How I Turned Old books into Cash

2:26 AM


Just a few of the books I sold online


I recently asked you all on Facebook how you guys made extra money. A lot you commented saying that you sold things you had among other side hustlers. I decided to take this advice and sell the one item we have the most of at my house- textbooks. By now a lot of you know that textbooks are expensive as heck and trying to sell them back to the bookstore usually isn't worth it, especially if it isn't a newer book. So I decided to take my books online to see what I could get from them.


After searching for sites to sell to and checking for reviews, I narrowed my list of sellers down to Chegg.com and SellBackYourBook.com. I have used Chegg for my textbook rentals in the past without a problem and SellBackYourBook didn't have any bad reviews online, so I decided to take a chance. I entered my ISBN numbers on the sites and began comparing prices, choosing to split up my books to whichever gave me the best price. A lot of my books were older editions which Chegg did not accept, but were accepted by Sell Back Your Book for a fraction of what I paid. Once my books were sorted and I received my quote, it was time to ship them off.

Both companies provide free shipping labels. Chegg sent their books through UPS while Sell Back Your Books gave you the option of either USPS or FedEx. It only took about a week for my books to arrive at their designated locations to be processed. Chegg sent me a separate email for every book they inspected and approved of, letting me know I would be paid for it. I only received one email from Sell Back Your Book letting me know my books had been received and another letting me know I had been paid. In the end I sold my books to two different vendors and made about $200.

Even though both sites were easy to use and had a quick turn around, there were a few problems I had with each. Chegg only offered to pay me in either credit to their website, or in cash through American Express's Serve account. This meant I had to open up a new account with Serve and wait for my card to come to access my funds. Sell Back Your Book sent my money through Paypal, and although they accepted all my books, I wish they had been as courteous as Chegg was to send me an email letting me know which books they'd keep and that I'd be paid in full.

If you are looking to sell your books online, there a few things you should do.
  1.  Always do a little research and check reviews first. I found other websites that offered to take my books for a higher price, but had too many negative reviews.
  2.  After you settle on a few good sites, compare your prices. Not every site asks the same price for your books so this will help you get the most out of your trade.
  3.  Finally, make sure your books are in good sell back condition, according to the company.
Each company has a standard to what conditions buybacks should be in. If you send a battered book, you most likely will not receive any money for it and your book may end up being donated or recycled by the buyer instead.Finally, find out the method of payment. Some buyers will choose to pay you you by check or require you to have a certain account with a certain company to deposit your money. 

Stay tuned for more ways to make money this semester!

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2 comments

  1. Pinning this to refer to again. I have used Amazon's Trade-In Store and some other sites to sell books. Never heard of these. Thanks for sharing. Visiting from That's Fresh Friday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well you told me something new. Didn't know Amazon had a trade in store at all, and will need to check this out myself. Thanks for the support Kimberly!

      Delete

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