Is Selling Used Books Profitable? 

We decided to become a homeschooling household in 2018 so we needed books. Good books… living literature to educate and inspire our family. However, these wholesome, classic, thought provoking books are not cheap to buy new! Thus, I developed my book flipping plan to pay for our own curriculum. 

We do the Charlotte Mason method through Ambleside Online and use their curriculum booklist as a guide for identifying quality literature in all subject areas. After reading through and referencing the list, oh… maybe 5 bazillion times now I’d say much of it is locked in my brain and I can scan piles and shelves of books for authors and titles on the list. This is my niche genre…. you can figure out your favorite books and search for just those. I think enjoying what you do is important… I try not to buy or sell twaddle or books that stand against my beliefs. Some of those just get tossed in the recycle. So look around your shelves and decide what types of books you might enjoy selling. 

Where to Source Used Books for Resale

Goodwill outlet, yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores. Consider your profit margin… it’s highest at Goodwill outlet for me because books are only $.49 each there. However, one local thrift store does a fill a paper bag for $5, and on their sale week it’s $2.50 so that is also a great deal though the turnover of books is slower there. 

Check with your local thrift stores and ask when the best sales are coming up for books. Also offer to volunteer to sort books! Many thrift stores would appreciate the help and that gives you first dibs! Yard sales and estate sales are fun because I like to bargain… make a stack of books, make an offer. Usually they take the offer no problem! Sometimes I’ve been told, “Just take the whole box!”

Where Can I sell Used Books? 

I sell on my own Facebook group worthybookrescue, other local and national Facebook groups, Instagram, Etsy, eBay, craigslist, and to friends via email lists. I first choose to sell to local friends in person, next on my Facebook group, then I sell in book groups who are in my niche of homeschool and classics. With my higher priced books I often go for Etsy or eBay. 

I take cash, Venmo or PayPal goods and services. PayPal is very user friendly and I can print the shipping labels after the invoices are paid. You can also sell on Etsy, eBay, and Mercari but they do take a % so consider that in your profit margin. 

I want my books to move quickly. I don’t have a lot of dedicated space for my books to sit and wait to sell. When I sell on a Facebook page I will run the sale at a certain event time. I ask people to follow if they want me to tag them 10min prior to when I start listing. My sale just yesterday had 25 people who wanted to be tagged. Once I listed them at my set time I sold 35 books in an hour and made over $140! More sales then trickle in from that post as well. 

How to Price Used Books for Resale

This takes some time and practice. Expect a learning curve… I’m still on it! Reading through other posts on the Facebook groups will give you an idea what is selling well and for how much. Also cross reference with book finder and eBay. Be sure not to focus on the MAX price on eBay… people can list for any amount and it may never sell. Instead filter your search by SOLD to see if the book has sold recently and for how much. Look at low to middle prices for that book and consider the condition of the book. I’ve only been selling for about 1 year now and I still learn lessons.

For instance one vintage landmark book I priced for $15 had multiple people in line to claim so I could have asked for more, maybe $25 and then discounted it later if it didn’t sell. I also try to sell my books at reasonable prices. I don’t want to gouge fellow homeschool moms! I usually make my prices slightly lower than eBay and I offer bulk discounts and/or thrown in a free book with a big order. 

If I see a book has any condition issue I will give it for $1 or free depending how much they bought. I don’t sell books with broken spines, broken hinges, anything more than very minor water damage, smells, mildew or other problems exceeding general wear for the age. 

Where to Sell Textbooks

A side niche I’ve picked up is textbooks. Because they sell so easily using the bookscouter app. I just scan them and then add them to the buyback cart of whichever book buyer will pay me the most. Then I checkout with that buyer and print my shipping label and send them off! It takes 2-4 weeks with most buyers to receive my PayPal payments. I’ve often found books for $.50 cents and sold them for $50… it can be a real cash cow if you have time to source them! 

How Do I Ship Used Books? 

Shipping books is easy with PayPal, printable shipping labels, HP printer and HP instant ink. 

1. Weigh the books, this example is less than 2 pounds so this will ship for $3.82 media mail rate.

2. Total your book stacks plus the shipping rate. Bump the weight up a little for the weight of the boxes and packing materials or just pack the books in the box then weigh, if your scale is large enough for that, mine is too small! 

3. Ask your friends and family to save their used bubble envelopes for you! Thank you friends!

4. Write the first and last name of the buyer on their stack post-it! I’ve had multiple sales with two buyers with the same first names! Triple check if you are sending the right books to the right person!

5. Save your smaller book size boxes from your own mail and also ask friends to save theirs for you! 

6. Log into your PayPal and select send invoice. add the buyers email and fill out the books they bought and prices. Be sure to add the shipping cost and hit send. Once they pay you will be prompted to print a shipping label. Confirm the shipping address with your customer, select media mail, add the weight and confirm and pay.

7. Print out all your PayPal shipping labels on convenient self self sticky label sheets!

8. I recommend adding bubble wrap around books inside of boxes! If the books are extra valuable I would wrap them in unprinted packing paper and put them inside a ziplock, inside bubble wrap, inside a box where they won’t jiggle and bump within the box.

9. Cut your boxes down to fit the books securely or add plenty of packing materials to prevent shifting.

10. Be extra nice to your mail carrier! Books are heavy!

11. Keep all the best books and put them on your new DIY shelf!

Let me know if you have any comments or questions about reselling books!