Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Textbooks.com's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

close

Find a Location

Textbooks.com has 3 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

BBB accredited

Near

Country

USUnited States

Please enter a valid location.

Filter

• 

  Textbooks.com

  3401 W Broadway Business Park Ct Ste 205-213 Columbia, MO 65203-0394

• 

  Textbooks.com

  PO Box 637 Columbia, MO 65205

• 

  Textbooks.com

  2805 Falling Leaf Ln Columbia, MO 65201-3565

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/15/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  (None of the three addresses listed for textbooks.com on the BBB site matched the one they listed on their ******** page: *******************************************************************************************. I could not find a business address on their site.)I was searching for a textbook for a college class I have in the fall semester of 2024. I came across a page - cheapesttextbooks.com - listing options for getting the ebook including "buy," "rent" and then "ebook." Under the "ebook" heading was a price of $43.96, then a button which read "Buy Now." I clicked the button to buy the e-text and was taken to textbooks.com. The page listed the e-text's title, the "seller" of the book - textbooks.com - and the price again, $43.96. No indication on this page that this was a rental book (I have screenshots of these pages showing what I saw - I'm happy to provide them). I clicked on the "checkout" button and went through the purchasing process. At no time was there indication the book was a rental. I was under the impression that I was buying this book. It wasn't until I went through the redemption process at ********* website (the publisher of the book) that I realized it was a 4-month rental. I didn't understand and opened the e-text because I had been under the impression I was buying the book. The response I got from the company was that because I opened the book they could not refund my money. I feel I was a victim of deceptive business practices because at no point in the buying process was I alerted to the fact that I was renting, not buying, this text. The transaction occurred on 7/7/2024. A four-month rental would end on 11/7/2024, nearly a month before the end of my semester on 12/13/2024. This rental would have made no sense for me to pay for because it would have left me without a book for the last month of class. Also, I like to keep textbooks for later reference. I'm seeking a refund from the company and to prevent others from being similarly deceived.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/16/2024

  Hello - 

  Our eBooks have varying durations, based on the digital rights management (DRM) from the eBook publisher. Our product pages note which items are rentals (ie: Vitalsource Rentals) and the duration of each digital product (ie: 120 days) - I've included a picture of our product page for the item that the customer purchased, for reference. 

  We do not own or operate cheapesttextbooks.com. For price comparison websites like cheapesttextbooks, we do not manage their product pages and cannot determine what information they include about our listings. When using price comparison sites, it is important to view the product listing page on the website of purchase, as it is the most likely place to locate detailed information for the item. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/16/2024

  Complaint: 21993795
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  The screenshot the business provided which gave indication of the 120 days expiration of the etextbook was not among the screens I passed through in attempting to purchase the text.  I've included the sequence of screens I saw in the attachment I've made to this message.  That screen gives the appearance that they told me it was a rental, but they did not.  In fact, even after the financial transaction, nothing I clicked through (including their email afterward giving me a link to "activate" the text) gave any indication it was a rental until after I'd activated it, making me ineligible for a refund, as per their policy. Witholding that information until it was too late to ask for a refund is deceptive and entrapping.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/18/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  -Requesting data deletion due to a security concern such as old purchasing history, etc.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2024

  Hello - 

  This customer's information has been provided to our security team that handles account removal requests. We will delete this customer's online account and associated personal information/records within the next 3-5 business days. 

  Thank you, 

  *****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/26/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************