VitalSource TechnologiesReviews of vitalsource.com

The app itself is laggy and loads very slowly. Changed internet connections and it is still the same. I flipped one page and it takes a while just to load it. So does that mean every page I flipped I need to wait for it to load for a moment before i can flip to the next one? Until when i can reach to the page i actually want to refer if i am not sure about the page number. I have used other apps before similar to this and none of it has this problem and they don't seem like they intend to improve it anytime soon. The amount of time wasted while waiting for it to load can let me finish my assignment few hours earlier. The only reason why i am using your app is because my textbook only works with your app. Maybe that is why the app doesn't bother to make any improvement because everyone had no choice but to rely only on them. The search bar can't work as well. What do you mean 'this feature is unavailable at this time'? Do you have a special time period to use it? Is it available on certain time of the day? Then please do inform the users about it because why is it always unavailable when i need to use it? Does the app have prejudice against me? Why whenever i need it the most it doesn't work? I couldn't help but wonder the amount of money this app earns goes where. Is it not enough to improve it? Why is it so hard for the app to improve this small matter. I just started college and I feel like the next four years is going to be a nuisance whenever i need to access the textbooks. Please do better. I believe you were once a college student as well.

Asks to verify email, does not send for like 10 minutes when im just trying to do my homework from a textbook i paid 80 dollars for. You guys are ridiculous, why am I verifying email for a book, who tf wants info to a book.

I wish these people didn't exist. Let me download the book I paid for! Take your watermark and do you-know-what with it. Here is my order number since you tried to delete my honest review: 10000106557282

Software Malfunctions The more you use the software's features, such as highlighting and cue cards, the more it begins to glitch and eventually becomes dysfunctional. Customer support states "It is a known issue" and has no fix. Their recommendation was to "delete highlighting" and be "more judicious" with its use. As such, I am being very judicious and never using it again.

I've been using Vitalsource since I discovered it in 2019. I was tired of carrying around textbooks and at the time most eBooks were still on Adobe's Digital Editions software, which was a very barebones reader more concerned with DRM protection than offering an actual reading experience, to put it nicely. When I mention Vitalsource, I'm referring to two things: 1. The eBook store, and 2. the Bookshelf app that they author. The Store --Selection The VitalSource store has a good selection of textbooks. Most books you'd need for school (or supplemental learning) on mathematics, physics, and computer science authored within the last 10 years are there. --Purchases and Refunds Purchases and access are easy. Most books have both rental and lifetime purchase options. The options seem to be dictated by the publisher, so every once in a while a books is rental only or lifetime only. Everything is laid out on the product page and I've never run into any errors. Prices are competitive with Amazon and other retailers. Refunds seem to be automated, so as long as you haven't already read more than 20% of the book, haven't returned the same book in the past, and haven't already returned 3 books in the last 90 days, you can expect a quick refund. Sometimes books from certain publishers or delivered by the publisher cannot be refunded. This is all detailed in the return policy. The Bookshelf app --Features and Performance The Bookshelf app's feature set has stagnated in recent years, and I stumbled on this page because I was looking for a way to report feedback on how highlighted notes should have better UI, but the desktop and web apps are good and by a country mile the best DRM reader out there. It's even better than the Kindle app - step up your game, Amazon. As with everything else in life, there are some weaknesses. The desktop app is a memory hog. This might have to do with existing DRM protection implementations, but if not, performance in this aspect can be improved, and may be the reason users with lower end hardware face issues. Conclusion Vitalsource has a great marketplace and offers the best DRM reading app available today. They're not perfect, and the app has weaknesses that regular PDF apps like Adobe Acrobat or Readdle's PDF Expert don't have, but it has more than enough features and is stable enough to rely on for daily use. Well worth checking out if you prefer eBooks over paper copies.

Just bought a book from them and I have no way of accessing it. $43 to only be able to see the cover of the book. They are a scam company.

I don’t like it for all the reasons stated. I thought I would get used to it. Today I attempted to purchase a textbook. The transaction indicated it was unable to process due to an address problem…except it took two payments. No text book provided. The CSR couldn’t tell me how the problems would be fixed but told me calls can’t be transferred to someone who knows and problems can’t be rectified without an escalation and a call back to me. That’s a good enough reason for me to go back to traditional hard copy since the system itself is faulty as people have already indicated. Both payments have been returned to me as of Oct 27. See email from vitalsource rep: Dear My name is C, and I am reaching out regarding your recent VitalSource Support request. Our system shows 3 attempted transaction(s) on Oct 26, 2022, for a Visa ending in The attempted charge(s) in the amount of $76.95 AUD, did not go through at our end. This/these charge(s) should be a hold or pending status on your bank statement and should go away within 10 to 15 business days (this is dependent on your bank's policies). If the/these charge(s) remain after 15 Business days, please contact your bank. Thank you for your time and patience. Please let us know if you have any further questions. Kind Regards,

constant freezing and trouble loading. can barely use. absolute horrible waste of money. Need these books for school. Offered through my university but just a gross waste of money. Constant error messages saying the page is unresponsive just when trying to read through the chapter. terrible terrible terrible. It's been 2 years. I've reported so many times and they keep saying they are working on it. Refuse to give money back.