AbeBooks is focused on the health and safety of our employees, and based on regional regulations and social distancing requirements this has resulted in longer than usual response times from Customer Support. Please be patient.

If you have a specific question about an order, we recommend contacting the seller directly. This is often the fastest way to obtain order information. View instructions.

Due to Covid-19, delivery times may be longer than normal in your area. Learn more

Many other questions can be answered by visiting our help center.

AbeBooks Help Center

COVID-19 Seller Help Page

Date updated: 7/23/2020

We know the global response to COVID-19 is impacting millions of individuals around the world and AbeBooks remains committed to supporting our sellers. Our websites continue to operate as usual and we are monitoring the situation closely.

As always, customer experience, health, and safety is a primary concern. We included relevant information below to help you manage your business and operations on AbeBooks. If you have additional questions not covered in our seller FAQ below, please reach out to our Customer Support team through your account.

FAQs:

  • I am able to fulfill orders, but I am concerned about the delivery to certain regions. What can I do?

We recommend taking precautions when managing your shipping configuration, including the use of shipment options with tracking and adjusting your shipping speeds to account for longer delivery times. You can learn more about these actions on our Help pages:
http://help.abebooks.com/how-do-i-set-shipping-rates-and-speeds/
http://help.abebooks.com/how-to-add-tracking-to-an-order/

  • I already sent a shipment to a customer but I now think it may be delayed by a border closure or shipping service issues. What should I do?

Please contact the customer and inform them that their package may be delayed. We are implementing messaging on our websites to inform customers about potential shipping delays.

  • Can I limit the regions that I ship to?

No. We recommend using the shipping matrix to adjust your shipping times to specific regions if you are concerned about delays. If you are unable to ship an order because shipping services are being disrupted, please cancel the order as “Bookseller Accepted Item in Error” and then contact AbeBooks Customer Support through your account to have the order excluded from your seller rating.

  • Will I be penalized if orders that have already shipped are reported as “Item did not arrive”?

AbeBooks will continue to review “Item did not arrive” requests on a case by case basis, and may reach out to sellers to request updated shipping information.

  • What happens if I need to cancel or am unable to accept certain orders because shipping services to a specific destination are disrupted due to COVID-19?

Please cancel orders that are not yet processed using the reason ‘Rejected’. If you have already processed the orders, please cancel using the reason “Bookseller Accepted Order in Error”. In order to provide more flexibility, we have added additional exclusions to your account to help you maintain your seller rating during this time. To exclude an order from your completion rating, follow the instructions in the help page “How do I Exclude an Order from my Completion Rate?”

  • I am no longer able to ship the orders I have accepted. What should I do?

Please cancel the orders as “Bookseller Accepted Order in Error”. In order to provide more flexibility, we have added additional exclusions to your account to help you maintain your seller rating during this time. To exclude an order from your completion rating, follow the instructions in the help page “How do I Exclude an Order from my Completion Rate?”
 

  • I cannot fulfill any new orders. What should I do?

Place your account on vacation using the following steps: http://help.abebooks.com/how-do-i-temporarily-remove-books/. In order to provide you with more flexibility at this time, we will reimburse your subscription fees for the period that your account remains on vacation between March 15 and August 31. Reimbursements will be issued in the first week of the following month – i.e. the reimbursement for any vacation in August will occur the first week of September. If you have any questions, please contact Customer Service.

  • A customer initiated a return 14 days ago and I still have not received the item. What should I do?

Please initiate a “Missing Shipment” request following the steps outlined on this help page: http://help.abebooks.com/how-do-i-complete-a-return/
 
AbeBooks Customer Support will review each request on a case by case basis, and may reach out to sellers to request additional processing time due to extenuating circumstances.