Karen’s Books

I had the same exact experience as Lalo (see Oct. 2 review). I ordered two books on October 7 — the website said they were in stock. (If the website said «out of stock» or «backordered» I would not have placed the order.) Hearing nothing for 3 weeks, I called them on October 28 and was told they should be in that week. I waited another 2 weeks and called again. I was told they were still waiting on the books. I have received books from them in the past, but also after a lengthy wait and a phone call to check up on the status. Bottom line: they CAN get hard to find books, but you may have to wait weeks or months to get them, and they will not contact you to let you know of any delays. If you check your order status online it will say «completed», but it was explained to me that this is for their own internal tracking only. So — your mileage may vary with this company. They are very nice on the phone, but be aware that you may not get the books you order for quite some time. Keep this in mind if you are planning to purchase books for Christmas presents…(unless it’s for 2015).

My husband ordered a railroad book from Karen’s Books 2 weeks ago. The website said they had it, so we ordered the book. We had not received the book for a couple of weeks, so I called Karen’s books. The first time (last week), they said that they were in the middle of changing warehouse, so they had a delay in the orders. Today, I called them again to find out what was going on. They said that they could not find the book (it was out of stock). I told them that the website said they had it and we already paid for it. So, I told them I want the money back. They said that we just a pre-​authorization and that the money was not there anymore. I don’t recommend that anyone purchase books from them. I feel that if you don’t have a certain book you should remove it from the website. I told them we would never order from them again.

I’ve been there on several occasions to buy books about railroads. Karen is a sweetheart! She’s not really set up for walk-​in customers, but has always allowed me to stop by and browse.