Due to a number of recent issues that have been increasing in frequency, involving extremely irate customers of the so-called Irish Booksellers (a vendor that appears - based on their irate customer reports - to engage in dropshipping via Abebooks and Biblio bookselling websites online), I am forced to issue this statement for purposes of disambiguation.
The Green Hand Bookshop, a real bricks-and-mortar bookshop in downtown Portland, Maine, is in no way associated with the so-called Irish Booksellers, which claims to be a bookseller in Portland, Maine, where they appear to maintain a P.O. Box at the local UPS Store on Marginal Way.
WE CANNOT RECOMMEND THEM, and warn prospective customers that due to the number of complaints we receive about them, buyer beware. But don't just take my customers' word for it.
You can see their Yelp reviews here (they have the lowest rating possible, 1 star):
And their Better Business Bureau rating here (it's an F):
If you would like to read more about dropshippers/bookjackers, please see Zubal Books' excellent article here:
If you have had a bad experience with Irish Booksellers, please scroll down for a link to the FTC complaint site, and other helpful information.
Unfortunately for me, when you type Irish Booksellers into Google, it pulls up our street address (Green Hand Bookshop at 661 Congress St in Portland ME) and contact information -- hence this post to clear up any confusion! -- which gives users the impression that we are associated with these stinkers.
GREEN HAND BOOKSHOP IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH IRISH BOOKSELLERS.
Google has been extraordinarily unhelpful with my efforts to correct this search error, so I am forced to post this in an effort to divorce myself from this parasitical association.
I have worked hard since 2009 to build a reputable business, and I do not sell online except select new books which are sold through my own website here: greenhandbookshop.com
I have not ever listed any of my shop's used stock online via Abebooks, Biblio, or any other online marketplace, as I run a bricks-and-mortar used bookshop in the real world, where customers can walk into the shop and examine books before purchasing them, as that allows me to provide the best customer service experience for folks. [NOTE: We do sell new books online via greenhandbookshop.com which we ship directly from our store ourselves, and via our affiliate link at Bookshop.org which are shipped by Bookshop.org (not us, although we kindly receive proceeds from them), and audiobooks via our affiliate link at Libro.fm (which sends us proceeds from our affiliate sales).]
Please come visit us if you would like to peruse our current collection of used books -- we'd love to see you!
Speaking of which, Portland Maine is an amazing town for books. Within downtown Portland alone, there are 3 used bookshops (including mine) and 3 new bookshops - and if you have a car, there are even more nearby. I'll be doing a post about how Portland is a City of Books in the near future! :)
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Helpful information:
If you have had a bad experience with Irish Booksellers or another dropshipper, and want to report them for fraud, please visit the FTC's fraud reporting site here:
The FTC shares their reports with more than 2,800 law enforcers across the U.S., and while they can't resolve your individual report, they use your report, along with those of others who have filed, to investigate and bring cases against fraud, scams, and bad business practices. So it does have an effect - there is power in numbers!
If reporting them for fraud isn't the route you'd like to take, but you'd like some ideas on how to deal with the issue, the FTC has an excellent to-do list for you to follow:
If you have not complained to Abebooks about the issue, please follow the steps here, which will ensure that the seller's account will be flagged by them for repeated issues:
Once you have attempted to contact the seller, Abebooks requires the seller to respond within 2 business days. Sending your inquiry through their system (see the instructions/links by reading the page linked above) will ensure that a record of your email is saved within your Abebooks account. If 2 business days have passed with no response, you can then reach out Abebooks Customer Service with the details.
If you are having trouble using their website, you can try using this unconfirmed phone number to contact their Customer Service department: (800) 315-5335
As they say, "The seller's failure to respond to your initial question will be noted in their account. A pattern of such policy violations can lead to the seller's account being suspended and/or permanently closed." We can only hope that enough of these reports will, indeed, shut down such bad actors!
Biblio customers who have had similar problems can work with their Customer Service here:
https://www.biblio.com/support_request.php
You can also try calling them if you are having problems using our website, 1-800-813-9432 (U.S.) during regular weekday business hours (10 AM to 4 PM Eastern Standard Time).
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