If you’re a bookworm, chances are you have extra literature lying around your home. And while it can be hard to part with any of your collection, sometimes decluttering has got to be done. Consider the best websites to sell books for a little extra money. We compiled a list of these retailers (both online and brick-and-mortar) who might buy your book stash, whether they are college textbooks, fiction, or nonfiction.
If you need more incentive to downsize your book collection, think about how you can earn some extra money from titles you no longer need. Selling off these items can be a very easy way to put more money in your wallet.
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What’s the Best Way to Sell Books for Money?
One of the most common ways to sell your books has always been a good old-fashioned yard sale. You lay your books out there and wait to see if anyone is interested in picking them up. While this can work, it’s a very outdated method, and you may not make much money at all.
Most people don’t go to garage sales in search of books, and if they do, they probably aren’t willing to pay much more than $0.50 per item.
To maximize your earnings, consider selling your books to an online buyback company or a bookstore that buys books. These places are actually looking for books and have the resources to pay a reasonable price. They make a profit by reselling your books, so it’s a win-win situation.
How Much Can You Make by Selling Books?
How much you earn by selling books can vary depending on the type of book and who you sell it to. Buyback sites may pay more for your books, but you can also sell them privately as well and set your own pricing.
Textbooks tend to earn more money since they’re expensive and often in demand. Sites like TextbookRush base pricing entirely on demand and customer need. Other buyback programs are more interested in the title or author of the book and may pay more for certain books.
Overall, selling books won’t make you rich whether you do it one time or as a hobby. If you have a stack of books to sell, however, you could easily earn $20 to $50, depending on the type of book, and even more for textbooks.
Ready to start selling? It only takes a few minutes to unload your books when you use one of these 15 best websites to sell them.
1. GoTextbooks
GoTextbooks makes it easy to sell your old textbooks for cash online. Just type in the ISBN number for your book on the website to get an instant quote on how much you can get paid. Once GoTextbooks receives your book, it takes five days to process, and you can expect to see your payment within seven to 14 business days.
You can choose between a paper check or PayPal for your payment. GoTextbooks.com buys loose-leaf textbooks under the loose-leaf ISBN, which is different than the student hardbound version ISBN. They also buy instructor’s editions.
2. BookDeal
BookDeal helps you sell used textbooks online and guarantees your payment. BookDeal partners with several book-buying companies to help you get the best offer for your books. Just enter the ISBN number for your book to receive quotes from multiple buyers.
Once you choose the quote you want, you can print out a shipping label and send your book to BookDeal. BookDeal protects sellers by having them upload photos to verify the condition of the book. Sellers receive their payment within five business days of BookDeal receiving their book.
BookDeal pays via PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle.
3. Bookscouter
Bookscouter is another site that gathers quotes from various vendors and book-buying companies to get you the best price for your books. This site buys and sells mostly college textbooks. They have a mobile app to make it easier to sell your books. If you’re in school, this could be a great place to buy your books for a discount as well since they offer a $500 quarterly scholarship.
4. Half Price Books
Half Price Books sells new and used books, as well as movies, music, and more. This store has been around since 1972 and has more than 120 locations across the U.S. Selling to Half Price Books is easy.
Just bring your items to your local store, and a team member will review them to see what they’d like to buy. Half Price Books buys all kinds of books, so gather items from the whole family. You’ll usually receive an offer within an hour or less, depending on how busy the store is, so you can just shop and look at items while you wait. Half Price Books gives you cash on the spot when they purchase your used books.
5. Textbooks.com
As this website’s name suggests, Textbooks.com is a great place to sell your used Textbooks online for cash. You can lock your quote in for 30 days and receive payments by cash or check. Textbooks.com also sells study guide materials and e-textbooks.
Related: Check out 13 places to get free books online.
6. AbeBooks
AbeBooks buys used books, rare books, and textbooks from people all over. To start selling, you’ll need to sign up for a membership, and fees start at $25 per month. Just create an account and fill out the seller application while paying the fee. Then you can list all your inventory, and AbeBooks will promote it to their millions of unique visitors per week.
