TextbookX is an e-commerce site dedicated to finding students the lowest price for their books. We mix our own inventory with that of third-party sellers (in many cases, the same sellers as on Amazon and similar sites) in order to provide one of the largest inventories of new, used, digital, and rental books.
Written by the business, not verified by us.
Is TextbookX legit?
TextbookX (textbookx.com) has a 3.7 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 101 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Hobbies & Crafts and its reputation is mixed. Opinions are polarized: 71% rate it 4 stars or higher while 25% give 1 star; The business has replied to 27% of negative reviews; 3 of them were added in the last 12 months. Last updated 2026-09-01.
I cannot not more highly warn you to pick ANY OTHER BOOKSTORE
As I would hope most reviews on here I did work with support to get help but with my need for repeat interactions with still no final resolution, I wanted to warn people to cheaper and better responsive book sellers. Right off the bat, I was able to find cheaper small companies so there should be little issue in avoiding them especially when they didn't even send me my book.
Here for those who want the TLDR early here is the bullets:
I received an empty package.
The support person explained to me how to locate a package.
I got "escalated" to another team for getting an empty box. At which time they offered replace or refund (I took replace)
Waited several more weeks, book still "pending shipment"
Support says "oops, out of stock"
I said refund
They didn't refund
Waited several weeks no refund.
Wrote in, they admitted they had not refunded.
The lead I spoke to refused to apologize and basically kept reframing this not as a series of failures with their system but just an out of stock they count control and not their job... And the Too long now:
Literally, had they shown me some sign of being sorry and take full responsibility I would have considered occasional use but it was like they were already defending every bad descion to their boss in the email. Like why? If you are try to say it wasn't customer's support fault they were out of stock, you are right but why didn't they check inventory before they sent me a replacement and just do the refund? There were so many places where some one could have made it right with just the smallest effort but clearly they did not fully integrate their CRM into their inventory. But this is not the only systemic failing as a company. The whole story takes more time but highlights the consistent inability to use their tools to support the customer.
When I first got my parcel it took me by surprise that I had no book. Not a scrap of paper, nothing but an empty parcel. This was my second order of the semester of which I thought would be many more as I had just started my phd and assumed I would need many more books and out of convince went with the linked seller my school listed.
The website was a little harder to use than I would have liked but it had not been too much of note, thought one of my digital books I bought in the wrong length but wasn't concerned as I had also gotten the physical book and the digital was more for the class but it was not as clear as I would have liked. Use caution on the ebooks if after this you still shop with them. I still suggest ANYWHERE ELSE but you have every right to do as you please.
I went online and it took me a while to even find where I could find the help center. The returns and refunds are not something they give an easy location to. There are also very few options in their help center so I picked "Item missing from bundle". I figured it was a bundle of one. I sent out the email and expect someone to help me with a refund or replacement. But alas on the first email of my journey they explained to me how if my package was missing I should look for it or something and closed out the ticket. So I had to send another email.
So now I am just waiting. And then I had a reply! Could it be help? No, I have been sent to a supervisor for my missing book. Why do I need to be sent to a supervisor? This should be a simple "return or refund" but as the customer when I get an email that says "sending to a supervisor" on such a basic ask it tells me they have many people who just send out emails to tell people to check the bushes one more time and wait 4 more days. The support team is set up to distract, not help.
So I wait a few more days and I finally hear back. And they ask if I want a return or refund. I did need the book and I figured despite these warning to give them one more try. They set up a new order. I then went back to my life. After 2 weeks I was surprised not to have my book. I went to the order and it was still pending. I emailed in and this time they told me "oops!" it's out of stock. So I asked them to refund me. The problem was they only canceled my replacement and never refunded me.
So I wrote back in 2 weeks later. At which time I get a tier 3 "lead" who told me they just made my refund. At this point I have spent weeks on what should have been either a short back and forth over a few emails. But no, they kept closing out any each only did a partial job.
