The Best Place to Sell Textbooks for Good Money in 2021

There are many ways to sell your used college textbooks. Yet, to find the best place to sell textbooks during a pandemic is not an easy task.

Luckily for you, we spared you the painstaking task of finding them; we checked the buyback requirements, terms and conditions, customer reviews, and overall user-friendliness of many buyback sites.

So, keep on reading if you’re interested and increase your chances of getting the best sell-back deal fee- and hassle-free!

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Overview — ValoreBooks is a textbook-specialized online trading platform with over 18 million active users (mostly students). In fact, it has more than a million items coming from approximately 20,000 sellers.

Ease of use — Selling your textbooks and study guides is effortless with ValoreBooks. Yet, what makes this site stand out among the top places to sell textbooks online is its seller-friendly and detailed acceptance criteria. 

Shipping — ValoreBooks provides a free USPS shipping label and a packing slip that’s included in the package. 

However, it’s worth noting that for deliveries that take more than 20 days (from the moment you place your sell-back order), textbooks will be re-quoted.

Valuation & acceptance criteria — Current supply and demand, as well as your textbook’s condition, determine the overall value according to ValoreBooks. Though, that shouldn’t be a problem seeing how there are over 18 million student buyers, making ValoreBooks the best place to sell textbooks for cash.

Better yet, moderate textbook wear is also allowed, according to the ValoreBooks’ acceptable qualities. Unlike other resellers, ValoreBooks gives you 14 days to request a return in case your textbook gets rejected. 

Loose leaves from binder editions are also allowed, as long as they are complete, and additional study materials can be missing as well, provided the unique ISBN is the only way of accessing these.

Another thing that cements ValoreBooks’ rank among the best places to sell textbooks is their exhaustive list of acceptable (and unacceptable) criteria that won’t leave you in the dark of whether or not your student book is fit for sale.

Payment — After invoicing, it can take anywhere between 2 to 14 days for it to appear on your PayPal balance, or 7–14 days for your in-mail check to arrive.

Pros:

• Sell-back order tracking
• Detailed acceptance criteria
• Higher sell-back prices
• 14-day request return option

Cons:

• 20-day price guarantee
• 70lbs package-limitation

Overview — Operating since 1999, Bookbyte is a veteran of the textbook trading business. As a result, it enjoys immense popularity and is considered one of the best places to sell college textbooks in the US. 

To give you an idea of just how awesome their service is, Bookbyte scored a whopping 4.9-star customer rating. 

Ease of use — Getting your Bookbyte sell-back price valuation is a lot easier compared to most other textbook sites. Namely, besides the ISBN, you can also use the title, the author, or relevant keywords in the quote bar. 

Plus, this price is valid for 30 days! The rest of the buyback process is also pretty straightforward. Hence, when it comes to user convenience, this is most definitely the best place to sell textbooks online.

Shipping — It’s free and done through USPS in 4–14 business days, on average. 

However, delays are not uncommon. Hence, to ensure the price valuation guarantee, Bookbyte suggests shipping your package within five business days. 

Valuation & acceptance criteria — Current market values and inventory stocks determine the textbook price at Bookbyte. 

Keep in mind that the price quote lock lasts for 30 days and the delivery has to take place by then or the textbooks will be re-quoted.

Besides having the smartest textbook research engine, Bookbyte also has reasonable textbook acceptance criteria, including alternative textbook editions like international publications. 

Payment — If you are somewhat impatient, this platform isn’t the best way to sell your textbooks.

Given the usual processing and shipping times (3–5 and 4–14 business days, respectively), you can expect your PayPal payment anywhere between 8 to 20 days after shipping your package, but sending your check might take an additional 3–7 days.

Pros:

• Title, author, and keyword search are all available 
• 4.9-star customer rating 
• Low qualifying price ($0.25)
• Alternative textbook editions are accepted 

Cons:

• Relatively same price for rarely used and mint-condition textbooks 

Overview — With over six million customers and over 15,400 reviews on Trustpilot, Decluttr is one of the best places to sell used textbooks online according to customer ratings. But, what makes Decuttr stand apart from the rest of the competition is the buyback payment speed.  

In short, Decluttr is the online trade market where you can sell both your old textbooks and your old phone, CDs, DVDs, and video games.

Ease of use — Clearing your textbook clutter is effortless with Decluttr. All you need is a valid ISBN that you can type in or simply scan through the Decluttr mobile application. 

The app, which features a barcode scanner, access to customer service, and FAQs, can also be considered one of the best places to sell textbooks online. 

Currently, it is among the top-ranked textbook selling applications on GooglePlay (4.0 user score). 

