Do you have piles of old books or used textbooks lying around gathering dust on the shelves? Selling books online is a great way to earn extra income, if you know how to do it right.
We all know how criminally expensive textbooks and academics can be. so if you can get some of your money back with them, it should be worth a try.
You are reading: How to resell books
The sooner you sell your used textbooks, the better. they go out of date quickly and the more relevant they are when you sell them, the more money you can make.
We’ve listed the best places to sell your books below. On top of that, here are some tips on what to keep in mind when selling textbooks online.
5 tips for selling second-hand books
These are the best ways to maximize your profits when selling books online:
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consider shipping and packaging costs
shipping costs can be expensive. Because of this, it is possible to make very little profit from using websites like amazon and ebay to sell your books.
That’s where other sites like webuybooks.co.uk are a bit more transparent. they cover shipping costs, so the valuation they give you should be the exact amount you will receive when your books run out. that is unless they decide their books are not in good condition to sell.
verify the edition of the book before publishing it online
You may have a very old and rare book on your shelf without even realizing it. if you have a very early edition of a book, particularly one that is fiction and therefore quite timeless, it could be worth a small fortune.
Publication of a book can mean the difference between the price of a few pounds and thousands of pounds. definitely worth checking out before posting the book online.
compare book sales websites to get a good price
Your book ratings are likely to vary greatly from site to site, and each site listed below has its own advantages.
as you research each book sales website, think about whether it would suit your particular type of book. For example, if you’re looking to sell a textbook but can’t see any other academic books on the site, it’s probably not the right one for you…
we suggest where to sell books at good prices below.
photograph your books before sending them to the reseller
When you resell your books online, you’ll need to submit them to the site for evaluation, but be careful. you have no control over how the books will be handled during shipping.
We’ve read some angry reviews from users who claim their rating has been lowered considerably due to water damage that didn’t exist when they posted it. Before publishing your favorite books, be sure to take plenty of photos to check their status.
profit from out of print fiction books
While the sale of textbooks should bring in a decent amount of cash, the market for secondhand children’s books and graphic fiction is practically dead.
If you sell fiction, you’ll make more money from the obscure titles in your collection or out of print books. there will be much less competition in the market, which means the price of yours should be higher.
5 best places to sell books online
We recommend using these websites to sell your used books:
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facebook market
if you want to sell your books online, the facebook marketplace is a great place to start. Creating an ad is very easy and only takes a few minutes.
It’s completely free if you trade the books in person. however, if you choose to mail items directly through the facebook marketplace, you will be charged a 2% fee.
If you want to get rid of your college textbooks quickly, it’s a good idea to bundle books from certain modules and sell them in bulk.
Also, don’t throw away books just because you’ve written notes inside. this is one of the rare cases where your doodles might not diminish the value of the book. good grades might be useful to some students, which means you could earn more money for the books you own.
Check out our guide to selling on the facebook marketplace for more tips.
Alternatively, you can find a facebook group with people from your course. Facebook groups are an easy way to tap into next year’s crop of students who need to buy the used books you have – your ideal market.
ebay
if you’re not yet focused on selling everything you can on ebay, now is the time to give it a try. They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that’s definitely true with eBay.
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unlike some of the other sites on this list, ebay will take a portion of your profits. Depending on how busy you are, you may even be charged for listing items. we have a complete guide on how to sell on ebay like a pro, including fee information, so take a look before you start selling your books to maximize your profits.
If your books are in high demand or out of print, you could end up making good money selling them on ebay.
Tip: Be sure to carefully select your titles and keywords to ensure your books are found by the right eBay audience. For example, if you’re selling a book on accounting, include words like “business” and “finance” in your ad.
ebay is also a great place to save money buying books.
sell on ebay »
See Also: BardMetrics Amazon sales rank – Folgerpedia
webbuybooks.co.uk
from what we’ve heard, webuybooks.co.uk is one of the best places to sell books in the uk.
they have the fastest and most efficient system to sell your unwanted books. As a result, customer reviews are pretty decent.
all you need to do is enter the isbn number (usually found next to barcodes on books) on your website, or scan it into your bookstore app, and You will receive an instant valuation. you can then choose to accept or reject it as an offer.
Once you’ve entered enough products to meet the £5 minimum value requirement, you can print the shipping label and ship your books to your warehouse for free. after your books have been reviewed, the money should be in your account the next business day. it’s as easy as that.
