I am an online college student at Grace Christian University & have my books shipped to me. When it was time to return one of my textbooks I was having trouble getting the return label printed so I called & asked if I could physically return it(I only live 40 mins from the bookstore) Anthony said I could so my daughter & I made the quick trip, returned the book & treated ourselves to mocha frappes! Best mocha frappes EVER!! And very friendly service! I will be returning all my text books physically just so I can get a frappe...and maybe a cool tote bag! :)

The partnership between my school and tree of life has been nothing but a detriment. Through undergrad and the first half of my graduate program I had no issue sourcing my own books for a fraction of the cost of the textbook butler program. I dislike the ebook reader provided and find the format inconvenient, but I cannot afford to pay an additional hundred dollars to guarantee print copies of books (and thats before the added shipping fees that are way over what they need to be).I already own some of the books required for my classes this semester, but theres no option to only receive some of the books listed. With this, the flat fee seems even more expensive since Im being charged for things neither needed nor wanted.Last semester my rental return arrived well before the due date (as per the tracking information) but it took forever to process, and during that period I received several emails stating that I would be charged for the book if not returned. With the return label provided by them, shouldnt they be able to figure out that the book was already with them?Overall, the service provided here is the opposite of the convenience it is touted as, and with additional fees everywhere it just feels exploitative even before considering the ongoing pandemic. I would absolutely opt out of this program if I could (you can opt out of the service but youll still be charged, so its essentially a non-option) and source my books from somewhere more affordable and more convenient.Edit: With a new semester beginning, it has come to my attention that there are materials needed for my courses that are not provided through tree of life. So on top of paying more to not be able to source my own course materials, I have to now source other materials on my own for yet another additional charge. I would give ToL a negative star if it were possible.

The biggest scam of my educational pursuit. They refuse to accept back RENTED books, and charge you extra fees. I hope to never be subjected to their services in any of my future program endeavors. If you can opt out....you should. It’s a money grab.

We loved the selection of books and childrens stories! The coffee was great too!

If folks in Marion, Indiana truly knew how this company treated many of its college students outside of Indiana, they would not support this business. Ive witnessed hundreds of frustrated students not being able to access their textbooks and/or receiving used textbooks with coffee stains, oversized print, etc. Too often, Tree of Life acts as the Jerry Falwell, Jr. of so-called Christian bookstores, proclaiming good business and functionality while doing harm to the Lords name and mission. Beware of a wolf in sheeps clothing.

Very frustrating. Too often I have problems accessing my books. Working full time while going to school limits my availability for studying. So when this site goes down or I cant access my books, it is detrimental to my college education. I am grateful that our school occasionally uses another provider so it doesnt impact all of my classes. I just wish my school stopped using Tree of Life.

Great place and great people!

This bookstore has an agreement with my school. Due to a busy schedule only now have I taken the time to look into their prices (of course when I am in the second half of my last class). I use the rent option because as a single mother I cannot afford to purchase all of the text books. Even so, their prices are inflated. Im very disappointed to find this out and feel cheated. I have had to contact customer service in the past due to a questionable charge on my account. They fixed the issue no problem but it was still confusing (they refunded the book, recharged it and then refunded and re-bought it several times). I have had a class removed from my schedule and they accepted the book back no problem. So all in all customer service is doing their job. Just, students, remember - you have OPTIONS on where to buy your textbooks from.UPDATE:The Director of Support, Nathan reached out to me shortly after posting my review and offered to make things right. While I usually dont respond to such offers, I did thank him and noted that I was taking my final course at my school and since I would no longer need Tree of Lifes services, I assumed there is nothing that can be done. He got back to me with a very gracious offer. Although I wish it was on other terms, the dedication to customer service at this point was admirable. I very much appreciate them and the update to my review has reflected a change in stars, 2 to 5, to show this.

It’s great to see good service does exist. I received a call from the Director of Customer Service shortly after my post. He was able to turn frustration into a positive experience. Thank you for you assistance. I truly appreciate it.

