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Advice Please....Best place to sell used books?

July 15th, 2015 at 02:50 pm

Good morning SA. I have some books lying around the house and I was wondering if any of you can recommend an online place to try to sell them and what are your experiences? Amazon? Half.com? Half Price Books?

Thank you and I look forward to your responses.

3 Responses to “Advice Please....Best place to sell used books?”

  1. JulieAlbright Says:
    1436972325

    In my experience it really depends on what type of books we are talking about. If it is a fairly recent textbook or some sort of non-fiction reference book, then half.com or amazon can at least give you a good price guide. If you live near a university and they are using the book, you can try craigslist and hope a student will buy. I haven't checked selling fees recently but Amazon used to be incredibly high, eating up nearly all the profit. But it did have the advantage of being a fairly quick sale if it was an in demand title.

    I've never tried to sell from AbeBooks but I've bought several books from them so you might investigate.

    If they are mass market popular paperback fiction, then it is harder to get any value at all from them. You can try bundling them into lots and selling on ebay - especially if you have all or most of a series or a nice collection of one author. If you have a bookstore around that will issue store credit for trade-ins and you know you'll be buying more books, that is often the best deal. I've had great luck with children's books selling in bundles to parents looking to build an instant library for their kids and teachers wanting to supply their classrooms.

    Otherwise, it might be in your best interest to donate them to a 501c3 organization and utilize the tax credit. I can tell you that our nearest hospital is no longer accepting books or toys for their Pediatrics ward but the Assisted Living Center and Nursing Home Resident's councils both love to get boxes of easy going fiction and romance novels. Also, if they are in good condition (not musty and worn) the Library will take them for the next used book sale.

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    1436988801

    From my experience Half.com is the easiest. No fees. They give a shipping credit and take a commission of 15%. You can name your price. However, if the book isn't in demand it may take awhile to sell.

    Half Price Books actually is fast, take them in, wait to get an offer, accept and take your cash. You'll get paid garage sale prices for most items...although they don't break it down by book.

    Ebay works pretty well for items that are newer and in demand, thus people are willing to bid and buy it now. Ebay is more time consuming from a listing standpoint.

  3. My English Castle Says:
    1437024970

    I've sold textbooks and others on Amazon, but their fees are high. It is good for books in high demand like current texts as people tend to look there first. You might consider selling selected lots on FB. Half Price is fast, but as ccf says, the payout is not so good. I just sold a collectible book on ebay, but it does take time. Many local libraries accept books for a tax donation possibility.

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