Day before yesterday I ordered two books from Kitabain.com. I am so happy to have found such an easy way to buy books that I decided to write a review of the website and the service.
Kitabain.com is a marketplace for used and new books. Any one can signup for free to sell or buy books. As far as I know this is the first every Pakistani website to offer this service. For people in Karachi the shipping rates are RS. 50 per order of less than 6 books. If you buy six or more books then shipping is free.
Web interface for the website is very simple. However, browsing the books and advanced search features are not very good. For example in advanced search you can not search by author name or ISBN number. Categories are also not very well organized. For example there could be lots of sub categories for Fiction like mysteries, romance, thriller, historical, etc.
The search feature is good, I searched for Stephen King and found many relevant results. But I think it would be better if I was able to search for the books by particular authors. This would save me a lot of time.
I placed the order for two Stephen King books, and received a call the same day. I was asked to confirm my order and was told that my books will arrive day after tomorrow. I was a little concerned about the condition of the books. But when the delivery arrived the books were as good as new. However I was a little disappointed that they were not wrapped or even had a shopping bag. I think that Kitabain.com should get their own paper bags or plastic bags this will look more professional.
Overall I am impressed with the service, the collection of books, lower prices, and easy on-delivery payment option.