I am kind of shocked to see so many similar 1 star reviews for this Christian bookstore from right around the same time period all saying pretty much the same thing. I have had nothing but good experiences being at Tree Of Life. In fact, they are very very friendly people working there. And I can get some pretty good deals at times on Bibles!! It just seems a little odd that these bad reviewers sound a lot alike and around the same time period. Smells fishy to me. I know there are people out there of the world working together to make a better convincing attempt to try and drag down Christian companies. Thats real!! If you are Christian yourself, why dont you try a little harder to build others up as well instead? Being a Christian isnt about getting your revenge as soon as you can. Living in the flesh is. Your telling me you couldnt e-mail them or go to the store and talk in person about what happened? Amen and amen! Thank you Lord for a wonderful review that I hope will get a lot of likes, but will also bring some well deserved conviction! Aiight!!!

They didnt have the book I was looking for (Jesus Calling, Morning & Evening by Sarah Young). The employee offered to order it and he called me when it was in a few days later. GREAT customer service! Thank you.

I am a guardian of one of the students and her college has an agreement with this bookstore for textbooks. They are freaking expensive. On their homepage they mention this Early on, local students and administrators came to us with a problem: textbooks were too expensive, and Tree of Life was selling the same titles for less. Which is just opposite to what they do. They make students life a hell if they want to return a book. They just do not take it back and talk about all the stupid agreement with the college. Even though we have selected a buy used book plan they never send you a used one and always send a new one for a ridiculous amount. If youre a student or a guardian and your college has an agreement with them I would suggest that you opt out of this. It will cost you a hell lot of money. You can easily get books outside for way cheaper.

Poor customer service, faulty policies, and no guarantee that your shipments will make it into your possession. I had an issue with my books not showing up about a month ago. I contacted the book store and they told me there was nothing that could be done other than sending me out an additional shipment at an additional cost to me. I learned that this company is utilized as a third party vendor and does not offer insurance on the shipments. Also, it does not offer a signature option to receive your packages/ shipments. Basically, there is no insurance or safeguard to guarantee that these pricey books will be delivered safely to your door. The company only uses the tracking number from the USPS and trusts that this is enough. When I contacted the company I spoke to a representative, and I was told that if the books showed up, they could credit my account or issue a refund. In order that I had my books to complete my school assignments, I purchased books at a much cheaper price from another vendor. In the meantime, my books showed up. Now, I have two sets of pricey books. When I contacted the bookstore to share the news, I was then told that there was no refund going to be issued unless it was a duplicate shipment sent by the bookstore. I told the representative in a calm manner, Thank you. I will be taking this issue up with the school. The representative then hung up the phone and did not say goodbye or thank me for calling. Very poor and unprofessional customer service.

Amazing selection, considering their size. Nice staff. And full service on what they can get for you.

Amazing employees/customer service! love the selection of books!

A lot of the ratings for this place have to do with textbooks, but if you are looking for a Christian bookstore, this is a great place! Very good selection of books in many categories including fiction, biographies, family, teens, and Bible studies, good selection of Dayspring cards, nice childrens area and large Bible selection. And hey, Abbey coffee right adjoining! Not a lot here in gifts or music.

Got our daughter an NIV Bible and she luvs it they are very nice there

Clean pleasant atmosphere. Good selection. Good service on bookstore side. Have no been to coffee area.

DONT sell your AMAZON BOOKS to this bookstore. I am not the only person this has happened to if you read the comments. They purchased my book and then over 2 months later said they never got it and asked for a refund. Amazon of course gave it to them and are making me pay for a book that I dont even have anymore. I also tracked this book and I know it was delivered. They are thieves and dishonest jerks. I want the money they stole from me back.

I want to thank every single one of them for what they did it was wonderful.

Loved the selection of Bibles and other resources to use in your walk with the Lord. Just wish they still carried cds

Amazon sellers beware!!! DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY. Its wrong what people like this do to others. Looking for a free item to overprice to students just trying to better themselves. Its a shame.

