I ordered 2 books off on Amazon, one from Hippobooks, one from Owlsbooks. Both orders were confirmed quickly. I received shipping confirmations on both orders very soon after (which is strange). Both orders were to be shipped via the USPS, however I soon found out that both orders were being processed through DHL (which adds approximately 4 days to shipping time). I contacted both companies because both tracking numbers were invalid. I received the exact same automated e-mail from both companies. Upon basically e-mail bombing both companies, I finally received a human-made response... for both companies. It was the same representative!!! I informed Amazon of this because it is a violation of their policies to have one seller posing as multiple sellers. Nothing was done. (Big surprise there!) I attempted to warn people of this scam but Amazon protected these people and blocked me from commenting.
So, here I am. Basically, these companies held my orders hostage for days till they felt like shipping them. That violates the seller's contract. They are to ship wishing 2 business days on confirming the order. I am entitled to a refund on the shipping cost for these orders. Amazon disagrees. Please, if you are reading this, do not order from anyone with a name like these two because goodness knows who many "companies" these people have.
I too ordered a book from Hippo Books through Amazon - on Sept 6. The Amazon site indicates that it was shipped to me the next day. It initially indicated a delivery date of the 17th. Today that has been revised to the 28th. Three weeks to ship a book to me ???!!! Like you, I tried using the tracking number Hippo posted on the Amazon site. Neither the USPS nor the DHL site recognize the number.
Same thing, ordered a book a month ago, said it was in "shipped" status on Amazon. Still nothing. Better Business Bureau as 59 complaints on them. This is right from their site: "BBB will continue to process complaints and has notified the Ohio Attorney General Office of the issue. Consumers may want to contact the Ohio Attorney General office to file a complaint by visiting their website at www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov or calling 800-282-0515." Oh and they list this number for Hippos Books: 419-241-3700
I've been waiting on an order from Hippo Books through an Amazon order... I received an email saying it was shipped on July 7....it is now Aug 3 and it hasn't arrived yet. I could have walked to Ohio from here in Michigan to get it by now. I'll never order from them again .
I ordered a book from Hippo through the Barnes & Noble website. Curiously I received a Barnes & Noble "order shipped" email super-fast (within an hour or two), however in the email, the package tracking number was blank. I copied the Barnes & Noble order number and went back to the B&N website to at least track the order's status. The order # has the correct number of digits and is formatted correctly for the B&N website, but, it's apparently just a random number and B&N says it is invalid. I emailed them for help and all I got was a useless form reply. I emailed Hippo Books and got no reply whatsoever. My book still hasn't arrived (my cc has been charged) and I'm getting the feeling I have been scammed.
By the way I was telling a coworker about this (she uses online ordering all the time). I told her I was happy to have found somebody who even had the book (it is an old 1970s edition about the navy). My co-worker told me that Hippo is somewhat notorious; apparently they just cut & paste the titles of thousands of books, list it as "in stock", and then if somebody orders it they spend a few weeks trying to find it somewhere at a price less than they already sold it for, to reship it and fill the order. If they can't find it they simply abandon the order and hope the buyer gives up. I have no idea if this is true, but I'm starting to feel it is.
Wow. These guys are apparently criminals. After researching online they sell refuse online as new. I have seen scam after scam name change after name change in order to keep ahead of the bad feedback. We got stung on Amazon under the many names as Owlsbooks. They have many names. Beware. O believe these guys should be be shut down for the good of the public. Buyer Beware!!!!!
I don't know why all the bad reviews, but I think they are great. I ordered my book on 1/16/17 and I got it 1/30/17. I have been ordering used books from various online bookstores and have found that it takes a lot longer to get your books than the big retail stores. This is because they use the cheapest way to get it to you. Some used bookstores which are very, very popular, can take up to 45 days. I think we need to give Hippo Books a chance and I think it is unfair to give them bad reviews because of shipping not moving as fast as you want. Even a major online retail company says that it can take up to 45 days for books to arrive to you even though they use UPS Mail Innovations or DHL Mail Innovations.
Beware of ordering from any company that has a home address in Toledo Ohio, it is most likely to be associated with these scam artists who obviously never even look at the books they list.
Book was the Jolly Postman which is a children's books with inserted letters on various pages. The seller Hippo Books said it was in "very good" condition, but since at least 2 letter inserts were missing from the book, I definitely do NOT think it was in "very good" condition. I am giving Hippo Books 3 stars, which is generous.
I purchased a book from Amazon Marketplace through Hippo Books. Although the notified DHL immediately that the book was being sent, it was more than two weeks before the book was sent to DHL. DHL was efficient and responsive to my inquiries. Hippo Books responded in an incoherent and evasive manner. It took nearly one month for the book to arrive. I will never use Hippo Books again (nor Owlsbooks) and advise others not to do so either.
We have waited 25 days (as of 6/25/16) for books that were reported "shipped" on 6/1/16. No tracking is available. Out of 6 books, only two have arrived. One was not as advertised. A crossword book is about 1/8 filled in and was touted as "Very good May have shelf wear or edge rubbing. Pages are clean and free of textual notes or other markings.".
Hippo Books Reviews
I ordered 2 books off on Amazon, one from Hippobooks, one from Owlsbooks. Both orders were confirmed quickly. I received shipping confirmations on both orders very soon after (which is strange). Both orders were to be shipped via the USPS, however I soon found out that both orders were being processed through DHL (which adds approximately 4 days to shipping time). I contacted both companies because both tracking numbers were invalid. I received the exact same automated e-mail from both companies. Upon basically e-mail bombing both companies, I finally received a human-made response... for both companies. It was the same representative!!! I informed Amazon of this because it is a violation of their policies to have one seller posing as multiple sellers. Nothing was done. (Big surprise there!) I attempted to warn people of this scam but Amazon protected these people and blocked me from commenting.
