Quick Answer
For selling a wide range of books, Amazon is best with its robust selling plans and fulfillment options. AbeBooks excels for rare and antique books. TextbookRush is ideal for students selling textbooks due to its simplicity and no fees. Ziffit is great for casual sellers with its no-subscription model. Powell’s is perfect for in-store credit and online sales. BookDeal offers price guarantees, and Decluttr is a versatile option for books and tech items.
Selling books online can be pretty cumbersome, not because it’s difficult, but because deciding where to sell your beloved belongings is confusing. However, it’s a clear roadway once you’ve chosen your preferred place to sell books online. Whether you want to get rid of your old collection to make way for a new one, shell out books you’ve already read or don’t require anymore, or clean up your shelf, this guide will help you explore and decide where to sell books online.
This article focuses on selling books on an individual level and not on a professional level. It’s best recommended if you want to sell a few of your books and not make a business out of it. Regardless, we undoubtedly support donations. If you can, consider donating your books, old or new, to schools, libraries, hospitals, or even rehabilitation centers for the upliftment of society. That said, let’s sell some books!
Table of Contents
Things To Consider Before Selling Your Books Online
While selling books online doesn’t involve rocket science, you should still consider the following things:
1. Assess Your Book’s Condition Thoroughly
Online resellers and buyers are very particular about the condition of the product they’re buying. Even the slightest bend or smudge can reduce the face value, so study your book’s physical fascia and be aware of it.
2. Know Your Book’s Worth
Before listing your books online, it is recommended that you build a worthy price expectation. You can do that by searching for your book online and tracking its demand, current market rates, and availability. Pricing your books accordingly will fetch you desirable prices.
3. List Your Books on Multiple Websites
Just like you would go to multiple shops to enquire about the best price, do the same for your books, too. Consider listing your books at multiple marketplaces and decide which gives you the best value. Going the extra mile might fetch you a couple of extra dollars.
4. Ditch the Online Route if Needed
If unsatisfied with the rate quotes, consider selling your books in person. Try contacting buyers via eBay or Facebook Marketplace and negotiate to get the best place. Moreover, if you are confident of your book’s worth and condition, you can also get your book sold at an auction house. If nothing works, donating your books works, too!
That said, let’s look at the best websites to sell your books online.
7 Best Platforms to Sell Books Online
Sl. No. | Platform | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Amazon | - Sell all kinds of books - Two seller plans: Individual ($0.99/book) and Professional ($39.99/month) - FBA option available to handle fulfillment | - Individual plan limited to 40 items/month - Inventory, packaging, shipping, returns, and customer service managed by seller (FBM) |
2 | AbeBooks | - Ideal for rare and antique books - Partnered with Veeqo for discounted shipping (US only) - Listed on six international websites | - $25/month subscription - 8% commission on total order value - Seller manages all aspects of sales |
3 | TextbookRush | - No monthly fee - Free shipping for books valued over $35 - Payment via cash, store credit, or PayPal | - Primarily for textbooks - Must drop packages at FedEx or USPS locations |
4 | Ziffit | - No subscription fee - Simple process similar to TextbookRush - Payment via PayPal or bank transfer | - Minimum book value of $15 for buyback - Seller handles packaging and drop-off |
5 | Powell's Books | - Sell in-store for credit or online - Free shipping for orders over $40 | - Only pays via PayPal - Minimum seven books or $9 value - Quoted price not guaranteed |
6 | BookDeal | - Price guarantee before shipping - Specializes in college textbooks - Free shipping label provided - Payment via PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle | - Minimum deal requirement varies by reseller - Seller manages packaging and drop-off |
7 | Decluttr | - Sell books, CDs, DVDs, and tech items - Instant quotes - Free prepaid shipping label - Payment via PayPal or direct deposit - Option to donate books to charity | - Minimum order value of $5 - Seller handles packaging and drop-off |
Amazon
Amazon sells every imaginable commodity on this planet, so books are more than ideal to sell on Amazon. What’s good is that you can sell every kind of book on Amazon, be it school, college, antique, hardcover, ebook – you name it. Amazon follows an elaborative process to procure books from you and resell them. Firstly, you need a seller account with a valid plan, be it the individual plan that charges a $0.99 royalty on every book sold or a professional plan that costs $39.99 monthly.
The former plan only allows the monthly sale of a maximum of 40 items with Amazon-set shipping rates, whereas the latter has no sale limits or shipping fee restrictions. After this, you must take care of the inventory, packaging, shipping, returns, and customer service yourself if you opt for FBM (fulfillment by merchant). Instead, you can outsource fulfillment and let Amazon handle all the stress by choosing FBA (fulfillment by Amazon). It costs a little extra, but you only need to ship your books to an Amazon facility, and Amazon will handle everything.
Once you’ve set the appropriate pricing for your books, you must play carefully to boost your sales. This involves running promotions at the right time, adjusting the prices according to your competitors, advertising, promotion, answering customer queries, attending to complaints, and more. Amazon has a valuable guide on selling books on Amazon, which we would recommend checking out.