Shipping — It is done relatively quickly via USPS, and for free, too. Plus, Decluttr’s headquarters welcomes any type of packaging!

Valuation & acceptance criteria — The condition of your textbook is rigorously assessed at Decluttr to expose any inconsistencies. And for each one, a revised price is offered.

Payment — You’re in luck! Decluttr is a package-processing champion! Unlike most other platforms, Decluttr needs only one day to process and inspect packages, so payments are issued the very next day! 

The speed alone makes it the best place to sell textbooks online for cash.

But wait, there’s more! 

There are four different ways to get paid:

• direct deposit (3 business days)
• PayPal (24h),
• check (~10 business days) 
• charity donation 

The choice is all yours.

Additional perks include — referral program ($5 bonus per friend, each) and a 10% higher valued price for student-sellers.

Pros:

• Fast processing time 
• Next-day payment
• Referral program
• 10% bigger buyback price for students
• Highly-ranked mobile application

Cons:

• No return-package option

Overview — eCampus is a direct online marketplace and an official bookstore for many colleges, universities, and over 150 K-12 schools. 

The vast public exposure, through collaboration with universities, qualifies eCampus as the overall best place to sell college textbooks because of the more significant student book demand.

Ease of use — You’ll need an eCampus account to start selling! Also, the entire process is fairly standard and intuitive — get a price quote, ship your textbook, and collect your money.

There’s also the option of becoming a bulk seller (marketplace seller).

Shipping — USPS delivery is free and takes up to 7 days from the moment you order. You can even calculate just how soon you can expect your payment with eCampus as, unlike many other best places to sell back textbooks, it offers regular shipping updates.

Note that you should also include a copy of your buyback order, displaying your buyback confirmation number.

Valuation & acceptance criteria — Valuation is based on future value, stock, and popularity.

Besides textbooks, other study materials are also accepted by eCampus. The most critical eCampus textbook requirements focus on the integrity of the pages, spine, and cover.

Payment — You can choose between check, PayPal, in-store credit, and direct deposit when it comes to payment methods. Moreover, the processing time takes 3–5 weeks.

On the flip side, there is a by-check payment fee of $2.00 for this service. 

That said, the in-store credit payment method hides the best eCampus deals and bonuses — another reason why this brand is the best place to sell old textbooks.

Pros:

• 3 payment options available
• High textbook demand 
• Sell up to 10 identical copies 
• Reasonable acceptance criteria

Cons:

• No mobile app for sellers
• check payment fee ($2.00)
• No return

Overview — SellbackyourBook.com is a PayPal-certified business. So far it’s spent a whopping $10 million in acquiring old books.

Yet, what makes SellbackyourBook.com truly special is the trust of their customers. Namely, customers cite this as the ideal place to sell textbooks in reviews; specifically, in over 21,000 TrustPilot entries! 

Ease of use — The website uses one or multiple 10- and 13-digit ISBNs to give you a price estimation. If this seems like a hassle to you,  you can use the barcode scanner through their mobile application. 

Shipping — SellbackyourBook.com issues free shipment labels for both FedEx and USPS, depending on your convenience. With FedEx, you will enjoy up to $100 in package insurance coverage. 

Plus, it’s also possible to retrieve your textbook for a small shipping fee ($3.99 to be exact). 

Valuation & acceptance criteria — Unfortunately, you can only sell standard US textbook editions on this website. Likewise, to sell textbooks online through sellbackyourBook.com, they have to be in good shape according to their fairly strict textbook condition guidelines. 

In particular, these include highlighting, underlining, or writing in less than 30% of the pages.

Payment — Payments are issued quickly (PayPal and check), usually in 2 business days after examining your textbooks. 

At first glance, not a whole lot different from the others. Yet, what makes this one of the best places to sell college textbooks is that numerous customers consider it 100% reliable. 

Pros:

• Up to $100 shipping insurance 
• FedEx service available
• Fast package processing (2 days)
• Package return is possible 
• More than 16,700 5-star reviews

Cons:

• Quality criteria are somewhat strict

Overview — Best known for their 50% Cash-Back Books, Textbook.com’s stock counts over 10 million secondhand books. 

They are the best place to sell college textbooks for cash because of their big student audience, and reasonable buyback prices, but most important of all — their payment transparency.

Ease of use — With Textbook.com, you can lock the offered price for 30 days just by clicking “Finalize This Quote.” Then, of course, you need to ship the package promptly.

Shipping — You’ll get a free USPS shipping label for your package, along with a tracking number. In addition, you’ll have to add a packing slip and a copy of your price offer in the box. 

