At one point the site used to be really good - great/friendly customer service, excellent quality items & reasonable prices.
What came next within the last year or so at least (should i speculate whether this has been a blatant attempt to maintain maximum profits during 'covid'?), standards COMPLETELY dropped.
Items in such poor condition they would not even make a charity store being sent (severely water damaged books at times, books looking like a dog has eaten them, books with loose pages/binding, books with significant creasing, etc)!
To make matters worse, these books have usually been listed in their 'standard' condition (which appears to be akin to 'good or very good') while they SHOULD'VE been correctly listed as 'less than standard' (a condition the site claims to have).
Refunds have been reluctantly/grudgingly given in cases like this - seemingly with no genuine understanding of the inconvenience of then needing to source these same books elsewhere - which can be made infinitely harder if a 'rare' book!
In fact, customer service staff (usually higher staff members such as 'ashley' their 'customer care MANAGER'), attempt to remain tactful, while coldly 'polite' - without actual empathy/understanding/humanity - only profit motive.
Wouldn't it be thought that a GENUINE, HONEST & ETHICAL business of ANY kind not only 'own up' to their own slipped standards & poor customer service but also adhere to THEIR 'guarantee' (listed prominently on their site)?
No, instead, i had a newer order cancelled, ALL blame put on me for the 'increase' in refunded items (not ONCE addressing the MASSIVE, worrying drop in quality of items).
Laughably, i was told:
"... it's become clear that we're unable to meet your condition needs. Due to this, and the fact that such a high rate of refunds has become cost-prohibitive for us, we're unable to continue shipping orders to you."
BIG problem is, they don't even meet THEIR OWN 'condition' standards - not specifically MINE!

Here's their general condition that they claim to have/follow:
"Standard
What does "Standard" condition mean at Powell's? Books in good or better condition, free of writing or other markings in the text (with the possible exception of a previous owner's name in the front). The great majority of the books in our stock fall into this category. In short, when a book is listed as "Standard," you can expect it to be a high quality copy."

"All our new, used, and out-of-print books are in good reading condition — guaranteed.
We recognize that ordering used books on the Web, sight unseen, requires trust. If you've ever tried to sell us your old books, you know firsthand how tough our standards are (haha - we wish!). By enforcing strict quality guidelines, we can guarantee that every book we sell, new or used, is a good reading copy."

A LOT of FALSE/FRAUDULENT/DISHONEST claims made on their website - insult to injury, one of the worst is:
"We're nothing without our customers. Powell's would not be the destination it is now without its loyal customers." - CLEARLY COMPLETELY FALSE, unless you're a customer who is fine with near throw-away/give-away items amongst ones that DO fit their (meaningless) 'standards'.
Based on the proud history of this store displayed on the website, personally, i'd say the store's founder/s would be rolling in their graves to see just how their 'family business' is being conducted AND how their 'loyal customers' are treated!
STAY WELL AWAY!