AbeBooks
AbeBooks, an Amazon subsidiary, is a global marketplace popularly known for its collection of rare and antique books, art, and other collectibles. It’s the perfect place to sell your old and rare books. Other than that, AbeBooks also deals with other quirky stuff, such as maps, comics, paper collectibles, and textbooks. Before selling, you must have an AbeBooks seller account, which starts at $25 a month and is based on the number of items you sell.
Once you have an account, AbeBooks requires you to be the sole boss. Everything, including listing books to be sold, describing the product, inventory, packaging, and shipping, has to be taken care of by you. If you reside in the United States, AbeBooks has partnered with Veeqo to offer discounted shipping rates. AbeBooks lists your books on its six international websites and charges an 8% commission on the total order value, including shipping, for every sale.
You will be paid weekly through electronic funds transfer, whereas your subscription fees will be offset against the sale made in the first week of the month. Do note that if you reside outside of the United States, AbeBooks will levy additional charges based on respective regional taxes, as mentioned on their site.
TextbookRush
If you’re a student looking to sell your textbooks and earn quick cash, TextbookRush is the right choice for you. We love how TextbookRush keeps things simple and streamlined since you are a student, as the entire selling process is relatively effortless. For starters, unlike Amazon or AbeBooks, you don’t need to pay a monthly fee, which is such a relief for students. TextbookRush earns solely from book sales and even offers free shipping if the books are valued over $35. Furthermore, you can also choose to rent your textbooks instead of selling them.
The process begins with you entering your book’s ISBN (international standard book number) on TextbookRush’s website and requesting a quote. Once you have reviewed and accepted the quote, you’ll be asked to choose your preferred payment mode – cash, store credit, or PayPal. You’ll also be provided with a free shipping label to print. TextbookRush relies on FedEx and USPS as its delivery partners, so you must drop your package off at their stations or arrange a pickup.
TextbookRush is well-regarded among students thanks to its student-friendly business model. As a bonus tip, consider opting for store credits as your payment mode. It not only fetches you an additional 5% of the quoted price, but you can also use it to purchase anything from the store, be it books, games, or movies.
Ziffit
Ziffit is similar to TextbookRush in terms of ease of use and doesn’t specialize in a particular kind of book. Built with casual sellers in mind, Zillfit also follows a no-subscription strategy, so you need not get around much. The process begins by entering your book’s ISBN and requesting a quote from Ziffit. Your books must be valued at a minimum of $15 to be eligible for buyback, which can be easily tacked by selling books in bulk.
After you accept the quote, Ziffit provides you with a shipping label, which you must use to drop off packages at your nearest FedEx dropoff location. Ensure you have packaged the books securely; otherwise, Ziffit may refuse to pay the shipping charges. After the package reaches Ziffit, you will be paid via PayPal or have the funds transferred directly into your bank account. That’s it!
Also See: 4 Ways to Get Free Kindle Books
Powell’s Books
Powell’s is a long-running and well-known name in the industry. A unique attribute of Powell’s is that you can sell your books in-store at any of Powell’s three stores in Portland for in-store credit. That said, Powell’s accepts books online, that too of any kind, as long as they can be resold. The sole payment mode is PayPal, and you must sell at least seven books or have your books valued over $9.
Once you have scanned your book’s ISBN and received a quote from Powell’s, you must start the shipping process. If the order value is over $40, shipping is free of charge. If you can’t print the shipping label at home, you can print it at your nearest UPS station, where you will be dropping your package. A minor con we could find is that Powell’s doesn’t guarantee the quoted price, which may vary according to their inventory and the book’s demand.
BookDeal
BookDeal has one trick up its sleeve—it can offer a price guarantee even before you ship your books. Other than that, it’s a standard website for selling books online—a good one, actually. BookDeal also specializes in dealing with college textbooks, which explains the price guarantee feature. Quotes are received instantly, and you can compare sellers’ prices before deciding which one to sell to. However, every reseller has a minimum deal requirement, so consider selling more books if you don’t meet the criteria.
For the cashout, you can choose between PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle. BookDeal also offers free shipping via a prepaid shipping label, which you must print and paste on the secured packaging. You can then drop off your package at a nearby UPS, USPS, or FedEx location. BookDeal pays you within five days of receiving the package, which is not too bad.
Decluttr
Decluttr is a one-stop solution for your selling needs. You can sell not only books but also CDs, DVDs, and other tech items such as phones, tablets, laptops, consoles, and wearables. The process remains the same: enter your book’s ISBN, get an instant quote, accept it, and prepare the package for shipping. You also get a welcome email containing a prepaid shipping label to stick on your package. The total order value has to be over $5.
After you have secured the packaging, you can drop it off at a nearby UPS location and have it shipped to Decluttr. At your convenience, you can choose to get paid via PayPal or direct deposit, which usually takes a day or two. There’s also a thoughtful option to donate your books to charity instead. Overall, Decluttr is a trustworthy site for selling books online.
Sell Books Online Without Hassle
Most websites follow a streamlined process to sell books online, which enables easy selling of books. If you are looking forward to selling books on a regular basis, consider opting for Amazon or AbeBooks, depending on the books you deal with. Students should instead consider opting for TextbookRush or BookDeal, as they specialize in that category. Powell’s Books, Decluttr, and Ziffit are better suited for casual bookselling and earning some quick money.
