Review : TheBookDepository to Malaysia *Updated 2023*

NOTE: Book Depository closed down in 2023, so Amazon bought it, then decided to close it down - perhaps to remove one of its biggest competitors. I hate you, Amazon. TheBookDepository, there is nothing like you T^T

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Hey guys,

I think I need to update this post, it's been 8 years since I wrote this original post about The Book Depository review and people keep coming to this particular post when they are having problems with TBD or thinking about buying books there + worried about the shipping all the way to Malaysia.  

• I first started to buy books from TBD in 2011
• I ordered >30 books from them (18 orders)
• 1 parcel was missing and I got a full refund (in 2011)
• Other books arrived safe and sound
• I also ordered a book during Covid19 pandemic in Sept 2020 and got the book a month later in Oct 2020
• I ordered again during the pandemic on the 23rd of April 2021, and I received the books on the 25th of May 2021. This time the postman left it right in front of my apartment door (anyone can actually take it - but thankfully another postman was sending another parcel and we noticed the parcel). I ordered 3 books by Beatrice Blue from the same publisher, they were bigger than A4 size but quite thin, so they were packed together in 1 parcel.
• I ordered the last Carlos Ruiz Zafon book on the 30th Jan 2022 and received my book on the 15th of Feb (around 2 weeks later)
• I preordered Hanya Yanagihara's To Paradise in Nov '22, it was released and posted on the 1st of Jan 2023 and arrived in my letterbox less than 3 weeks later.

These are some of the books that I bought from TBD in 2 different orders :

So let me update this posts : 

• Shipping: Yes, they are still sending books without any shipping fees. From what I can see, whenever I bought 3 books, 3 different individual parcels would arrive, they were never packed into one parcel. I think that's how they manage to send parcels for free (I'm assuming). So don't worry about the postman can't send your parcel safely when you are not at home. As long as you have a 'locked mailbox', those parcels will be safe. Pos Malaysia will deliver it to your home.
• It is safe to send it to your uni/office? : Reminder, anyone can take your parcels. No one will have to sign anything, so if you trust your co-workers or people from your mailing centre, please do so. But you can't blame anyone when it goes missing. 
• Book quality: They are all new books, I don't think they are selling second-hand books. 
• Tax: No tax fees. You just have to pay for the book.
• How long it will take? : I once received a book 2 weeks after I bought it, and I once received a book 2 months after I bought it. So it depends on the shipping situation I guess.  
• How to pay for the books: Credit/debit card (default) + Paypal (You can change to Paypal payment after you set the currency setting to USD$ )
• Lost/missing parcels: Please write to their support centre after 2 months of the order. I'm not sure how they deal with this problem nowadays. In the older day (several years ago), I once lost one order and I asked the support centre. They gave me a full refund. I double-checked my address and my mailbox was locked, so I genuinely didn't receive any parcels. No lost parcels afterwards.

For me, TBD is still the best place to buy books online.

They are way cheaper (with sales) and have free shipping. Cheaper than books sold in bookstores in Malaysia. Plus, you can find books that are not sold here / hard to find locally (especially graphic novels and visual books). I don't mind waiting longer ❤

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The old post was written on the 23rd of March 2012 :

Yay! 2 weeks ago I ordered this book from Depositorybooks and it arrived last weekend from the UK.

With :
1. Free shipping
2. Fast delivery
3. Discount

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This is my second attempt with The Book Depository. I've been searching for online websites that sell books and offer free shipping, and this caught my eye. Several months ago, I ordered 2 discounted graphic books from the web but they never arrived. After 2 months of waiting, I reported to them about my books and got a full refund in a week. Pretty neat. No fuss.

Email I received :

Dear Azreen,
I am very sorry to hear that your order has not yet arrived; As this is clearly overdue we are happy to offer you a refund or a replacement whichever you prefer? 

Kind Regards,
Customer Advisor

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2 weeks ago, I decided to try it again. I was not convinced that their management is bad because I've read several good reviews about this website *and they offer free shipping! Who would refuse that? So I ordered again anyway.  I was willing to give a second chance to answer my curiosity! :E

The payment was made via PayPal and credited to maybank2u, which was super easy. 

Postage fees = free. Ordered, confirmed and waited. It arrived home after 2 weeks. Satisfied :)

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Anyhow, I did read some bad comments on Depositorybooks. So, it depends on your luck! Just be patient, they offer a full refund, you won't lose anything and you'll gain experience. Try to take from the good side of everything :)

Cycle : Cycling Paths in Putrajaya

I actually stopped running since my last half-marathon last year and so we started cycling in Putrajaya. We cycled several times on Obike and also OFO, because I'm not interested in investing on a new machine. Usually I used Obike because I've deposited money on the app early this year and I keep on using my points instead of paying, but I tried OFO bicycle last weekend and I think I'm switching to the new and shiny bicycles instead :F Most Obike bicycles in Putrajaya are in pretty bad shape (because they started earlier than OFO), so I had no choice but to try the other app.

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New cycling path (Path 3) - around 7 km : 

We like to try new cycling paths in Putrajaya, because the city is huge !

Last weekend we tried another new path and I'm quite happy with our new finding.

On this path, we found at least 4 lookout points, where we can go to the middle of the lake to take photos. There were several bird islands and I'm really happy to have found such beauty in the middle of the lake. We stopped several times in this journey.

We also found an abandoned exercise park, a lot of paths in the middle of upgrading process (so some of the places are nice, some were in pretty bad shape), 2 wooden bridges (that we didn't cross on our bike), and the entrance to Alamanda ! (from the cinema entrance). We also came across Taman Warisan Pertanian (I want to go there next time) and the house of the Deputy Prime Minister. 

We started around 5.30 pm, and I really love how silent the path was. 

No one was around compared to Path 2.

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This is the map for our new path last weekend (Path 3)  :

Pro : 

• Not so many people on this path, quite calm
• Several look-out points & wooden bridges across the lake
• Bird islands ❤ !
• A lot of trees 
• You can stop by at Alamanda 
• A bit hilly here-and-there

Cons :

• You can use this path during day-time only 
• They are currently improving the path ways, so there a lot of construction sites

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Path 2 - around 10km : 

We've been using this path for many times since new year, I already brought my siblings twice here during weekends as well. 

We always use this path in the morning. After several times, we decided to explore other paths in Putrajaya.

Pro : 

• Crowd : Medium
• Some paths - A lot of people jogging, cycling, and doing aerobics , some paths : calmer & less people around.
• One whole perfect cycling path around the whole island
• My favorite area is around the Taman Wawasan's path
• A lot of super-fancy houses to 'cuci mata'

Cons :

• You can use this path during day-time only 
• A bit hot, less trees in some paths

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Path 1 - Around 9km :

This is the most basic cycling path, I think I used this path many times for jogging and cycling. It is easy, flat, but a lot of people and cars (I hate cars) and you can cycle at night.

Pro : 

• Crowd : A lot of people and cars
• Easy-peasy, flat road 
• Suitable for a relaxing night activity

Cons :

• You can use this path during night + day-time
• Buildings and more buildings, less green
• Boring

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There are so many other cycling paths that are waiting to be explored, 

I've already planned for several more explorations ❤

I will update this post whenever I use a new path.

Interview : KOSMO

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I've been featured in today's KOSMO.

Thanks Miss Sally ❤

Right click & open image in next tab to view bigger size.

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