So, here I am. Basically, these companies held my orders hostage for days till they felt like shipping them. That violates the seller's contract. They are to ship wishing 2 business days on confirming the order. I am entitled to a refund on the shipping cost for these orders. Amazon disagrees. Please, if you are reading this, do not order from anyone with a name like these two because goodness knows who many "companies" these people have.
Wish I had read your review
I too ordered a book from Hippo Books through Amazon - on Sept 6. The Amazon site indicates that it was shipped to me the next day. It initially indicated a delivery date of the 17th. Today that has been revised to the 28th. Three weeks to ship a book to me ???!!! Like you, I tried using the tracking number Hippo posted on the Amazon site. Neither the USPS nor the DHL site recognize the number.
Avoid ordering anything from HIPPO Books !
They suck!
Same thing, ordered a book a month ago, said it was in "shipped" status on Amazon. Still nothing. Better Business Bureau as 59 complaints on them. This is right from their site: "BBB will continue to process complaints and has notified the Ohio Attorney General Office of the issue. Consumers may want to contact the Ohio Attorney General office to file a complaint by visiting their website at www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov or calling 800-282-0515." Oh and they list this number for Hippos Books: 419-241-3700
Still waiting
I've been waiting on an order from Hippo Books through an Amazon order... I received an email saying it was shipped on July 7....it is now Aug 3 and it hasn't arrived yet. I could have walked to Ohio from here in Michigan to get it by now. I'll never order from them again .
I ordered a book from hippo books through abebooks.
I never got my book, and hippo never replied. Keep away from that scam.
Same experience
I ordered a book from Hippo through the Barnes & Noble website. Curiously I received a Barnes & Noble "order shipped" email super-fast (within an hour or two), however in the email, the package tracking number was blank. I copied the Barnes & Noble order number and went back to the B&N website to at least track the order's status. The order # has the correct number of digits and is formatted correctly for the B&N website, but, it's apparently just a random number and B&N says it is invalid. I emailed them for help and all I got was a useless form reply. I emailed Hippo Books and got no reply whatsoever. My book still hasn't arrived (my cc has been charged) and I'm getting the feeling I have been scammed.
By the way I was telling a coworker about this (she uses online ordering all the time). I told her I was happy to have found somebody who even had the book (it is an old 1970s edition about the navy). My co-worker told me that Hippo is somewhat notorious; apparently they just cut & paste the titles of thousands of books, list it as "in stock", and then if somebody orders it they spend a few weeks trying to find it somewhere at a price less than they already sold it for, to reship it and fill the order. If they can't find it they simply abandon the order and hope the buyer gives up. I have no idea if this is true, but I'm starting to feel it is.
Owlsbooks, Hippo Books, Disoverbooks.com
Wow. These guys are apparently criminals. After researching online they sell refuse online as new. I have seen scam after scam name change after name change in order to keep ahead of the bad feedback. We got stung on Amazon under the many names as Owlsbooks. They have many names. Beware. O believe these guys should be be shut down for the good of the public. Buyer Beware!!!!!
Hippo Books is Great!!!
I don't know why all the bad reviews, but I think they are great. I ordered my book on 1/16/17 and I got it 1/30/17. I have been ordering used books from various online bookstores and have found that it takes a lot longer to get your books than the big retail stores. This is because they use the cheapest way to get it to you. Some used bookstores which are very, very popular, can take up to 45 days. I think we need to give Hippo Books a chance and I think it is unfair to give them bad reviews because of shipping not moving as fast as you want. Even a major online retail company says that it can take up to 45 days for books to arrive to you even though they use UPS Mail Innovations or DHL Mail Innovations.
Passport Plus Workbook by Buckingham
I checked Abe Books. It listed one used book at Hippo for $199 plus shipping.
I'm in Japan.
You can buy a new book at the book store for $12, twelve dollars.
I found loads of Rip reports about Hippo in Ohio.
Wow!!!
Liars
They have a box set of 12 books listed for sale. What they sent was only one of those books. These people are crooks.
Multiple names, same company
Beware of ordering from any company that has a home address in Toledo Ohio, it is most likely to be associated with these scam artists who obviously never even look at the books they list.
Con-Men
Sent me a 50cent book instead of 18dollar out of print I ordered and wont give me my money back.
Book was NOT in Very Good Condition
Book was the Jolly Postman which is a children's books with inserted letters on various pages. The seller Hippo Books said it was in "very good" condition, but since at least 2 letter inserts were missing from the book, I definitely do NOT think it was in "very good" condition. I am giving Hippo Books 3 stars, which is generous.
Avoid using Hippo Books
I purchased a book from Amazon Marketplace through Hippo Books. Although the notified DHL immediately that the book was being sent, it was more than two weeks before the book was sent to DHL. DHL was efficient and responsive to my inquiries. Hippo Books responded in an incoherent and evasive manner. It took nearly one month for the book to arrive. I will never use Hippo Books again (nor Owlsbooks) and advise others not to do so either.
Very Similar Experience
We have waited 25 days (as of 6/25/16) for books that were reported "shipped" on 6/1/16. No tracking is available. Out of 6 books, only two have arrived. One was not as advertised. A crossword book is about 1/8 filled in and was touted as "Very good May have shelf wear or edge rubbing. Pages are clean and free of textual notes or other markings.".