Read, Rehome, Recycle: sell old books online for easy money

How many times have you finished an amazing book and passed it straight on to a friend or family member? It feels pretty good to share a brilliant novel with someone important to us in the hope they’ll enjoy it as much as we did.

But what if you could get that feeling by passing a preloved book onto a complete stranger, and get paid for it too?

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll show you how you can earn some extra cash by selling your old books online. Whether you’re hoping to declutter your home or just making space for a load more titles, selling books can be an easy way to make money quickly.

We’ve got the lowdown on the best online platforms for selling every type of book, from the latest thriller to old academic textbooks.

Find out which sites pay the best, which offer instant cash, and which are most trusted by other booksellers. After reading our guide, you’ll be clued up on which websites or apps are best suited to what books you’re selling and how you want to sell them.

Why sell old books online?

Selling your old, preloved books online is a really quick and simple way to make a bit of money. In a cost of living crisis, every penny counts, and if you have books lying around gathering dust, why not turn them into cash?

Not only is having a clear-out of your bookshelf a fantastic way to make space and earn a bit of money, but it also helps you put the planet first. When we buy, sell and donate our old books, this saves someone somewhere down the line from having to buy a brand-new copy.

This reduces the amount of paper and other resources used, making the second-hand book market a more eco-friendly alternative to buying new books. After all, why make two copies when two people can pass one copy between them?

Where to go to sell books online

So, you’ve decided to try your hand at selling your unwanted books. Maybe you’ve even got a few particular titles in mind. But where to start?

The first thing to consider is what types of books you’re planning to sell. Most of the platforms we’ll talk about in this guide will accept all kinds of books, but others are specifically designed for buying and selling old and rare titles, which tend to be worth more money.

We’ve been investigating the biggest book-selling platforms in the UK, to help you decide which might be the best fit for you. We’ve split them into categories:

 Bulk-buying apps
 Listing platforms
 Places to sell old and rare books

Book-buying apps

If you’ve got boxes of low-value books to get rid of, you might want to try a book-buying app to save time. This method is great for selling off items in bulk and it’s probably the quickest way to do it too, but what you get in convenience you’ll probably lose in cash value.

All of the platforms in this section can be accessed via their website or app, although the apps are easier to use thanks to their barcode scanner features. Just download your chosen app from the App Store or Google Play and you can start scanning without even needing to set up an account.

You’ll need to scan the barcodes of each book using your app’s inbuilt barcode reader or enter the ISBN manually (an ISBN is a title’s unique 13-digit book number that can be found by the barcode).

Get an instant valuation for any books you scan without having to commit to selling them. You could even compare the price you’re offered by each app and go with the best one overall.

All of the apps below offer free postage but bear in mind that some have higher minimum order requirements than others. They accept a wide range of book types, which means you’ll likely sell most of the books you’re hoping to.

Ziffit (powered by Wob)

Ziffit are a great sustainable option because they don’t send any items to landfill, reselling or recycling every single item. The Ziffit app is powered by Wob (previously known as World of Books), who work to support charities as well as the authors themselves.

Wob get most of their books from charity shops, buying the titles that they’re struggling to sell or don’t have space to keep. This means they’re stopping these charities from having to pay to destroy unwanted books.

As well as this, authors who are members of the Author’s Licensing and Collecting Society are able to earn a commission from the sales of their books through Wob.

musicMagpie

We Buy Books

We Buy Books offer a free Evri courier collection service and you’ll get your payment the day after they receive them.

Sell It Back

There is a way to get around the £10 threshold, which is to submit 10 or more books. If you have 10 or more books accepted by Sell It Back, that’s enough to complete your order, even if your total payment doesn’t reach £10.

Like We Buy Books, Sell It Back are relatively strict with their acceptance criteria. However, if any of your books get rejected, you won’t be able to have them returned to you. They’ll simply recycle books they’ve rejected and distribute the money among their charity partners, instead of sending the cash to you.

If your books are in good condition, you won’t have anything to worry about, but keep these restrictions in mind if you are selling particularly well-read copies. They also offer free Evri collections, so you won't even need to leave the comfort of your home.

Which book-buying app is best?

We ran a test to see which book-buying app would give us the best total price for a collection of books. We ran 10 popular books: a mix of non-fiction, fiction, academic, hardback, paperback, kids’ books, recent releases and classics.

