Ardis Books

Hello,
sorry if this Topic should already exist.
If I would order an "Fine" Condition book, do I get it in this condition ? The question may sound totally dumb, but I had some very bad experiences with other second hand sellers. The word Fine is sometimes very stretchable.
So someone made any buys with this seller already ? Let me know youre experiences.
Thank you for bearing with me.
Best regards
Alex

While not always the cheapest seller, scrupulously accurate condition descriptions and postage (in the UK at least) that verges on teleportation, Ardis is the site I look at first. Best of all - once you have bought a book, another web address becomes available, which will give you a modest discount.

>2 red_guy:
Thank you for the Info. :)
Since they don't ship to Germany, I will try my luck with Shipito.

Note that I am a bookseller sometimes probably competing with Ardis.

I regard Ardis as a first rate bookshop and I stress that I do not personally know the owner.

I have bought books from Ardis for my personal collection and was very pleased with the book, the price and the service.

I would have no hesitation in ordering from Ardis.

To be frank, I would prefer to have competition that was much easier to beat!

>1 AlexBookshelfFrog: In my experience Ardis complies very well with the descriptions. I ordered a 'near fine' Swallows and Amazons boxed set, and almost all of the details listed were correct.

I say almost because the boxed set reeked (and still reeks) of cat pee. I contacted Ardis and the owner gave me a partial rebate.

>5 dyhtstriyk: for something like that, I’m surprised the refund was only partial!

I used to buy with Ardis and never had an issue until Brexit and he stopped shipping to the EU. I started using a forwarding service for all second-hand UK book orders after that and never had an issue elsewhere, but Royal Mail lost my first order with him and he had to refund me. He told me he wouldn't post to forwarding services after that. The funny thing was my order never reached the forwarding service in the first place. It's a pity as he always has a good selection of FS books but he has a right to ship where he wants.

>5 dyhtstriyk: Never been keen on Arthur Ransome, either ...

I've purchased dozens of books from Ardis over recent years and had very few problems (UK delivery). Two or three titles had minor issues but all were resolved quickly and easily in a friendly manner. On my experience, I would certainly recommend Ardis as a reliable and honest bookseller.

>8 red_guy: that cat definitely wasn't

>6 RRCBS: the books are intact. odor is just at the bottom of the slipcase. I actually sent a note to Robert to inform him and told him I wasn't asking for a refund, that it was just feedback. He refunded 50% off my order without asking, so I was pleased with the customer service.

My last experience a couple of years ago was poor, so I've not ordered from him again since. A weighty 10" book shipped in a cardboard mailer with zero interior padding. Ridiculous given the S/H charges.

>7 assemblyman: That's almost certainly down to different VAT treatment - the UK does not apply VAT, most European countries do, and customs get very confused about that.

I've made several purchases over the years up to and including the Temple of Flora LE and the complete Folio Trollope: in my experience as reliable and meticulous a bookseller as they come.

>12 InVitrio: Well there’s no VAT applied for books in Ireland either. No customs duty either under €150. Just after Brexit customs was a bit of a nightmare between Ireland and the U.K. (like the rest of the E.U.) and it took months to settle. Sellers weren’t prepared for the added paperwork requirements and customs weren’t ready for all the issues and additional checks. A lot of sellers were put off by that since then so I cant really blame Ardis for cutting its losses there.

>12 InVitrio: I have to confess to working for many years in UK tax, so hope you will not mind my pointing out that books in the UK do actually fall within the VAT charging legislation as of course do virtually all paid for goods and services, but fortunately our politicians in a rare moment of enlightenment legislated that such published matter while subject to VAT is charged at the zero rate.

VAT zero-rating of books is a much better outcome than exempting books from VAT as it enables booksellers to recover almost all their VAT paid on purchases of goods and services.

>10 dyhtstriyk: This is incredible. Selling a book with the smell of cat urine. Is he so accustomed to the smell that this one went right under his nose undetected?

Do you have a special shelf where you placed this book; are you not worried it'll make other stuff smell like cat pee?

>16 What_What: in his answer he told me he suffered from diminished sense of smell and apologized profusely.

I have those books at the top of the shelf, directly below an aircon vent. they aren't touching anything of value.

I would hate to have such a great book that is smelling like cat piss 💔
I couldn't live with the thought alone 😔

// I got a not so expensive volume of the sold out "Starship Troopers" in new condition, shrink wrapped. That book design is dope and iam happy 😊❤️

>17 dyhtstriyk: to be honest covid did change by sense of smell.

I can’t remember the website but there is a UK website for bookbinders that has some great stuff. I ordered some granules that remove the smell. All you need is to put the book into an airtight container on top of the granules and some weeks later the smell disappears well at least for mustiness. Never tried cat urine but it’s worth a try

Have ordered successfully from Ardis before. Condition as advertised, securely shipped, and -- thankfully -- odor free!