Powell's Books

image
1.80
Based on 20 Reviews

5

10.00%

4

10.00%

3

0.00%

2

10.00%

1

70.00%
About Powell's Books

Powell's Books is the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world. We carry an extensive collection of out of print rare, and technical titles as well as many other new and used books in every field.

Tags
Contact Info

You need to Login first to submit your review.

image
Steven Michael Stroud
GB

Not the store it used to be! I’m saddened that this formerly indie bookstore has franchised, and it is nothing like it used to be 20 years ago. There selections are mostly new books, few vintage on their shelves. Further DON’T EVER TAKE YOUR USED BOOKS TO SELL THERE! You’ll get a better deal by putting them on eBay. They no longer redeem your old books for cash or credit, they only give in-store credit now, and the amount they offer on credit for your old books is insulting. I used to love shopping at Powells City of Books, but I won’t give them my business any longer. There are better indie bookstores out there that have quality books, quality service, and truly care about the customer.

image
Ebookguyy
GB

Dishonest merchant -- keeps making… Dishonest merchant -- keeps making promises they don't keep with regards to book conditions, buying of used books, etc. Constantly change their own polices and then fail to follow said policies. We can no longer trust them, and their book selection seems to get worse and worse (they rarely if ever have books I'm looking for in stock, when nearly every other seller DOES have them in stock). Not worth the hassle with the slowwwwwwwww website either. Powells used to be ok to good; now they can't be trusted -- but aren't (yet) as sketchy as most Amazon 3rd party sellers. And Powells was smart enough to stop selling on Amazon, so maybe there is a very very faint hope they will finally improve their company, stop telling lies to customers, and make a genuine comeback... but sadly we've had to move on to more honest sellers who don't tell lies. We refuse to put up with blatant lies, so we will never use or visit Powells again.

image
Tom Kepler
GB

I sell A LOT of books....I mean… I sell A LOT of books....I mean literally TONS of books! Until about 8 months ago Powell's was great to work with. Then, something changed and now their website is pure crap....and they're not doing a thing about it. Input books to sell, accept the offer....and the site "times out". Re-input the same books and now the site will only take about 2/3 of them...accept anyways (just to salvage your time) and the site times out. Re-input for the third time (same reason as before) and ANOTHER 1/3 is rejected.........and it times out. Until Powell's gets out of the stone ages and upgrades/fixes their site......I'm not working with them. I'd advise anybody not to waste their time here!

image
anjalie
GB

The website would not accept my email The website would not accept my email, password or giftcard number. All in all, a totally bad experience i do not want to have again. I will never use Powell's City of Books again. Take my gift card and do whatever it is you do with them to make them unusable. All my friends will hear about this horrible service.

image
Mark
GB

Terrible business practices Terrible business practices. I recognize that in order to make money selling used books you need to get them for a decent price. However, this place is a gold mine. It's not just that they pay insultingly low prices for your books, it's that they're rude to you while they're doing it. They truly act like they're doing you a favor, and forget that without you selling back your books, they would be out of business. What's worse is that they have aggressively put every other mom-and-pop bookstore in the area out of business. Portland used to have a thriving used bookstore presence but Powell's has driven their competition completely out of existence. And they ripped off their customers with a contemptuous eye-roll while doing it. There are alternatives, albeit mostly online (Thanks in part to the business practices of companies like Powell's). I get that there is a thrill in hunting through thousands of books in order to find a diamond in the rough, but for ethical reasons, I will be going elsewhere in the future. Don't waste your time.

We may use cookies or any other tracking technologies when you visit our website, including any other media form, mobile website, or mobile application related or connected to help customize the Site and improve your experience. learn more

Allow