What to Do With Old Books and Textbooks
Novels, reference books and textbooks cluttering the house? Check out these resources where you can donate or sell old books.
'Tis the season to do a little cleaning out. Do you have old books cluttering your closets, bookcases, shelves and table tops? Books that are in relatively good shape can get a second life--with someone else. Books that are suffering from sog, mold, mildew or other ailments should go straight to the recycling bin.
If you’ve been hanging on to old psychology, chemistry or other textbooks, you may want to see if you can get some cash for them. It is recommended that current college students check to see if their colleges have a buyback program in place. If so, they can compare prices and sell to the highest bidder! Here are some resources for textbooks:
Cash 4 Books- They are usually looking for 2008 or newer.
For these sites, you can usually enter the book’s ISBN for an instant quote. Some will pay for shipping and typically payment can be made through PayPal, by check or even a gift certificate. Check each site's terms and conditions. Note that many of these sites are great resources for purchasing textbooks too.
For non-textbooks, there are some local options. Check Craigslist to sell books and Freecycle and our local library to donate. Cash 4 Books, Amazon and Half.com are paying sources. You can try to get money or simply donate books to Better World Books.
If you're looking for something a little different, Book Crossing allows you to share books with others and then follow your book's journey.
It's kind of a Flat Stanley for grown-ups.
You simply download uniquely coded labels and affix them in your unwanted book. Leave the book in a public spot or connect with someone on the site who is looking for your book. People who receive a Book Crossing book can enter the code number on the site so anyone interested can see where the book has been. More than 7 million books have "book-crossed" over 137 countries!
Some old books are like old friends. You should never get rid of those. But some old books are just, well old books, so get them out of that stuffy closet and let them see the world.
Dave Reeves
5:13 pm on Monday, April 25, 2011
Liked your article. We like www.webuytextbooks.com and www.collegebookrenter.com for selling books and now we started renting some titles.