The "supervisor" was clearly more defensive than he was apologetic. Blaming it on anything he could but not say it was the team or anything. He didn't even need to blame. A simple "Sorry for x and y and z! That is a lot! I will look into this and sorry again" but no... DO NOT BUY!!!!
The systems they are using are not robust enough to ensure a good customer experience. The systems in place are defending them from false returns but any real issues will be made hard to resolve. This is predatory and harmful to consumers.
I ordered a physical copy of a microeconomic textbook. There was no problems with it when they sent it to me, and it was on time. However, when I returned it, they claimed that I had torn one of the pages. My book sat there on my shelf until the end of the semester when I used it for a reference graph on a page not even close to the one they claimed to be ripped.
But it doesn't end there...
The book was due around the end of May, and I had it in the mail with an estimated delivery of May 10. At the end of the month, they charged me a $30 extension fee, then IMMEDIATELY charged me $200 for a replacement fee. It had been sitting in their inventory for weeks, yet the lying theives charged me.
Long story short, they lied about the condition of my book, charged me for an extension when they had it in their care, and have terrible customer service. I would recommend NEVER doing buisness here again.
SCAMMERS DO NOT RENT FROM THEM. They will give you the same return label for your books and then claim you never sent one of the books so they can charge you extra. They are thieves preying on broke college students. They should be investigated and shut down.
I ordered an e-book over the summer in preparation for Fall classes. Didn't pay much attention to the number of days before classes started. I ended up dropping the class. I was 7 days too late getting a refund and they won't let me give my access to someone else. Classes haven't even started yet. They get to keep the money, and still charge someone else, even though I could have given it to someone for free. Still going to try and give my pearson information to someone so they can use the book. Edit: they decided to give me an exception and gave me the refund.
If you are ordering E-Books, you will be okay. If you are purchasing physical books, be prepared for poor communication, no tracking, and fighting with client services if mistakes are made. They do not respond very timely, they do not offer much help pertaining to your order, and they tend to tell you multiple different things and change their answers. This is shockingly unprofessional.
If I can give a zero.
I purchased an ebook for my class due to the lowest price online ( TextbookX.com ), this site, which is the child company of VitalSource.
The URL they provided SSO to VitalSource site, and in the bookshelf shows a ebook but unable to access.
I opened tickets to both companies, along with online chat, no one seems to know what's going on.
Ultimately, I contacted my credit card company to resolve the issue. Both companies seem like a scam.
This company's practices are deeply unethical. I placed an order for my son's books on 8/12, most of which were digital copies. The one physical book I ordered showed as shipped on 8/14, but after waiting for 8 days and checking with my local post office, I discovered that it never left the company's warehouse and was never in USPS possession.
I've tried to resolve this issue by messaging, emailing, and calling them six times. Each time, I'm met with customer service representatives who claim they lack the authority to issue a refund. When I requested to speak with someone who could help, I was promised a callback within 24 hours, which never materialized.
This company's refusal to refund my money despite their clear mistake feels like theft. Buyers should be cautious when dealing with them.
I ordered a textbook through my schools website (using this company). They were suppose to email me a digital code to use the book through canvas... they never sent it, only a receipt for purchase... its weeks into the class and even after writing them about it all I've received is an automated message saying they received my message ans someone will get to it someday... meanwhile ive had to purchase the book AGAIN through the module provider to stay current with my class.
My only real recourse is to put a stop payment through with my bank. I'll never use textbookx again. Terrible, useless comp[any.
Terrible customer service! The school gave my daughter a list of books and a lab kit to order from Textbookx. We ordered them on 8/11/2024 and less than 2 weeks later my daughters professor told her to cancel the chem kit. I called on 8/26/2024 and told them I needed to cancel and was told no problem. I was told I would get call in 48 hours confirming my refund. I never got a call. I called back today and told them I never got a call back. The person told me they can see where I called to cancel but it was beyond the time limit. I told them I never got the kit and after I cancelled we got an email with a code for my daughter to have the kit shipped. It never got shipped. They still have it. I was told it's their policy. The person said they would "escalate' my case. That's exactly what the last person said. They are not located in the US and I know I'll never see my money again. Total scam. I am going to the school to let them know not to use this service. Wait until the first day of class, find out what books you need and get them somewhere else for less.
