a book through them via Amazon and I got it in about 2 weeks.

I just ordered a book from Motor City Books, but t...

2010-04-14T11:29:49.702-05:00

I just ordered a book from Motor City Books, but through abebooks.com, and I received it just as easily and quickly as any others I've ordered via that website, and I live in Vancouver, Canada. I can't remember if I've ordered others from that bookseller or not. It's strange to read of such a variation in experiences with them. I'm wondering if it makes any difference whether you order from amazon or abebooks.

I found a book on the Greek language listed for sa...

2010-04-02T07:39:52.066-05:00

I found a book on the Greek language listed for sale on ABE by Motor City Books at a price well below that of other sellers. But the image supplied was of another book, a collection of poems by a different author. And while the blurb described the book I wanted, the ISBN was also for this poet. So I emailed Motor City and asked them to confirm which book it was before I sent them my credit card number.

The email I got in response from a "Sara" said that they have too many customers to be able to help each one individually (!) and that in any case the [self-contradictory] listed information is correct! I somehow doubt that Sara actually read my email (although I did receive an email from ABE saying that Motor City Books would respond to my inquiry, and an email from Motor City Books telling me that they had received my email, and would respond to me shortly with another email) or that Sara is even a real person.

I decided to call them to speak to a real person before wasting my time and money. (You can do this with actual bookstores like Powell's and The Strand) but was not able to find any phone number for them.

But I did find this very informative blog post.

I have ordered two books from Motor City Books. I...

2010-03-08T18:57:21.174-05:00

I have ordered two books from Motor City Books. I order five more from different sellers on Amazon the same day. I received an e-mail from all of them stating the order had been shipped. That was February 17th. All of the other books arrived within three to four days, and here it is the 8th day of March and I have received nothing from Motor City Books. The shipping date listed on Amazon is Feb 24th - March 11th. If I have not received it by the 11th, I'm filing a complaint and asking for a refund. I have no idea where they ship from, but one of the books that came within four days came from Colorado. It just can't have taken 19 days for even standard mail to be received. I'm really angry about this.

I just jad a very bad experience with Motor city. ...

2010-03-06T11:06:37.664-05:00

I just jad a very bad experience with Motor city. I ordered 3 books, and two of the books I received were not the right books. The titles were not even similar, and the Alibris packing slip that was included had all the the correct info on it. I am waiting for some response before I go back to Alibris for a refund.

A quick web search informed me that Motor City Boo...

2010-02-21T16:59:41.940-05:00

A quick web search informed me that Motor City Books is part of Thriftbooks in Auburn, Washington (south of Seattle).

Please check out: http://www.thriftbooks.com

I've ordered from them through Alibris several times in the past with great results. Delivery time wan't an issue.

I drove to the Eastpointe, Mi address for Motor Ci...

2010-02-17T17:23:12.486-05:00

I drove to the Eastpointe, Mi address for Motor City Book. Building for lease and tennant gone. No forwarding address or telephone on door.

Thanks for the post. I live in Detroit area also, ...

2010-02-09T14:52:13.162-05:00

Thanks for the post. I live in Detroit area also, and was looking for the address. Here is what I found:
http://www.detroit.com/motor-city-book-drive-b24516342
NOW OPEN EVERY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY - EVERYTHING IS $1

18135 E. Nine Mile Road
Eastpointe, MI 48021

Motor City Book Drive is a family owned social and environmentally responsible business located in Eastpointe, MI.

btw: They are not close by, I'll be buying from another seller.

I placed an order with MotorCityBooks today 02/04/...

2010-02-04T23:12:05.243-05:00

I placed an order with MotorCityBooks today 02/04/10, at about 1pm...the order was confirmed...

after I got home from work at 10 pm,,I has a notice from Amazon.com that my order with MotorCityBooks had been canceled, and my CC NOT Charged...

Did amazon finally dump them?

Thanks to this post and all the comments, I won...

2010-02-04T22:52:13.786-05:00

Thanks to this post and all the comments, I won't be ordering from Motor City Books!

I ordered a book from motor city books. I got a co...