As you’ll see from the infographic below, the Ziffit app came out on top in terms of price, accepting all 10 of our titles.

There are so many reasons to love Ziffit, not least because they offer the most cash. The app is incredibly easy to use, with quick and simple courier collections and parcel drop-offs available.

Ziffit is also owned by Wob, which means authors can earn royalties from future second-hand sales. So, Ziffit are helping you do your bit for the environment, your wallet, and the authors who write your favourite books.

musicMagpie came second for price, but only accepted seven of the 10 titles, whereas We Buy Books accepted nine. However, both of these apps require a basket total of £5, which we only just hit with our 10 books. Ziffit would have allowed us to send the 10 books, even if the total price came to less than £5.

Listing platforms

If you’ve got a bit more time to dedicate to your book-selling, using a listing platform like Amazon, eBay, Vinted or Depop could be a more profitable option.

When selling online directly to customers, you have full control over how much you charge for items. This means you could make a much better profit on books sold compared to book-buying apps like musicMagpie and Ziffit, who might only give you 20p for a book.

As you’ll be dealing directly with customers, this method involves a fair bit more work. You’ll need to create a seller account on your chosen platform and individually list each book you’d like to sell. Make sure to include an accurate description of the book’s condition, with high-quality images of the book (including any imperfections or damage).

You’ll also be responsible for sorting postage and it’s your choice whether you charge customers for it or foot the bill yourself (but listings will be more attractive to potential buyers if you offer free shipping).

Many listing platforms charge listing and/or selling fees, so you’ll need to bear this in mind too. See the infographic below for a breakdown of fees from the main selling websites.

While books do tend to sell for more on listing platforms than book-buying apps, there’s no guarantee your listings will sell for the price you set. It can take months or years for a listing to sell, or it may never sell, so this isn't the method to try if you’re looking for instant cash.

If a book you’ve listed on eBay doesn’t sell after a month, you’ll need to renew the listing. This can be done manually or automatically and will cost you 30p per renewed listing.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that while people do sell old books on Vinted and Depop, these apps are designed for selling preloved clothes, so there may be a smaller customer pool looking for what you’re selling.

One great thing about selling on listing platforms is that you could list all of your items on all of the platforms at the same time to increase your chances of making a sale. However, make sure you delete any listings that sell, as you don’t want to sell the same item twice!

Are book-buying apps or listing platforms better?

The answer to this question depends on your priorities. Is your focus to get as much cash as you can, regardless of how much effort you need to put in? Or, are you happy to settle for a lower amount, for the convenience of having someone else do most of the work for you?

If you’re in this for the long haul, there may be more money that comes your way, but it could take a long time to reap the profits.

How to sell academic, rare and old books

Some books have more value than others. Textbooks can be pricey to buy in the first place, so reselling academic books you no longer need can be a great way to make back some of your costs. Old and rare books can also be very valuable, so it’s worth investing some time into getting the best price for them. 

Textbooks

If you’ve ever been a student, you’ll know how quickly those textbooks start to pile up.

Selling them via social media can be a good way to get rid of them fast, even better if you’re able to sell them to someone in your local area. Why not do a search for a Facebook group for students or graduates in your field, or list your books on Facebook Marketplace?

While there are American sites like TextbookRush specifically designed for buying back academic books, there aren’t any reliable equivalent sites in the UK. Because of this, we’d recommend trying one of the other methods already mentioned above.

Listing academic books on Amazon or eBay might be the most reliable way of getting somewhere near what the book is actually worth, whereas book-buying apps will probably underpay.

If your textbooks are annotated or highlighted, this could significantly reduce their value. Make sure you’re prepared for this when selling textbooks online, and never lie about a book’s condition.

Old and rare books

Do you own any old books, such as limited edition or even first edition releases? If you do, you could be in for a big payday.

While you could try your luck with eBay or Amazon, people aren’t necessarily going to be checking those platforms if they’re looking for rare and valuable books.

We’d recommend you have a look through the following websites to get an idea of the kinds of books being sold. You might discover you own some valuable books that you’ve never considered selling before.

AbeBooks

AbeBooks are a Canadian subsidiary of Amazon where people can buy and sell rare books, art and collectables.

Sellers pay monthly subscription fees to have their own online store, which start from £17 per month for up to 500 listings.

Alibris

Alibris accept books at all points on the value spectrum. You don’t pay listing fees for the first 1,000 listings but there is a one-time sign-up fee of £15.85*.