Ordered a book 8/12 & it has been sitting in Ohio since 8/15. I have called and email multiple times and even the college bookstore manager has sent two emails but zero response. This is a $130 purchase that was needed seven days ago.
Zero customer service.
I can't believe the experience I have been having with this company. I received a book voucher, but of course I was forced to use it through textbookx as that is the company my college goes through. I was able to find the books required for my class, but noticed they were all priced well above competitors while advertising a "savings" of some arbitrary amount. I ended up using my book voucher to purchase 3 books, all new. First, there was a delay in shipping. Then, two of the books were delivered on time. The third book however was "delivered" quite late, 12 days after I had ordered it, and 3 days after classes started. When I opened the package, I found that the company that textbookx ordered from, Ingram, has instead packed 5 books on CD, meant for a company 3 states away, AND the packing list included in the package stated that there was supposed to be 7 items in that shipment. So now textbookx has made mistakes and caused delays, and Ingram has also shown a lack of responsibility. Great. So I turn to textbookx customer support. I spent 2 hours speaking to someone about the issues, and I swear to god they didn't actually read anything I wrote, while taking an average of 10 minutes to respond each time. I ended up having to go to pick up my son, leaving the chat unfinished. Later, I tried to reach out to customer service again, and was met with yet another agent that averaged 10 minute delays between responses. I stressed that this was a huge issue and that classes had already started, but when they put in for a replacement, of course they chose the slowest shipping option. I tried to talk to the agent about this, only to be met with silence. When I finally complained that I was again being made to wait an indefinite amount of time for a reply, the agent simply disconnected from chat. The customer service for this company is literally the worst I have ever experienced, and I have been a customer of Comcast and Verizon. They are devoid of empathy, EXTREMELY slow to respond, and do the absolute bare minimum that is required of them. The next time I receive a book voucher, I will throw it in the trash and buy my books with my own money, just to avoid ever having to deal with textbookx again. What a joke.
I would give zero stars if I could. I bought a 400$ chemistry lab kit and never received the kit and never received the refund. AVOID THIS AT ALL COSTS ITS A SCAM!
Words cannot express how incompetent a company this is. The level of frustration in dealing with a company who gives a different answer every time you deal with them, does not fulfill orders, will not release vouchers...I've literally never had a more frustrating experience in my entire life.
Ordered a e-book for my granddaughter. She informed me that she didn't receive the code in her college student e-mail.i called customer service 2 weeks after the start of class. Was told the necessary Code in order to get the book had not been sent out yet. I mentioned that the money had been taken from my charge and was told the Code would be sent within 10 days. Needless to say it wasn't. I will be regeristing a complaint with my credit card co. to have the money returned to my account. What a disgrace this Company is in every way! P.S. at this point I could not find their phone number on internet!
UNK at Kearney bookstore has been amazing. They always have the textbooks that I need. Yes, you can always find them cheaper on other platforms but, at least you are able to used financial aid to pay directly for your books. The was only one issue where the book was on back order but the staff was very upfront and kept me posted the entire time up until my book was shipped. Again, has always been a slick and stress free experience!
Ordering books from here has been good the couple of times I have done so. The ability to sell books back to the company is cool as well. However, most times, I can find my books much cheaper on Amazon and with faster shipping, even without Prime benefits. I have never had a book not arrive from TextbookX, but my roommate did not receive one of hers, and the other took two months to arrive when the shipping said it would take two weeks.
They always have the books that I need. The only problem that I run into is that sometimes my books don't arrive before classes start. Other than that TextBookX is reasonably priced they always have options and they reply fast to problems.
Great, it won’t get the wrong book to you! And, you don’t need to find the book your self! Except, it is more expensive than most of the other places. ):
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