Hive.co.uk - an online bookshop Reviews 

Great! Item arrived fast, well packaged and will buy again

I did have an issue with a purchase, as there is currently no way to cancel / edit an order - even straight away. However Hive quickly responded to my review on here and when I contacted them, they provided a resolution, so I have edited my review. I would still say to other customers to be careful when ordering outside business hours as there is no way to edit an order.

I would also say my order arrived very quickly and its great that Hive are finding a way to work with bookshops while delivering an on-line service.

Update: issue is resolved, impressive customer service team! Thank you, you truly deserve 5 stars!
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I purchased an e-book that was advertised as "download immediately available". But here I am, 7 hours and counting and there is still no link to download the book or even read it online. It was reasonably priced but I regret my purchase because I have a submission deadline and the only reason I bought the book was because my university library didn't have an electronic copy and I just wanted the book for reference. I have contacted the sellers via PayPal asking for a refund. So if you're purchasing an e-book and want an immediate access to the book, beware that "immediate" has a wider lexical range than usual word usage implies :(

5 stars experience! I received the book I ordered in 2 days, and they kept me informed along its journey to me.
Not to mention the price and the free delivery.
Will buy from them again for sure!

Rather on the spur of the moment I decided to use the HIVE website to purchase a Blu Ray ( note : at the point of ordering the website showed more than 10 in stock ) and even paid for Premium Delivery to ensure I would receive it quickly!

More than a week later having neither received the item nor any communication - I emailed customer service only to be told that the item was now "out of stock" ( and remember it clearly WASNT when I ordered it ) I was re-assured that they were just awaiting stock - but now, more than a month later, I have been advised that my order has been cancelled and refunded.

A. I don't understand how the website allowed me to place my order ( and pay extra for the delivery ) if the product was not in stock ? Indeed why make it SO clear on the ordering page that it WAS in stock if you don't have accurate stock volume numbers ??

B. I am not happy that it was me that had to chase for an update on my order - surely its basic customer service that your system should automatically flag and communicate issues ref revised stock levels ? / delayed dispatch / orders that cannot be fulfilled ?

It is a shame as I genuinely like the concept of HIVE ( the only reason I gave them 2 stars instead of 1 for this experience ) but frankly I am not sure I will be prepared to risk ordering from them again as opposed to one of the bigger online retailers and that makes me sad.

First time ordering with Hive. It was a pleasant experience. I Ordered a book and it was delivered very quickly. The book was also in very good condition and packaged well.

Alongside that, they also offer a nice 10% student discount and donate a small percentage of the order total to support a local bookstore of your choice.

After my first order was fulfilled so well, I would use them again.

Shocking customer service. Refused quidco cashback, said they didn't offer cashback, didn't know they were on Quidco or Topcashback and then they decided they were and sent me instructions on how to use Quidco. My email to customer service was asking why they had refused cashback, so that was an extremely infuriating customer services chain of emails. I only used them once, but if they refuse cashback and that's the level of their customer service response then I won't be using them again, I'll stick with a more reliable cashback providing outlet. Their responses were so ridiculous I doubt they were 'Amy' or Luke'. A shame really as the product was a reasonable price, comparable to Amazon and arrived ok. I try and not buy from Amazon if another company is comparable, but Hive is definitly off my list given the experience with their atrocious customer services. It wasn't so much the refusal of the cashback, but the response I received from them.

Speedy delivery, great communication and a good cause. I'm so impressed with my recent experience of Hive after having a terrible experience with Wordery and a pretty bad experience at Blackwells too. Hive dispatched my order really quickly and gave me brilliant tracking information. Throughly impressed with the service I received.

Excellent. Now buy all my books, and as much music as is possible, via Hive. Better value than Amazon and 100 times more morally right. Bravi !

Instructions on how to download an eBook are very unclear. You have to go to their website and read the instructions from there! First time I have ever had to do that! After purchasing the book on Saturday and wanting to start reading it straight away, I am still no where any closer to downloading it 3 days later! Customer Service was very good and have given me a refund but sadly for Hive I will have to go elsewhere to purchase the book!

This is not a service that is quite as fast or has the product range of Amazon, and I don't think it's right to directly compare the two, but I think it's the best alternative that there is and the support for local businesses is a great bonus.

Prices are usually petty reasonable and having placed quite a few orders over lock down, all have been delivered without problems.

They also donate to portion of the sales to a local book shop of your choice, so that's a nice way to support small traders in these times.

Always deliver on time. Great way to support independent businesses and bookshops. Great that they match amazon prices too!!

generous student discount, extensive stock and free delivery. also most prices are to be matched with competitors

I used this website to buy a book, and even paid Premium Delivery to ensure it could come on time.

Nearly a week later and I've not recieved an update and there doesn't seem to be an option to track the order. After looking into it myself, I discovered that the book I purchased was out of stock. But this wasn't indicated on the website when I bought the book!

I don't understand how the website allowed me to purchase a book (and pay extra for the delivery) if the product was never in stock..

Tried getting in touch with customer services about this but haven't had a response :(

I love what Hive is trying to do (e.g, support local book stores) but I'm quite dissapointed.

Ordered three books late on Thursday last week - arrived this morning, well packaged and in perfect condition. Prices were (at least) as good as anywhere and emails and a text from Hive informed me when the books were going to be delivered. I have had nothing but good service from this bookseller, having now spent a few hundred pounds with them.

Ordered a record. Cheap price, free delivery, very fast and efficient service. Will be buying from these again.

Had a brief issue with the checkout that kept an item from a previous basket. I sent an email when I saw the confirmation and Debbie resolved for me in less than a day. Wonderful service

Ordered a book that never came and takes ages for them to respond the emails, still.... no money back....

Superb. Thought for the price I was getting pre-loved/damaged books but two brand new books arrived inside 48 hrs. Loved that I could support my local bookshop too. Will def use again.

I ordered Jon Sopel's new book which was delivered very promptly at a very fair price too, also very happy that I'm still supporting local book shops despite the pandemic!