Hive.co.uk - an online bookshop Reviews 

My book arrived under 24 hours after I ordered it, via Royal Mail. I received frequent updates on my order status. Very happy to have discovered this so I can still support physical bookshops (which are my favourite places!) especially now, during lockdown.......

Wonderful store! Great prices, great range of titles, free and fast delivery, supporting local bookshops and a cheeky student discount! What more could one ask for?

Great experience with hive. Dispatched the book very quickly and insured it was delivered swiftly. Came in very good condition as well

I have been using Hive for over 5 years and think they're fantastic. I order lots of books all the time. Their prices are good, they deliver very quickly, they give some money to local bookshops, delivery is free...what more could anyone want? I'm so surprised that there are any negative reviews, my extensive experience has been wholly positive.

Great selection, Great service. Always arrives on time. Have ordered three times now. Love that I can support local book shops.

Keep trying to order books from different sites rather than using Amazon. Ordered a book on the 14th December still not had it. It was a Christmas gift as well so that’s awesome that it didn’t arrive for Christmas. I sent an email to chase it and didn’t get a response. Looks like they took my money and disappeared with it. No idea what’s going on!

ordered a cd 3 weeks ago which has not arrived ,all they say is it has been posted..paypal made them reimberse me .

Much prefer going into a book shop and taking my time to find a new book although Hive is a good alternative during the current way of the world, they do have a good range of books for all genres and ages and have been good for christmas presents this year.

Placed order on 1st December still no delivery or update as to when will be dispatched so will now buy from elsewhere as needed for Xmas.
Did try and support the high street but let down by Hive.co.uk

Very happy with Hive. Excellent *m*z*n alternative. Reasonably priced and items delivered free 2nd class.

Really good for book and dvd purchasing. However they seem to have retroactively changed the T&Cs on their eAudiobook downloads so that they're only available for a year from purchase and can only be downloaded three times. As a result all of my past audiobook purchases are no longer available. Which is, to say the least of it, really rubbish.

EDIT: Having contacted customer services, the two missing (erroneously) missing links were restored and a one-time download link was provided so that I could backup the title that had expired. I'm adding an extra star for this excellent customer service.

I wanted to try Hive as an alternative to Amazon, and was keen to support a local high street independent bookseller through them. An admirable ambition for Hive and I really like the concept, especially in current times.
The price for the item was a little more than Amazon ( but not by much, and other items were priced on a par with Amazon ) and the delivery time was a little longer than I expected from their website. However, the experience was generally a good one and I have just ordered from them again.

Have used six or seven times so far with no issues. Price is pretty good compared to other online retailers. Sometimes even cheaper than Amazon, although not quite as broad a range of stock.

Also glad to be supporting local book shops. Do give them a go as an alternative to the market leader.

Absolutely awful experience. Cancelled my pre-order (placed one month in advance) the day after release, after failing to secure adequate stock from the publisher. The edition I wanted is now sold out everywhere else. After various back and forth emails with their unhelpful customer service team, the best they would offer me was a voucher code off a future purchase. Shop elsewhere.

Extremely happy with my experience with Hive, great prices, fast delivery and a large selection of literature.
My only complaint is that the restock times for manga can be quite slow but it is what it is, still very happy with it

Ordered one evening, delivered within 36 hrs. Great price. Well packed. Fantastic at keeping me up to date on progress of order. Brilliant service and so nice they support local book shops.

Love the idea of hive and found an e-book that I really wanted. Can’t get it to open despite downloading adobe apps as instructed. Customer service was “page not found”. Sorry Hive I won’t be back. I’ve written off the wasted money as a learning experience.

I want to start off by saying that I love the concept of Hive and the fact that it’s a more ethical alternative to Amazon. Hive will donate a portion of each sale to a local bookshop, which helps to keep out High streets alive. Also, their prices are very competitive and often cheaper than Amazon. What’s not to love?

Well...turns out they aren’t completely consistent with their service. I’ve had a few deliveries from them and some have turned up much later than expected. I can understand this due to Covid, but they really need to include any delays on their website. My daughter ordered a manga from Hive and it didn’t turn up at all. She managed to get a refund in the end but the whole experience stressed her out, as she’s new to online book buying.

One time I waited weeks for a book only to be told that they would have to cancel my order and refund me.

Despite this I keep returning to Hive because I like to believe that they will get better and I’d still rather use them over Amazon.

But I have to admit, one more mistake from them and I won’t be using again. It’s just not worth the hassle.

Great prices, fast delivery. A great alternative to Amazon.

I am sorry that this company has received some negative reviews - I have just started using them and found their customer service helpful and also used the site to identify an independent bookshop near me and bought direct from them. If you choose, you can buy directly from Hive.co.uk and nominate a high street shop to receive a share of the profit.