Boekhandel De Slegte Antwerpen — Local services in Antwerp

I am very upset with a situation that has occurred at the Boekhandel De Slegte Antwerpen and what I feel was a poor and unfair decision made by Store Manager Mr. Kris Landuyt.

Although I have requested a rare book was reserved for me via email due to their website not allowing for purchases with shipping to the USA, the book was sold to another customer who purchased it after my request was made. I alerted the store of the chronological order of events prior to the item being shipped to the person who bought it after I requested it, and they acknowledged that my request came in first, but they are refusing to honor it.

Here is the chronology of events:

Thursday, May 28th 9pm - I requested images of the book, but received no reply.

Friday, May 29th 7:33pm - I again asked for imaged, expressed my intent to purchase and asked for the book to be reserved, and requested information regarding shipping costs to the USA.

Saturday, May 30th 2:09pm - I called Boekhandel De Slegte Antwerpen but no one picked up the phone.

Monday, June 1st - I called multiple times, but no one picked up the phone.

Tuesday, June 2nd 1:19pm - I called, but no one picked up the phone.

Tuesday, June 2nd 1:24pm - I called, and spoke to Katrien who advised the book was sold to someone else, and that their purchase was made approximately 2 hours after my reservation request was made, but that the book had not been shipped to them. She told me to email Kris Landuyt about it.

Tuesday, June 2nd 1:51pm - I emailed Kris Landuyt to explain the situation and request that my expressing of intent to purchase and reservation request be honored.

Wednesday, June 3rd 6pm - I received an email from Kris Landuyt stating "As we were very busy, we did not recognize your mail as being urgent." and that my reservation request will not be honored.

Wednesday, June 3rd 6:07pm - I emailed Kris Landuyt to reconsider as his decision did not seem in line with fairness and he did not provide any solution to the problem or guidance about how I can avoid it going forward.

Wednesday, June 3rd 6:24pm - I emailed Kris Kanduyt and the Antwerp store to ask for the store owner's information and that the book not be shipped so I could appeal this decision.

Thursday, June 4th 1:30pm - I called to asked for Kris Landuyt as I had not received a reply to my emails. He was there, but when he found out I was calling he told the person I spoke to that he was leaving for lunch and to call back at 2:30pm.

Thursday, June 4th 2:35pm - I called and spoke to Kris Landuyt. He confirmed my request was received first, but not seen first, and even though the book was not shipped that my request will not be honored.

I am upset that my reservation was not honored, but I am also upset that it has taken me so much time and energy to try to get a reply from the store and convince them to do the right thing by honoring the reservation that came in first. I do not understand why I should be penalized by not being able to purchase this book because my reservation was not seen first even though it was made first. Especially considering I alerted the store of this fact prior to shipment to the other customer. I would understand if the book was already shipped, but it was not.

Very...

Terrible service. Careful if you're going to transact with this bookstore online with their customer service. I've sent payment via Paypal and the customer service denied that they have received my payment. I have receipts and confirmation that the payment went in the bank account they provided and their customer service did not respond after I requested for a follow-up of my payment. So, basically no book for me and I...

This is the place to be in case you want a new soft-, or hard-cover paper companion. They have an extensive selection of books. Any topic that you can think of has to be represented on one of their shelves. Many of these books are second hand ones, in pristine shape. Whenever I am in Antwerp I stop here, just to check out whether I can find a classic novel to upgrade some of my idle hours in...