How To Make Money By Selling Your Old College Textbooks

Are you planning on making bookselling your side business? If so, that is a good decision because it’s possible to make a reasonable income out of it. However, you need to plan carefully before proceeding. 

Regardless of any negative comments you’ve heard, old college textbooks have resale value. You need to figure out where and when to sell them to get the biggest return possible. And that’s what this guide is meant to do. 

We’ll show you how to make extra money by selling old college textbooks. 

How To Get More Money For Your Old College Textbooks

First of all, you have to be realistic when selling old textbooks. You’ll not get much cash for each copy of your book, even if you sell directly to students.

Even still, there are some things you can do to increase your sales of each book. Let’s go through them. 

Know When To Sell Your Textbooks 

Get the timing right. If you don’t know the right time to sell your books, you need to do a bit of research. That’s because how much you get back for your textbooks depends on when you sold them. 

Students will want to buy used books at the beginning of the semester. You won’t make many sales at the end of the semester since classes cease.

As a general rule of thumb, your book’s value decreases significantly during the summer. It then skyrockets when school reopens. 

So it’s ideal to sell your old textbooks before the semester begins. You don’t have to wait before you graduate or wait for some years before selling your books.

As the years go by, the book’s value decreases, especially when the publishers release new editions. 

Furthermore, remember that you won’t be the only bookseller. Everyone, including students, is rushing to get rid of your books.

So when many people sell their books, it floods the market. Next, book buyers get overwhelmed and significantly reduce the price or decline to purchase specific books altogether. 

So, as said earlier, the start of the semester is ideal, especially if you decide to sell directly to students. 

Keep The Books In Good Condition 

If you’re planning to sell your textbooks, make sure you keep them in good condition. Pen or pencil marks on the inside of the textbook might not be a big deal.

However, a book buyer might reject a text covered in a highlighter or books with numerous notes in the margin.  

Remember: booksellers will likely reject used textbooks that don’t meet their specific requirements.

So it’s essential to read the terms and conditions regarding a book before you sell them. For example, your books must have covers and need to be intact. 

Furthermore, your old textbooks should have all the pages intact as well. If a book came with a CD or other supplementary materials, add the materials when selling them. In addition, try as much as possible to avoid getting your books dirty or wet. 

Don’t cover your textbooks to avoid spilling drinks or food on them. If you snack while studying, try to keep it away from the books. 

Choose The Right Reseller 

If you are planning to find places to sell used books you can sell your books directly to avoid the middleman.

However, if you decide to sell online, you have to find the right bookselling site to make profitable sales regularly. However, that can take a bit of trial and error to find the right reseller that fits your needs. 

Numerous vendors have minimum buyback amounts. So it makes sense sometimes to go with a vendor that wants to buy several textbooks. It’s better than you searching for a vendor who offers a higher price on a single volume. 

Depending on how many textbooks you have and the offers you receive, you can sell your used books to more than one buyback vendor to get the most cash. 

The Best Places To Sell Used Textbooks 

1. Decluttr 

Decluttr buys textbooks and books, CDs, DVDs, video games, legos, phones, and devices. If you’re planning on selling several books, Decluttr is an ideal option. 

There are two ways to know if Declutter accepts your used textbooks: Type your book’s ISBN into their website. The site then gives a price for the book or lets you know if they’re buying those textbooks. 

If you choose a price, it gets locked for 28 days. That means you have about a month to package the books and send them to Decluttr. The company offers you a prepaid label, so you package the books and send them. 

2. BookByte 

BookByte’s process of selling books is similar to selling to Decluttr. When you type your textbook’s ISBN, the website gives you a quote. You then decide whether to accept it or not. When you choose to accept, you get a prepaid label and ship your books. 

When you accept the company’s price, it gets locked in for 30 days. However, Decluttr asks you to ship your textbooks within seven calendar days of acquiring the quote. That’s because it can take days for the books to arrive. 

You get paid when the company receives your books. 

3. BookDeal

BookDeal.com offers one of the most stress-free and transparent ways of selling textbooks online. The company has a vast network of dependable buyback vendors they work with.

After 20 years of experience in the bookselling business, they’ve found a reliable way for people to sell their books comfortably. BookDeal.com ensures that the online textbook selling process is straightforward. 

All you have to do is type in your textbook’s ISBN and choose the price you prefer. After you sell your books to the company, you get paid once they arrive and get checked. BookDeal.com offers free shipping, and your payment is guaranteed. 

Final Thoughts 

It’s advisable to search for the right reseller that fits your needs. You need to study when it’s the right time to sell textbooks and seize that opportunity. 

Aside from selling online, you can also sell directly to the students and cut out the middleman.

That means more profit for you. However, you need to weigh the pros and cons of each decision you take because that can significantly affect your business.