This is off topic but..

craigslist may be your best bet, as you don't have to pay fees or ship things if you meet up locally. You could also try half.com

Have you tried Amazon at all? That's my first thought. It's perfectly safe, although I don't know how soon you'd get a sale.

There are charities, too, that might pay you for books YA books.

All used bookstores will buy used books. If you call them they can tell you their buying hours. Anything they won't buy you can donate to places like prisons, some schools, library sales, etc.

I've just gotten through with two months of buying a crapton of YA books off Ebay. I've gotten some GREAT titles!! I don't think there should be any issues with doing it on there. I've not had a problem with any of the sellers I've bought from. I've gotten everythingn from childhood titles like Babysitters Club Superspecials to El*zabeth Sc*tt books, to J*hn Gre*en. You name it, and I've bought it.

A lot of the books I bought were in "lots" of four or five. You can set a reserve of the least you'll take, and then see how well it goes with the bidding.

And I can understand being a college student of wanting to make some of the money back for essentials or more books.

It'd be nice if there was a thread on here where we could buy and sell through paypal.

TwilightxDream said:

Hey. So this is way off topic, but I scanned all the threads and I wasn't sure where to post this..

Basically, I have a bunch of books that I've read and I'm done with. Or just don't want. I want to sell them for cash, because I just have so many - and...well, I'm a poor college student and cash would be nice. I have a couple things in mind, but it's really hard to find places to sell books... The Strand in NYC will buy books, and one local B&N by me does sometimes... I know ebay is a good choice but I don't know if I trust it enough..

The books I have are YA, sci-fi, romance, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. Most were published within the last 10 years.

Anyone have any suggestions on where I can sell these?

Thanks so much - and again, sorry this is so off topic, but I wasn't sure where else to post it on the site.

Click to expand...

The good news: Amazon is easier (has a shorter learning curve) and "safer" than eBay (buyers pay Amazon through a credit card, and Amazon pays you) The bad news: your books might not be worth as much as you hope.

I've sold a very few books on eBay and more Amazon a few year ago, and I'd suggest going with Amazon for books that will sell there. Firstly, look up each of your books (use the ISBN and double-check that it's the right book and right edition) on Amazon and see what the "Used from..." price of each is. If it's less than a few dollars (my lower limit was $5), you might decide it's not worth selling on Amazon, and you can take those to local bookstores to see what they'll give for them. Most all "used" sales on Amazon are to the lowest prices listed. There's a lot of info on selling, including a forum for sellers (though I haven't been here in years), on the Amazon site.

Unless a book is very recent (published within the last six months or so) and still popular (currently on a best-seller list) or there's something unusual about it (it's the first printing of a very popular author's first book. or it's out of print and for some reason the demand for it is rising), a used book is only worth a small fraction of its new price. You may see a lot of your titles listed on Amazon for one cent (high-volume booksellers make a few cents on what Amazon gives them for shipping).

I've never heard of a charity place actually BUYING books, since they get plenty of free donations, and sell them cheaply enough (about 25 cents to $1.50 for paperbacks, up to $3 for hardbacks).

As June said, it could be easier to sell on ebay if you sell in lots of five or ten in the same genre or by the same author - that's an option you don't have on Amazon.

ETA: Here's my blog entry on how I buy/get books (though I think I've cut down a good bit in recent years) - it shows how cheap most used books can be had for:
http://ben-bradley.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-and-where-i-buyget-books.html

I'm sure it varies, but most used bookstores I've been to pay next to nothing, unless it's some sort of collectable. Last time I made a run, I took in about 25 books of fairly popular/newer SF/F/Horror and they offered me $8 cash, or $16 credit. Just be prepared to be very underwhelmed by their offer.

I have a friend who makes pretty good money selling books on Ebay. What's not to trust? You don't have to ship the books until after you're paid.

I sold a lot of slightly collectible books via Amazon before I moved. It was surprisingly easy and pleasant.

Or you could try a book-swap website so that even though you wouldn't get any money, you'd get other books that you wanted without having to pay for them. It might be worth a try.

Something to remember, too:

If you sell the books to someone from out-of-town, like on Ebay or Craigslist via Craiglook, the US postal service's shipping charges for books are much lower than to ship anything else. It's called the "media rate" on the USPS website.

I know sometimes people feel discouraged from selling things online because the shipping can be more than the item itself, and it turns potential buyers off. But books can be shipped quite cheaply...

I hate the hassle of having to wait for my books to sell online and dealing with shipping them. I have always taken my books to used bookstores. I don't get a ton of cash for them, but at least I get some. Plus, I usually find some new ones while I'm there (probably not the best strategy if you are trying to find more space).

This is assuming these aren't books that are worth a ton. If I had any that were collectible or expensive, I would probably try selling them through Amazon or Ebay.

Auctions? I know it's kinda old school, but I sold a crapload of books a few years ago at this warehouse auction - I got about $500 for 50-60 books. If they're hardback or first edition or in good condition, the price skyrockets.

Good luck with the money-reaping!