Excellent facility, friendly environment. Great service.

Mainly christian books would love larger selection

If I could give Tree of Life a negative star I would. I was charged for books I never received. There is no way to confirm that their OVER PRICED books were delivered because they dont require signatures or have insurance on shipments. Customer service is rude and condescending. Insinuating I was either lying or that they could care less if I got my books or not. They told ME to do the leg work to figure out where my books were delivered. ?? And REFUSED to reship the books unless i paid another $600 for 1 book and an access code. I found the book they charged me $400 for (that never was delivered)on Amazon for $59. Moral of the story is...SHOP AMAZON BEFORE BEING RIPPED OFF BY TREE OF LIFE!!!

My experience with TOL has been nothing but terrible! The school I attend contracts with them for textbooks, and sets you up to receive them automatically. I realized before I got my first book that I could get WAY better pricing on Amazon ($98 for used, compared to $225 for the new one TOL was going to send me - you cant request used for your first class because they set up ALL accounts to default to new) I called to ask them not to ship the book, and was told they couldnt because it happens automatically and that the only thing I could do was to return the book once I received it. THEN when I called to ask how to go about returning it, I was told they dont accept returns. THAT was for my first class.The one thing that is nice is the convenience of automatically getting the right books, so I decided to give them one more shot. Today, I received the book for my second class - they charged me $120 for a USED book that I can buy NEW on Amazon for $103, AND they charged a $14.99 shipping fee for something that could have been sent USPS flat rate parcel for $7.20. And of course I cant return it!Guess who will be opting out of this service?

This local bookstore has a great customer service, good coffee, and a great atmosphere.

This bookstore ordered a book from me on Amazon, received the book they ordered, then requested a refund and didnt return my book!! They got their money back and got to keep my book that I could have sold for over a hundred dollars !!! So unethical and messed up!I told them Im just a college student with $15 until next month and it had cost me $17 to ship. So I spent money to send them something, and they still won! So dont ship here! They rob college kids on amazon!

Amazon Cheater. I am a victim of this Bookstore. The owner bought my book through Amazon and requested return. He got full refund, but never return my book. What a cheater

Really cant recommend this as I was charged a new price for a very used, ink written, three color highlighted Legal Terminology book which was $197.94. When I asked why that was so high for such a poor condition book they claimed it was only available in a new book format. Clearly mine wasnt a new book. Even funnier was that fact that the book did not match the class which was called legal ethics and this textbook was not relevent for the course as it was only on legal terms. I dropped the class when it became clear I had stumbled into an extremely dodgy scene. Expensive drop shipped books, very high book rates, very low buy backs as well as typos and gramatical errors as well as printing errors were found in textbooks. I was sold one additional book at $103.00 and when I called some 5 weeks later to sell back the book I was quoted $18.00. The book had an ISBN number price on it for $89.00 so I am not sure how it got to me some 40% higher. I will let you decide for yourself what is going on here... really a pity that it masquerades as a biblical institution.

I would consider shopping elsewhere for your books. You can get the same books from Chegg much cheaper.

Very disappointed in this company - I sell books for a living and they have rejected numerous orders from me claiming that theyre fake - The same books from the same seller I bought from that this company rejected have been accepted by numerous other far larger companies and more reputable companies including Chegg and Amazon - Sellers should definitely beware before shipping books to them as its theyre policy to destroy them and not pay you!

Great selection of books with adjoining coffee shop.

Today I compared prices on a current textbook, and Tree of Life charged me $200 MORE than the most expensive price I could find at other retailers. Theyre ripping students off. I will NEVER get books from this place again!

Was ok except for the rap music

Awesome book store.

Very helpful and friendly

Good selection

Happy customer here!

Horrible customer service!!!!do not purchase from them. Go to amazon instead!

Terrible customer service and over-priced books.

They worked with me when I had concerns.

Yay god

Luv

Ok selection

Poor customer service

SCAM SCAM SCAM