Valuation & acceptance criteria — If you have a thing for highlighting and you were wondering “where can I sell my textbooks like this?”, well, Textbook.com is your best bet! They accept books with a lot of highlighted pages, provided they are in good condition.

According to their used textbooks requirements, they also accept textbooks with faded cover art, but not an incomplete textbook set.  

Payment — With Textbook.com, you can also track the progress of your shipment processing and know exactly when to expect your buyback money.

The payment time brackets for a PayPal deposit is 1–2 weeks; for a check — 2 to 4 weeks.

Pros:

• Large student audience
• 30-day price lock
• Heavily highlighted textbooks are accepted 
• Tracking of cash-back status

Cons:

• No shipment insurance

Overview — Do sellers reject your alternative edition student books? 

Boy, have we got some good news for you! 

By its broad acceptance criteria alone, TextbookRush can be considered the best place to sell your college textbooks online.

Ease of use — Whether you are a one-time seller or want to become a marketplace seller, you’ll need a user account to sell on TextbookRush. 

Aside from this, to get your value estimation, you need the textbooks’ ISBN. Moreover, you’ll need to know the type of edition you have. 

But worry not! 

TextbookRush features a mini edition guide to help you identify just that — another reason we are listing it as the best place to sell your textbooks back.

Shipping — The TextbookRush offer is valid for 7 days, so you’ll have to ship promptly. Also, keep in mind that textbooks can get a new quote if delivered after more than 14 days. 

Valuation & acceptance criteria — At TextbookRush, the value of your book has to be above the minimum $15 threshold to be accepted for sale; no matter the edition. 

Additionally, not only do their acceptance criteria allow buyback of alternative editions, but the website also features a unique international-edition search bar!

Payment — Shipment processing time takes up to 3 business days, and issuing a check might take an additional 5–10 business days. 

If this seems too long for you — hold your horses. FedEx shipment is a lot faster than standard USPS. Still, it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference compared to most other top places to sell back textbooks on this list. 

Pros:

• Accepts different editions
• Edition mini-guide available
• Ships through USPS and FedEx
• In-store payment available

Cons:

• No mobile application
• Minimum price threshold of $15

Overview — BooktoCash is a 2020 addition to the textbooks selling market. And despite the global crisis, it gathered some good reviews. This newcomer’s success is reason enough to consider it one of the top places to sell used textbooks of 2020.

Ease of use — The value of your textbook has to be at least $7.50 to qualify for this service. Moreover, the process is simple enough and you can use either their website or their fast-processing mobile app, whichever is more convenient for you.

Shipping — To our delight, users enjoy free insurance on their shipped items up to their estimated value in each parcel.

Valuation & acceptance criteria — Price-wise, BooktoCash applies only the current market price of your textbook from their available stock. 

In addition, valuation prices are updated every 24h, so to sell your textbooks online for the price given, you need to make a buyback order straight away.

On the downside, BooktoCash doesn’t use competitor prices as criteria for your textbook’s valuation, so price-matching isn’t an option. 

Plus, due to the constant update of prices on other platforms, you need to check both the application and the website to pick the better deal.

That said, every set has to be complete, together with every original dust jacket. These are just a small part of the relatively reasonable BooktoCash textbook acceptance requirements. 

This brand also re-evaluates items that don’t meet the selection criteria instead of throwing them away like many sellers do — another reason to include it in the best place to sell textbooks for cash list.

Payment — BooktoCash issues payments four days after examining a textbook.

Pros:

• No item number limit
• Fast-processing mobile app
• Items are insured to their evaluated price
• Re-quoting damaged textbooks

Cons:

• 24h-fluctuating price quote
• Only one copy per ISBN is accepted

Overview — BooksRun counts over 4,000 excellent reviews. Still, the most remarkable thing about it is its mobile app, which counts over 10,000 downloads. This, among other things, made us consider it the best place to sell textbooks back — hence why we gave it a spot on our list.

Ease of use — There are quite a few terms and conditions to go through before selling your old textbook through BooksRun, so we advise you to read all of them (carefully) to avoid any extra costs or disputes. 

Shipping — Shipping is free for textbooks with a buyback value greater than $15. Better yet, they can be packed in an eco-friendly manner — two or more books in one big package instead of many smaller individual packages. 

However, if you don’t follow this rule, you’ll have to pay for the shipment. 

With this rule, BooksRun encourages eco-friendly shipping as the best way to sell textbooks and save the planet at the same time.

Another unique feature of BooksRun is that the shipping can be delayed after the initial 5 days (the recalculate button). That is, the booklist will remain a part of the order but the offered price will change, together with the shipping deadline. 

