Major Book Buyback Websites

Let's thinkMany students are listing their textbooks on websites such as Amazon or Half in hopes of a buyer purchasing them. For popular textbooks, you may sell your copy in a few days. For other less popular textbooks, you may maintain the same inventory for months.

While listing your textbooks on these websites is a great way to get competitive selling prices, you may not want to wait that long to receive the money. If you are willing to settle for a less amount of money in exchange for immediate selling, you may consider a book buyback website.

The internet is swamped with websites buying your textbooks. For the most part you can just enter the ISBN number and a buying quote will appear. Because it is so easy to obtain a quote, be sure to shop around before giving up your textbook for $10.

Check out these major book buyback websites:

1) Amazon Textbook Buyback

You can insert the ISBN number and they will offer you a buyback price. They will then offer you a label to provide free shipping. The textbook must be postmarked for shipping within 7 days after the submission.

An Amazon gift card will be deposited into your account 2 business days after receipt of the textbooks.

However, textbooks must be free of excessive highlighting, tears, and wrinkles. They will return them to you if they are not in good condition. You may want to check out what exactly Amazon considers “good” condition before sending a book missing 2 pages back.

Also, supplemental materials such as Cds must be included. Typically, items not accepted will be returned to you within 14 days.

3) Barnes & Noble-Sell Your Textbooks

Similar to Amazon, you can enter your ISBN number and they will determine if they would like to purchase your book. They will then offer you a quoting price. You can lock in that quote for a month. After that, the offer is subject to change.

If you decide to take their offer, they will provide you with a return label so you can ship the textbook to them for free. Once they receive your textbook, they will send you a check.

Also, they only accept textbooks mailed from the United States. They are not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen books while in transit. If you are concerned about your book’s safety, they recommend shipping from USPS or UPS and choosing insurance.

3) Textbook.com-Sell Us Your Textbooks

By entering the ISBN number, you can determine if Textbook.com will purchase your book back. They also offer free shipping.

Textbook.com differs from Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the fact that they will offer more to an existing customer. For example, if you purchased a textbook from them, they will offer you a 10% bonus when you sell it back.

Also, they offer a 50% Guaranteed Cash Back program for existing customers. When you purchase a book marked “Guaranteed Cash Back” at the beginning of the semester, you will always get 50% of your purchase price when you sell it back. You will get 50% of the new price back, even if you bought it used.

Payment is issued through a check or Paypal deposit.

4) AbeBooks.com

You simply enter the ISBN number of the textbook that you would like to sell and find out if it is one of the 1,000,000 titles they are currently buying back. You can choose payment options including a check, a Paypal deposit, or store credit.

They are purchasing books in brand new or “good” condition. Be sure to check their website out and determine their book standards. They offer pictures and descriptions of what won’t be accepted.

After your book is received, it generally takes 1-3 days to confirm its condition and another 1-3 days to issue payment.

If the book is not received within 4 weeks, your quoted price may be subject to change.

Although there are many websites out there that are willing to buy back your textbooks, you should consider a few things. Be sure to choose the website that offers you the highest price. Consider shipping with this. While most websites offer free shipping, you may come across one that doesn’t.

Also, check how the payment is issued. Amazon may offer you a considerably larger buyback amount. Yet, if you don’t have a purpose for the Amazon gift card, it may be better to choose a cash or check option.

Search around and get the best price for your textbooks. Buybacks are an instant way to get some extra cash at the end of the semester.

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