Customer returns $800 in books after using them as props, distraught store owner says

A shopper at an Illinois bookstore asked for a refund after using $800 in books as props for their home, the shop’s co-owner said.

Now Volumes Bookcafe has been flooded with business from customers supporting the independent Chicago bookstore.

Rebecca George, the co-owner of the store, said the order was one of its largest of the month. But the shopper, George said, only purchased the books to stage their home for the holidays.

“Please don’t do this to a small business, people.” George said in her emotional Jan. 9 tweet. “That one sale was a third of our rent.”

Because the refund request came after the shop’s three-day purchase period, the shopper’s money was not refunded. Instead, they received store credit for the $800 order, according to WGN.

George’s tweet has been viewed 6.9 million times as of Monday, Jan. 16, including by “fiercely loyal” customers who have since bought books in droves to help offset the loss.

Volumes Bookcafe receives 20 online orders in a typical day, but had 390 the day after George’s tweet went viral, she told WBBM.

Orders have come “from all over the U.S.,” according to WMAQ

“The notes that people are putting on their orders are so sweet and lovely. And yeah, if I could hug every one of them, I would,” George told WBBM.

She called the situation “not ideal,” adding in a Twitter post that she jumped through hoops to please the customer who asked for a refund.

“Thank you! You’ve made a huge difference for us when we needed it,” she told shoppers.

This story was originally published January 16, 2023 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Customer returns $800 in books after using them as props, distraught store owner says."