* Pricing for Alibris UK has been converted from USD and is correct as of 05/04/2024

Tips for selling books online

If you choose to sell your old books using any listing platform (whether that’s eBay, Vinted or AbeBooks), there are universal best practices for ensuring you get good money while also keeping your customers happy.

Have a read of our tips below and make sure you consider all of these things whenever listing a book to sell online.

 Set competitive prices

If you want your books to sell, you’ll need to set your prices in keeping with what other people are selling the same titles for.

If a book is listed by 50 different sellers and they’ve all set their prices under £5, your listing will need to compete with all of those. So, if you list your book at £10, or even £5.50, you’re not going to sell it before the cheaper ones.

The exception to this is if your book is in far better condition than all the listings already online. If you’re offering a hardback book in perfect condition, you can expect a higher price than the same book in paperback with a torn cover.

 Selling bundles of books together

If you have multiple low-value books in the same genre or written by the same author (or even a full book series), you might have better luck selling them in a bundle.

Bear in mind that a bundle will cost more to send than an individual book because the parcel will be heavier, but it’s probably worth it if you’re able to sell a few books in one go.

 Be honest about the condition of each book

Whether you’re selling a book directly to a customer or sending it to a buy-back scheme, it does nobody any favours if you’re dishonest about the book’s condition.

A customer receiving a book that isn’t as described in the listing may ask for a refund or leave you a bad review. Weigh up what condition of book you’d accept as a buyer and make sure you’re not short-changing any of your customers. Be honest about the condition of the book and include photos of any damage.

Similarly, a buy-back scheme may have your book recycled without paying you what they quoted for it. If you have a book that’s in bad shape, you could donate it to charity instead, or have it recycled if it’s not in a readable condition.

 Package books properly

Following on from the point above, you’ll want to do everything you can to ensure each book arrives at its destination in the best possible condition. This isn’t too difficult to do as most postage bags and cardboard book boxes provide enough protection on their own.

If you’re sending a book that might be easily damaged (such as a hardback that could get scuffed corners), you could add a layer of bubble wrap for protection.

Drawbacks of selling second-hand books

Before you start selling books, it’s important to know the potential obstacles that could arise. None of the points below are by any means reasons not to bother, but they’re worth factoring in.

1. It can be time-consuming

Selling your books online can be very time-consuming, so make sure it’s worth the effort you’re putting in.

With that said, once you’ve listed your items on your chosen platforms, you can sit back and wait for them to sell. So, while there may be a long period between listing and selling, you don’t have to do anything in that period in between.

2. You may have to pay postage

If you’re paying the shipping costs yourself, you’ll need to factor this in when pricing your books. There’s no point in pricing a book at £1 with free shipping if it’s going to cost you more than £1 to send it.

Some platforms like Vinted encourage customers to pay postage costs, but if you want to advertise free shipping, we’d advise that you absorb some or all of the shipping cost into your listing price.

3. You’re not necessarily supporting the author

At its core, passing on a book to someone else will help spread the word about that particular author and book, so there’s always value in sharing. But when we sell second-hand books to someone else, this can be damaging for authors. This is because authors generally don’t make any profit from secondary sales.

If you’re selling via a book-buying app, Ziffit is your best bet because some of their books get resold through Wob, who give authors royalty fees for second-hand sales via the Author’s Licensing and Collecting Society.

If you want to give direct support to authors, you should buy their books firsthand from a bookstore or from the author’s own website. Borrowing books from your local library can also benefit the author as they tend to get a small fee each time one of their books is taken out.

The story doesn’t end here…

So, now you’re clued up on how and where to sell your old books online. Whether you’re hoping to sell children’s books your kids no longer read, old university textbooks or the complete Harry Potter book series, you have a range of methods to choose from.

If you’re looking for an instant cash offer, try a handy app like Ziffit or We Buy Books, but if you’re happy to play the long game, setting up an Amazon seller account may be more worthwhile. Take a look at the table below to weigh up the pros and cons of each method.

By selling your old books online, you can do your bit for the planet while making a decent bit of money.

But don’t forget that supporting authors is very important if we want our favourite writers to be able to continue doing what they do. Because of this, we’d still encourage you to buy directly from authors and bookstores where you can.

If you do sell a book on for your own gain, why not find a way to benefit the writer at the same time? You could leave a review on their website or on Goodreads, or buy another of one of their books directly from them.