Valuation & acceptance criteria — If the book’s condition doesn’t conform to BooksRun’s moderate buyback textbook criteria, it can be rejected or re-evaluated.  

Nevertheless, your textbook won’t be destroyed straight away! You will get a 3-day window to request a return.

Payment — If no other delays are at play, BooksRun will issue your buyback money 4 business days after the order is processed. However, if you choose to sell books for cash, your check could take up to 20 business days to reach you. 

Pros:

• Flexible shipping period
• USPS or FedEx shipping
• Book counterfeit probability calculator
• Over 4,000 excellent customer reviews

Cons:

• Price quotes are only valid for 5 days 
• Return shipping is not free

Overview — Known primarily as a textbook renting site founded in 2009, Knetbooks runs one of the best places to sell textbooks for cash on the web. 

Ease of Use — As with most price generators, Knetbook uses only ISBNs to identify books. Yet, here, you can search for up to 10 of those at the same time! 

That said, you’ll need an account with valid information (name, address, telephone number) to request a buyback.

Shipping — Knetbooks’ valued price is valid for 7 days. So, you need to hurry up and post your package before the buyback order expires. 

What you’ll also need to do is include a copy of your buyback confirmation in the package.

Valuation & acceptance criteria — Unlike most other best places to sell textbooks back, Knetbooks clearly states that it considers the future value of your textbooks when presenting you with a price.

This means that they calculate whether or not the book will be used in future classes, along with its current popularity (demand), and the current stock they have.

Knetbooks acceptable textbook condition guide is extremely simple — margin notes and highlighting is acceptable, as long as the textbook is clean in general. 

Strict edition criteria are also at play in Knetbooks; in other words, this is the best way to sell books for cash only if you have a standard US textbook edition.

Payment — Knetbooks payment is issued through direct deposit after the initial examination of the textbooks is done. 

Pros:

• Easy buyback process
• Up to 5 copies from the same textbook
• Margin notes are acceptable
• Direct deposit payment

Cons:

• Rejected textbooks are destroyed
• Only standard editions are accepted

While some of you kept your textbooks scratch-free with the clear intention of reselling them, some were a little late to realize this possibility. 

The following tips will instruct you on what you need to focus on to find the best buyback site for your textbooks. 

Read on to learn all there is to know about this topic!

Watch Out for the Textbook Selling Season

First things first, before searching for the best place to sell textbooks make sure you are doing it at the best possible moment. 

Most selling websites take into account textbook demand in their buyback price valuation, so, you’ll stand a better chance of earning more during the “high textbook season.”

Historically, May and the first half of June are the months with the highest number of textbook purchases. As the total student loan debt more than tripled, you need every cent you can get.

Compare Buyback Prices

Getting a price quote for your textbook is a free service on all websites that sell textbooks online. 

You can check them one by one and look for the best offer in your particular case. The above places offer very nice deals, some better than the others of the same level of quality. Then again, your final decision is also impacted by other factors. 

Check the Terms and Conditions

Textbook selling sites will disclose important information about used textbooks and the entire buyback process, including payment and fees, in their terms and conditions section.

Hence why they are well worth “scanning through” if you want to avoid getting tricked or scammed by shady sites.

Study the Textbook Acceptance Criteria

Some textbook sellers are more stringent than others in their acceptance requirements. 

So, just when you thought you found the best place to sell your used college textbooks, their evaluation team can downgrade the condition of your textbook, and offer you a lower price, at best.

Most will dispose of your textbook or donate it if it doesn’t fit their criteria. 

So, read carefully through the acceptance criteria list before shipping your prized books and make sure that your description matches their condition.

Read Some User Reviews

Looking at other user experiences with a particular website is a good way to find out what you’re in for when selling your textbook. 

But keep in mind that when searching for a place to sell textbooks, reviews can vary greatly from one website to another.

So, the best course of action is to consult multiple review pages. 

Look Into Mobile Apps

If you are always on the go, you probably think that selling your textbook will be faster via your smartphone. Time is money, just like it is the case with investment apps facilitating your cash flow.

The problem is, this is only partly true. Mobile apps of some sellers can have barcode scanner issues and other glitches that will help ruin your day.

So, make sure to thoroughly check each and every place beforehand to sell textbooks easily as reviews are the best indicator of whether their mobile apps are good enough (before you actually download them); a quick glance at the ratings on GooglePlay should do the trick.

We get that being a college student is complicated enough, so we tried our best to streamline the entire textbook re-selling process.

Hopefully, you found what you were looking for among our top ten buyback-specialized sites. Or, at the very least, you’ve learned what it takes to get a big portion of what you invested in your textbook back.