# ThriftBooks: New & Used Books — user reviews > 306 indexed App Store user reviews of ThriftBooks by Thrift Books Global LLC., rated 3.80/5 from 1,541 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thriftbooks-new-and-used-books/id1201902601/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thriftbooks-new-and-used-books/id1201902601.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 867 · 4★ 168 · 3★ 137 · 2★ 120 · 1★ 249 ## What do users think of ThriftBooks? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 💰 Affordable books - 📚 Huge selection of books - 🚚 Fast shipping - 👍 Great customer service - 🎁 Generous rewards program **Cons** - 🤔 Inconsistent book quality - 🔍 Lack of navigation options (no back button) - 🐌 Slow app performance - 🐛 Frequent app crashes and bugs - 📦 Shipping issues **Commonly reported bugs** - App constantly crashes and freezes - Scan function for selling books does not work - Login issues and app logging users out - Inaccurate book condition descriptions **Most requested features** - Add a back button for navigation - Improve app stability and performance - Enhance quality control for book condition - Provide more detailed order tracking ## Newest reviews (16 of 306) ### 2/5 — Damaged books *2026-08-16, version 2.1.0* I ordered four books and two of them came damaged. The books were not in a box and instead came in a bag. Since it came in a bag they got damaged. One of the book had a damaged from cover and the first few pages were also damaged. For the second book the side of the spine and some pages were damged. ### 2/5 — CAPTCHA *2026-08-11, version 2.0.10* For some reason Thriftbooks has decided to increase their security and now I have to do a CAPTCHA every time I open the app. I don’t know if there has been a problem with bots or what but if that doesn’t go away soon I’m deleting my account. ### 2/5 — Rewards expire *2026-08-06, version 2.0.10* They have this thing where if you buy so many books, you get a free book. Problem is, points expire, and unless you’re ordering a lot of books regularly, you will never, ever, see that benefit. It’s kinda of sleazy. ### 3/5 — UI is atrocious *2026-08-06, version 2.0.10* I like that I can buy pretty much any book for cheap but the ui is terrible and hard to navigate through ### 4/5 — Needs a consistent back button! *2026-07-15, version 2.0.10* Thriftbooks as a company is truly amazing and I haven’t bought a book any other way in years. However! The app has a severe lack of a back button. It’s there sometimes, but sometimes it’s not. Like when I click into an order to track—the only way to get back to the home screen is to force close the app and reopen it. There needs to be a fix for this. There should always be a back button! Please! I beg! ### 3/5 — Back button request *2026-07-01, version 2.0.10* Pls add a back button. It is very annoying having to close out of the app every time you need to go to the previous page. ### 4/5 — Lovely service *2026-06-23, version 2.0.10* Severely lacking in UI accessibility/rationality ### 4/5 — I Love This App, but Filters Need to be Fixed *2026-05-30, version 2.0.8* I’m in love with this app! I’m a teacher for 0-3 and they have such a great collection. The only critique I do have is that the filter is slightly inaccurate. I specifically selected to look for infant/toddler books and for some reason I was getting books like Wuthering Heights which isn’t really appropriate for the age group I looked for. ### 2/5 — Recaptcha Hell & Bar Scanner Fail *2026-05-30, version 2.0.8* I hate this app for two reasons. First, it makes you do a Recaptcha every single time you open it and repeatedly while using it. Second, the bar code scanner feature for Buy Back does not work so you have to manually enter EVERY SINGLE code which is an epic time suck when you are trying to sell back 20-30 books or more. And once you do get a Buy Back order put together, you can’t print the shipping label from the app. It will open in a window but the window gives you no buttons to save, print, or even exit back to the app. The app essentially freezes in the shipping label window. I hate even opening this app bc I know it’s going to suck up gobs of time for something that should be simple and quick. ### 2/5 — I feel scammed *2026-05-18, version 2.0.8* I ordered several books last week. Out of the 6 I bought, 3 were not as described. One of them was over $17 and it came with no dust jacket and had stamps on the pages. This was absolutely not as described. Another one said it was in good condition and showed the book with a nice dust jacket, however it arrived with the dust jacket torn torn up and I could tell it had been like this for a long while, this was not done in shipping. The customer service has been good with them replacing the books immediately. It is the lying sellers that are the problem. ### 3/5 — Age Rating *2026-05-04, version 2.0.8* This app is amazing! I love it an I am a big book girly☺️I love how cheep the books are and how easy it is to order them and how fast they arrive after ordering! But recently they changed their apps age rating to 18+ and now I cannot access this app anymore :( is there any way for this to get fixed?? ### 1/5 — Bootleg counterfeit goods *2026-05-02, version 2.0.8* I bought several books on ThriftBooks and had good experiences, but I purchased a book a little while ago that I just didn’t get to until later—after their 30 day return period. When I finally got around to reading it, I was dismayed to find it wasn’t the book I ordered but an extremely low-quality bootleg reprint with a cover exactly like the real edition. When I contacted customer service to let them know, understanding that they wouldn’t let me return it but in the hopes that the next person wouldn’t also get scammed, the response I got didn’t address the issue at all. They don’t seem to care if their retailers ship bootleg goods. ### 3/5 — Easy to use to buy *2026-05-01, version 2.0.8* Easy to scan ISBN coat on book to enter to sell, but most of my books… Brand, new, and perfect condition,… Came back with a message that they already had too many. Too many people trying to sell books. ### 1/5 — Low quality books and long delivery times *2026-04-27, version 2.0.8* I ordered two manga on this app, they DO NOT show u any pictures of the book ur ordering. the description said that they were in good condition but they both arrived heavily damaged and took two weeks to ship. One of them even had a NYC library sticker even though it never said anything about it being a library book, so even the descriptions are misleading. if ur looking for affordable books go to a local used book store, i actually l found one of the books i ordered at one for cheaper. I Would never recommend this app. ### 2/5 — Never received orders *2026-04-22, version 2.0.8* I used to use ThriftBooks and was hesitant about buying more when two of my orders have bounced around the U.S and when I emailed them they said it’s out of their hands ### 1/5 — Wasted a lot of time! *2026-04-18, version 2.0.8* Everything scanned in great, prices offered to buy my books great. Go to finalize my offer, PayPal connected and then doesn’t go any further. Keeps saying my buyback isn’t an option right now. All books are still listed that they are buying. Deleted the whole shelf, then the app and redid everything, same thing happened. Spoke with customer service and was told that something may have changed as to the need of them buying back. Asked if I was supposed to scan in a book and immediately trade it in if that were the case and was told they offer store credit. Tried this, even though I didn’t want credit and the same thing happened. So this app will be deleted off my phone today!Wasted a ton of time! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Update made it impossible to use the app *2026-08-21, version 2.0.3* The new update requires iOS 26 which my phone cannot do. This makes it impossible to use the app now with an older phone. ### 1/5 — Cancellelation *2026-08-07, version 2.0.10* I placed an order and IMMEDIATELY realized I ordered the wrong book and requested a cancellation less than 5 min after and it was denied 10 min later. ### 1/5 — Not usable on older iOS *2026-07-26, version 2.0.3* Cant use the app anymore as it requires iOS 26. I have an older phone and don’t even have the option to update to iOS 26. Not ordering books here now and I’ve been a customer for many years. ### 1/5 — Ads After Purchase *2026-07-21, version 2.0.8* Having to see ads and offers just to track my order and see my receipt is unacceptable to me and is a 1 star review in my book. ### 1/5 — Account creation problems *2026-07-15, version 2.0.10* Did not create my account. Could not log me in and could not reset my password. In other words, this app gives problems at Hello. ### 1/5 — Book Mold *2026-07-14, version 2.0.10* I’ve bought from this app a few times because they’re cheaper books. What I didn’t expect was for them to ship a library book to me with mold on it. I was disappointed with my first order because some books were bent or had slightly discolored pages, but I knew they were pre-owned books so I sort of knew what I was getting into as I wasn’t able to personally look at the quality of each one. This time around each book smelled sour and one even had large stains which contained a bit of mold too. Just because I chose “Acceptable” quality, it should not come with mold. ### 1/5 — Bad for trying to sell *2026-07-06, version 2.0.10* They will never take any of my books I want to sell. Maybe 10% of what I try they will accept and those I only get $0.60-0.90 for. I am trying to sell good books also. ### 1/5 — Force to update app to use *2026-06-13, version 2.0.9* Love the service. Bought