2010-01-31T13:11:27.673-05:00

I ordered a book from motor city books. I got a confirmation email the next day stating that the book has been shipped. It's been over a week and a half since I ordered the book. I'm located in Ontario so I understand it may take a bit longer to arrive; however, I am getting concerned because when I try to trace my order on Amazon it doesn't show that I ordered anything. It just says "No orders or transactions"
I've ordered from third party in the past. My book was shipped from England and arrived within a week.

I'm not sure what to think about Motor City Book. My credit card has been charged, I hope my book arrives soon, I need it for class.

I ordered a brand new book from Motor City Books l...

2010-01-26T09:03:10.997-05:00

I ordered a brand new book from Motor City Books late on a Thursday. The book was delivered to me the following Tuesday. I always look for them on Amazon.It cracked me up how Chris bashed the City of Detroit because of a late book delivery. I bet Chris has never been to Detroit.

I ordered three books from Motor City Books throug...

2010-01-21T17:00:08.872-05:00

I ordered three books from Motor City Books through ABe.com. The order through ABe was correct but when Motor City books confirmed my order it was wrong. I wrote 3 emails and called twice (no answer at Customer Service) to give them a "heads up" before they shipped. I received no response. Sure enough 3 days later they sent an email that my books had shipped and again the order was wrong. I tried to contact them again and of course no response except the automated email stating they received my email. I will NEVER order from Motor City Books again. I am waiting for my books but I am pretty sure if the order does arrive it will not be correct.

Wow, I am surprised people have complaints with Mo...

2009-12-31T19:35:15.452-05:00

Wow, I am surprised people have complaints with Motor city Books. I have ordered MANY books from them for over a year and have NO PROBLEMS. I live in the South and the USPS have no issues giving me the books quickly.

I bought a cookbook, and it arrived in good time. ...

2009-10-19T09:59:34.393-05:00

I bought a cookbook, and it arrived in good time. But the postman left it outside, and the dog chewed it up. I contacted Motor City Books through Amazon, and they sent me another book, even though it wasn't their fault. Needless to say, I was impressed. They definitely got 5 stars from me.

Motor City Books has become the first place I look...

2009-09-18T17:22:01.203-05:00

Motor City Books has become the first place I look for used books online. I've found that they have a great selection and some of the lowest prices.

I first found the company using abebooks.com and have been so impressed with their service that I often go directly to their website now.

I've ordered from them 4-5 times for a total of around 30 books and have always got exactly what I ordered in about two weeks. Shipping seems to take a little while, but always within in the timeframe described on their website.

I just received my latest order a few days ago and unfortunately some of the pages of one of the books were very loose and starting falling out as soon as I began reading it.

I contacted their customer service department about the problem and they responded to me the next business day to give me a few different options on how to resolve the problem. They ended up sending me another copy of the book whose pages were falling out and let me select another book at no additional cost.

Based on how quickly they responded to and resolved my issue, how they went above and beyond to fix it and how happy I am with their company overall, I'd recommend them to anyone looking to purchase used books online.

I really rarely write reviews, but I think exceptionally good or exceptionally poor service deserves to be recognized either way.

Update... they apologized for the mistake and said...

2009-09-02T16:45:57.349-05:00

Update... they apologized for the mistake and said they are sending the item I ordered, and can keep the mistaken item.

I ordered an X-wing book from Motor City Books thr...

2009-08-31T18:48:33.581-05:00

I ordered an X-wing book from Motor City Books through Amazon.com. Today I received The Princess Bride--from a different company I hadn't ordered from. Too weird. I don't think I'd order from either company, though I'm more likely to believe that Motor City Books is the problem. After all, I ordered from them so that means they should assume responsibility.

got confirmation from MCB that books would ship in...

2009-08-05T12:06:12.801-05:00

got confirmation from MCB that books would ship in 4-14 business days. a month later the books have still not arrived. there's no tracking number, no phone number to call. books never take this long in the mail.

i live in metro detroit if anyone has an address t...

2009-07-10T22:37:25.642-05:00

i live in metro detroit if anyone has an address to motor city books i'll just go pick it up instead of having it shipped.