How to Get the Best Price when Selling Used Books Online

There are many online sites that buy used books. But how do you know which one will offer you the most money for your books? To get the best price when selling used books online, follow these simple steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• computer
• printer
• Internet access
• used books
• box for shipping

1. Gather Your Books
   
   Collect all the books that you want to sell and bring them to your computer.

2. BookScouter.com
   
   Go to the BookScouter site (see Resources, below) and enter an ISBN. The site will generate a list of 37 book buyers with the amount each site is willing to pay for that particular book. To speed up the process, open BookScouter in several tabs and search for multiple books simultaneously.

3. Investigate the Buyers
   
   Check the star rating of the sites that are willing to buy your book. Right click on a site’s name and open in a new tab or new window to review the summary and comments page for that site. Here you will find information specific to the site such as whether pre-paid shipping is offered, how payment is made and what experience others have had when using this book buyer.

4. Choose a Buyer
   
   Go back to the Bookscouter list and select a buyer. Be aware that most sites have purchase minimums of a certain number of books or a dollar amount. Unless you have a single book that commands a high enough price to meet the minimum, select a site that wants several of the books you have to offer. Click Sell Here to open the chosen site in a new window. Enter the ISBN(s) and add your book(s) to the cart, accepting the official offer once it is made.

5. Delve a Little Deeper
   
   Before completing the deal, open the site’s FAQ page in a new tab or new window. Familiarize yourself with the policies of that dealer such as purchase minimums, the timeframe in which books must be shipped, how to get the pre-paid shipping label, how you will be paid and what happens if one or more books are rejected.

6. Seal the Deal
   
   Make sure that each of your books meets the condition criteria for that buyer. If any do not, remove them from the cart as they will be rejected and you will not be paid. Once you’re certain that you understand the rules and that your books are of the quality required, go to checkout, create an acount and complete the deal.

7. Package the Books
   
   Following the site’s guidelines, carefully package your books, include the packing slip, seal the box and add the shipping label.

8. Ship the Books
   
   Send by appropriate carrier (USPS, FedEx or UPS) and await payment.

9. Share Your Experience
   
   Help others in the future. After you’ve received payment, go back to BookScouter to comment about your experience and rate the buyer with whom you dealt.

Tips & Warnings

• The books that are in demand changes daily. If no buyers are interested in one or more of your books, try again another day.
• Some buyers discard rejected books while others will return them at the owner’s expense.
• Rules vary! For each of the sites with which you deal, make sure that your books are in the condition required and that you understand all the rules.

Resources

• BookScouter

[jlneeds]

on 12/1/2009 I am a big advocate for selling things you don't need anymore, online. 5* great article and a recommend as well