How To Sell Used Books And Make Cash Fast

Sell Used Books

Are you looking for a quick way to make cash fast? There are many ways to do this, but one of the quickest ways is to sell used books. Most people just give away their old books. However, what they don’t know is that there are a plethora of websites that will buy them back from them.

In this post, we will break down the best ways to sell your used books, what the best books to sell are, and how you can get the best prices for them.

The Best Books To Sell Online

There are multiple types of books that you can sell such as action and adventure, fantasy, graphic novels, and even horror. Although you can sell any type of book, the best type of book to sell online are textbooks.

Textbooks are the best books to sell because they usually are the most expensive types of books. Textbooks are so expensive because there are new editions made each year. This is how publishers make their money.

If they didn’t update the textbook every year, students and teachers could keep using an old edition. That’s why the publishers are always making a new edition, even if the information is basically the same.

What this means for you is if you want to sell your textbook the sooner the better. Since textbooks are constantly updated, you want to sell them as soon as you’re done with it. Don’t wait until the semester, or the school year ends before doing so.

As you’ll see in the next section, many websites will happily buy back your book as soon as you finish it.

Best Practices For Selling Used Books

If you plan on selling your used books it’s important to keep them in good condition. The state of your book will often impact the amount of money you can sell it for. Make sure to avoid marking up the book, highlighting blocks of text, or writing in the margins.

Also, try not to eat or drink while reading so you don’t get the pages stuck together. Every precaution you take to minimize wear and tear will help you maximize your profits once you sell it.

If you want to sell used books through a website, it may be in your best interest to buy a book review from a third party. This will help you add more content to your website and allow you to focus on driving sales for your business.

Where To Sell Used Books

When it comes to selling used books you’re not short of options. Below is a list of a dozen places you can sell them.

Most of these websites function the same way. You enter the book’s IBSN, and they show you how much money they will purchase the book for. We recommend when selling your books enter your books into as many websites as possible. 

You want to do this so you can see how much the different companies will pay you for your book. While this takes extra time, this method allows you to make sure you’re selling your book to the highest bidder. Below we will walk through how to sell your book on Amazon and eBay as they are a marketplace, not a book repurchaser.

How To Sell Used Books On Amazon

Amazon is a great option as everyone has an Amazon account. You can sell on Amazon through their Marketplace as a seller and create a listing for the book you have to sell. You have to disclose the condition of the book, which is why we say you shouldn’t mark up the book and try to keep it in the same condition in which you bought it. 

While won’t be able to sell a book on Amazon for a large sum of money, it is the biggest e-commerce platform to sell books on. If you are comfortable selling your books for less than the other competing offers you shouldn’t run into any issues.

How To Sell Used Books On eBay

EBay is another great option as it has almost two hundred million users on the platform. We’ve talked in other posts about how you can make money selling items on eBay, and books are no different.

Amazon and eBay are different than the rest of the options here as they aren’t exclusively for books. They also work differently as you sell to the people on the platform instead of the company itself. For other websites, once you list a book they will immediately tell you how much they will purchase it for.

So if you’re looking to sell used books quickly, use the websites that will purchase the book right away.

How To Sell Used Textbooks And Other College Books

As we said before, textbooks are the best type of books to sell. The great thing about textbooks is if your parents bought you the textbook, it came at no cost to you. So even if you sell your used textbooks for just $1, you made a profit.

The best way to sell used textbooks is by following the three steps we outlined in the previous section. If you want a recap, here they are:

  • Keep them in great condition: If you sell a used textbook with markings and pages missing the company may send it back. A book repurchaser will only send you money after they have received the book. This is because they want to inspect it first and make sure it is fine before paying you.
  • Sell it ASAP: The longer you hold onto your textbook, the less value it has. Textbooks are updated every year. So if you want to make the most money from it, you should try to finish the book and sell it ASAP.
  • Test multiple websites: We provided a dozen different places to sell your books because we want to help you sell your books to the highest bidder. The only way to know who will pay you the most is by seeing what the different websites have to offer. Take the time and sell your books for the most you can.

Key Takeaways

Selling used books is an easy way to make cash fast. This won’t make you a millionaire, but it will help you declutter your house and make money while doing it. Whether you want to sell fiction books, non-fiction books, or textbooks the options are limitless.

As long as you follow our steps, you will be able to sell your used books in no time. If you like the idea of selling things online and want to learn more, check out our post, How To Start Dropshipping on eBay in 2020.