And the best news is that you can also get an extra 10% with webuybooks when you use the code wbbsave10.
sell on webuybooks.co.uk »
See Also: BardMetrics Amazon sales rank – Folgerpedia
amazon
It’s not just Amazon that sells books on the site! anyone can sign up and sell books to a market of millions of people.
amazon has a couple of selling plans to choose from, but unless you’ve managed to accumulate a large number of books, the individual plan should be enough for you.
That said, unless you’re selling books for a pretty good price, Amazon’s fees can make it a bit expensive to sell secondhand books through them. We cover fees and all the best selling tips in more detail in our guide to making money on Amazon.
once you have to deal with the fees, it’s just a matter of uploading your book details and their status to the site, and waiting for someone to buy them.
sell on amazon »
See Also: BardMetrics Amazon sales rank – Folgerpedia
books
abebooks is a lesser-known book-selling website, but you’d be surprised how popular it is with those in the know (especially students).
In fact, with over twenty years of experience selling books online, they can offer millions of titles. abebooks works similarly to amazon. but there is also the option of selling your books to collectors or other sellers, which might be a good idea if you have rare or collectible items.
However, if you plan to sell books there, you need to know your potential audience of buyers and when they are most likely to buy (for example, in September for used textbooks).
There is a monthly subscription fee of around £20 if you sell less than 500 books, which could increase if you don’t sell all your books quickly. In addition, you will pay a commission of 8% for each sale (minimum £0.30).
sell on abebooks »
See Also: BardMetrics Amazon sales rank – Folgerpedia
This list is certainly not exhaustive. there are plenty of other sites out there that could get you a great deal on your old books. these are just our top picks.
Before you start selling books online, think about how many books you have to sell and what will be the most practical option.
alternative ways to sell books
Although selling used college books online is now the most common way to do it, there are other avenues as well.
They may take a little more effort, but you won’t have to pay shipping or seller fees, so you can get a better value in the long run.
sell your used textbooks through blackwell’s
blackwell’s specializes in scholarly books. They also offer a great service where they buy your used textbooks in exchange for store credit or cash.
They are quite strict about the books they accept. the price they offer you depends on the condition of your books and the demand for them, and the book you are selling must be the current edition (no new editions forthcoming).
If your books are accepted, you’ll receive up to 20% of the sale price at blackwells.co.uk on the day of purchase, or 25% in a blackwell gift card.
advertise second-hand books on bulletin boards
While you may be in the habit of walking past college bulletin boards without looking twice, they are actually great places to buy and sell textbooks.
once you start looking, you’ll probably find that students are trying to sell their secondhand books by placing ads on bulletin boards.
If you’re taking a really specific course, this could be a great option, since you’re advertising and selling in a place where you know students who need your books will be hanging out.
Most of the time it’s free to post an ad. You’ll probably also be able to charge a decent amount for used books (and won’t have to worry about shipping costs).
is also one of the easiest options. all it takes is writing down the titles and your contact details on a piece of paper, pinning it down, and waiting for responses. a pretty quick way to make money off your old books, if you ask us.
take your old books to local markets and boot sales
If you feel like selling second-hand books the old-fashioned way, you can rent a stall at your local market or car boot sale. booth rental prices vary wildly depending on where they are located and what they specialize in, but some start at just a few pounds.
Obviously, this option requires a bit of legwork. you’ll have to take all your books there and wait while customers search, but you might get lucky and sell everything you have in less than a few hours.
Look for markets and fairs that specialize in books and consider making a visit before committing to a booth. there’s nothing wrong with a little market research (see what we did there?).
Some markets are going to be more popular than others when it comes to topics and niches, so do some research to make sure you pick the right place to sell your books.
offer your favorite books to bookstores
You should be able to find a used bookstore near you that wants to buy your old books.
This is a particularly good option if you want to sell a large collection of books, but don’t bother with all the time involved in running a stall or car boot sale.
many second-hand bookstores will even come to your house and offer you a combined sum for all the books you want to sell.
They will also arrange delivery to your store, so this requires minimal effort on your part. although this is reflected in the amount of money you will get with this method, since the prices are usually quite low.
Keep in mind that whether you’re selling used textbooks or first edition fiction, some wear and tear is to be expected. but, more significant damage can affect the price or even make your book unsaleable.
Make sure to keep your books out of sunlight as much as possible, and if you have to take them with you, invest in some protective covers.
To make a little more money online, check out these amazing things you can make money selling. who would have thought you could sell your old roll of toilet paper?
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