Your products will show up in users’ search results to help you make sales. AbeBooks also sells items globally so you’ll reach a larger audience. You can sell collectibles, art, maps, and comics on the site, too.
7. Amazon
Amazon makes it easy to sell new and used books online even without an ISBN number. You can sign up to sell books on Amazon and ship them directly to buyers. Or you can use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which allows you to ship all your books to the retailer so they can package and send them to customers when you make a sale.
You can set your own prices for your books when selling with Amazon and utilize all their marketing tools to help speed up the sales process. Amazon does require a fee in order to use the platform to sell things. You can either pay as you go (or make a sale) using the individual selling plan. Or you can sign up for a professional selling plan and pay a monthly subscription fee.
8. Cash4Books
Cash4Books buys used textbooks only. Just go to the website and enter the ISBN number for your book to see how much Cash4Books will buy it for. They offer free shipping so you can send the book to them quickly and get paid. You’ll receive your payment within 13 days on average, although it could be sooner.
Cash4Books also has really good customer service to help answer your questions and smooth out any issues. Sellers receive payments via paper check or PayPal.
9. BooksRun
BooksRun is another site that buys used textbooks from sellers. This company pays much faster than others, so you’ll get your payment via Paypal within four business days. BooksRun uses a QR code instead of a printed shipping label, but you’ll still get to ship your books to them for free.
This company believes in recycling and sustainability, so each time customers buy a used book and join the loyalty program, they plant a tree. BooksRun has planted more than 13,000 trees so far.
10. Decluttr
Decluttr is a popular website that buys electronics such as video games, cell phones, and even DVDs. They also buy used books. Using Decluttr is similar to many other sites on this list. You’ll enter the ISBN number of your book, then receive a quote from Decluttr.
If you accept the quote, you can ship your book to the company for free and receive the payment. Decluttr buys all kinds of books, including fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, and school textbooks. Decluttr has an app and pays sellers via direct deposit or PayPal.
11. Powell’s
Powell’s City of Books is a local bookstore that has been around since 1971. They allow you to sell books to your nearest store location or online. If you’re going to sell your books in person, Powell’s has limited hours for this, and you can only stop in on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
There’s no limit to how many books you can sell, and Powell’s accepts all genres. If you sell books to Powell’s in person, you’ll get paid via store credit. If you sell books online, you can choose between store credit or payment via PayPal.
12. TextbookRush
Since 2002, TextbookRush has been helping people sell college textbooks online. You can use the website to receive a quote, then ship your textbooks free of charge. TextbookRush pays sellers via PayPal, check, or store credit.
Once TextbookRush receives your book in the mail, it takes two to three business days to process, then an additional five to 10 business days to issue your payment.
13. eBay
Another popular destination for selling just about anything is eBay. It’s also a great place to sell your used books and get your listing in front of a wide customer base. Sign up to become a seller with eBay and you can either list your books at a fixed price or allow customers to bid on them.
Once your item sells, eBay charges a fee of 10 – 15% of the final value. Your first 250 listings each month are free, and eBay charges $0.35 per listing for additional items.
14. Valore Books
Valore Books helps you sell your used textbooks online. Their buyback process is similar to other sites where you enter your book’s ISBN number to get a quote. If you’re happy with the quote, you can send your book in to Valore and receive a check or cash via PayPal.
Valore Books has a very large customer base and is a top destination for people looking for affordable textbooks, so you’ll get lots of eyes on your listing(s). Sellers acquire ratings over time. Establishing a good rating can help you sell more of your books faster.
15. Bookstores.com
Bookstores.com ships and sells millions of books each year to readers all over. The company that started as a local book store and buyback program launched out of Columbus, Ohio. Today, Bookstores.com sells and buys books from people completely online. They consider buying books from many different genres, so this could be a good option to consolidate your existing book collection.
Bookstores.com offers free shipping on buybacks totaling $15 for more. Sellers get paid via store credit, check, or PayPal.
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