so many books, however upon opening the app now, it asks me to update to version 26. I am running an older version. I do not want to update. Is there really a need for you to force this to users who don’t want to? To buy books? Really? I hate when companies force this. Won’t be using for a while I guess. Please make usable / compatible to older iOS version users. ### 1/5 — Crashing *2026-06-05, version 2.0.8* Constantly crashing- won’t let me do anything ### 1/5 — Note to Developers - Check Out Glitch *2026-05-27, version 2.0.8* Just a heads up - I absolutely love this app. Use it for all of my book purchases when possible. Rating it a 1 star to get the attention of the developers. There is a major glitch in the check out function right now - I go through the entire process and it doesn’t deploy. I have to go through the check out process TWICE to complete my order. This a) makes me think I’ve completed a task that I actually haven’t b) makes me worried the app will charge me twice and c) takes up more of my time than I’d like. Please fix! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Great Store & App *2026-07-20, version 2.0.10* Without this site, I would have never been able to afford the books and the knowledge that I’ve gained from them. I don’t even know how this app doesn’t have a five star! Most books come used from a brick and mortar because many have already flipped through the pages and we’re able to get these books at 10% of the cost! ### 5/5 — Always the best *2026-06-09, version 2.0.8* I can’t say enough about the customer service. They really are awesome. I have asked them about many over and above and they’ve never answered no. I have been ordering from them for years. All my friends and family have seen lots of books and I’ve never been sent anything not close to perfect. And it’s great to get some very hard to find books too. Thank you for being a source for this ### 5/5 — My favorite app! *2026-05-05, version 2.0.8* I’ve been using the ThriftBooks app for about two months now, and I LOVE it! I’ve had zero issues with the app itself. ThriftBooks is amazing. I love that I get free book rewards so often (and I just wish I could use it as $7 towards any book, instead of trying to find a book that costs less than $7!). I love that I can make a wish list and it alerts me when a book becomes available. I love being able to choose the condition of the book that I want. I love that when I was sent the wrong book one time (similar title, wrong author), it was super easy to return it for a refund. Couple of things to remember: 1) your idea of “good” or “acceptable” might not match a particular book seller’s idea. If it doesn’t meet your expectations, send it back! 2) Sometimes the used books are library copies and will come with spine labels/other library markings. 3) ThriftBooks really likes to put barcode stickers on the spine, which are sometimes hard to remove. 4) Books are typically shipped in a bag, through USPS, so they might get banged up in transit. ThriftBooks is GREAT for finding old, out-of-print, or rare books, but don’t expect to find books in pristine condition—these are typically beaten up and perfect for readers, not collectors! I haven’t tried selling books through ThriftBooks yet, but I’m sure once my shelves are overflowing, that’ll be the next step! ### 5/5 — Like the og amazon but not run but an evil company *2026-04-27, version 2.0.8* Like the title says. Always been great ### 5/5 — 10/10 Great for book lovers *2026-04-14, version 2.0.8* Haven’t come across a book they don’t have yet. They update their inventory all the time. Prices are pretty unbeatable. So far all my orders have come quicker than estimated. Condition descriptions are accurate as well. App is very user friendly. Not many bugs noticed ### 5/5 — Love this app *2026-04-03, version 2.0.6* Love it ### 5/5 — Exceptional! *2026-03-21, version 2.0.3* Made my first order on this app, there’s a lot of selection of books to choose from. Only downside is that it’s USD but that’s ok with me. ### 5/5 — Note *2026-03-11, version 2.0.3* I Love it . ### 5/5 — Amazing!!! *2026-03-06, version 2.0.3* Been a customer since 2022!! Every book on my shelf is from ThriftBooks. I love that I can pick and choose (if I really want the new book, I’m sure I’ll find it. If I want a cheaper alternative of a book, I’ll find it) I can decide the condition, cuz I love books regardless. This book app has been a game changer!! Haven’t been to B&N (iyky) in YEARS. Used to spend hundreds of dollars, and at thrift books I’ve never spent more than 50, for double the amount of books. ❤️❤️ I ### 5/5 — Love This App *2026-02-25, version 2.0.3* They are quick to help with customer service needs via Email. Always good quality items, amazing book and dvd collections. All around a phenomenal company. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-04.*