10 Best Places to Sell Textbooks Online in 2026

I spent $4,200 on textbooks during college. Sold them back to the campus bookstore for about $380. That’s roughly 9 cents on the dollar. If I’d known about online buyback platforms back then, I could have recovered $1,500-2,000 instead.

The textbook resale market has changed significantly since then. Amazon killed its textbook trade-in program in 2020. Chegg’s buyback now redirects to Valore. Decluttr shut down entirely in June 2025. But the platforms that remain are better than ever, and new ones like BooksRun have filled the gaps.

I’ve tested 10 platforms for selling textbooks online and compared them on what actually matters: payout percentage, speed of payment, shipping costs, and ease of use. The difference between the best and worst platform can be 40-50% of your book’s value, so choosing correctly matters.

Textbook Selling Platforms Compared

Before diving into individual reviews, here’s how the major platforms stack up. The biggest variable is payout: instant-quote buyback sites pay 10-35% of retail, while peer-to-peer selling on eBay or Facebook Marketplace can net you 40-70%.

Platform	Type	Typical Payout	Free Shipping	Payment Speed
BookScouter	Price comparison (30+ vendors)	Best offer from 30+ sites	Most vendors: yes	Varies by vendor
Facebook Marketplace	Peer-to-peer (local)	50-70% of retail	Local pickup	Instant (cash)
eBay	Marketplace (auction/fixed)	40-60% of retail	Seller pays	2-5 days
TextbookRush	Instant buyback	15-35% of retail	Yes (FedEx/USPS)	1-3 days (PayPal)
BooksRun	Instant buyback	15-30% of retail	Yes (USPS/FedEx)	~4 days
Barnes & Noble	Buyback (online + in-store)	Up to 50% (peak season)	Yes (online)	2-3 weeks (check)
Chegg/Valore	Instant buyback (via Valore)	10-30% of retail	Yes	5-14 days
Amazon	Marketplace seller	40-60% (minus ~18% fees)	Seller pays	2-5 days
Powell’s Books	Buyback (store credit preferred)	Store credit: higher	Yes (UPS)	5-10 days
ValoreBooks	Instant buyback	10-30% of retail	Yes	5-14 days

1. BookScouter

BookScouter isn’t a buyback site itself. It’s a price comparison tool that checks 30+ textbook buyback vendors simultaneously. Enter your ISBN, and BookScouter shows you ranked offers from every vendor that wants your book. This is always where I start.

I tested BookScouter with 15 textbooks from my shelf. The price spread between the highest and lowest offer averaged 47%. For one calculus textbook, the best offer was $38 and the lowest was $12. That’s a $26 difference for the same book, just by choosing the right vendor.

The mobile app is particularly useful. Scan barcodes while walking through your bookshelf, and BookScouter pulls up offers instantly. Takes about 30 seconds per book to check and decide.

2. Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace consistently offers the highest payout for textbooks because there’s no middleman. You set your price, a local buyer pays you directly, and you pocket 100% of the sale. No shipping, no fees, no waiting for checks.

The strategy that works: price your textbooks 20-30% below what Amazon charges for the same used edition. Include the ISBN, course number, and university name in the listing. Post it in campus buy/sell groups in addition to Marketplace. Most textbooks sell within 48 hours during the first two weeks of a semester.

The downside is timing. Facebook Marketplace only works when students are actively buying, which means the first 2-3 weeks of each semester. Outside that window, you’ll get crickets. For off-season selling, use a buyback site instead.

3. eBay

eBay works well for textbooks that are in high demand or hard to find. Unlike buyback sites that offer a fixed price, eBay lets you set your own price or run an auction. The trade-off is effort: you need to photograph the book, write a listing, handle shipping, and wait for a buyer.

eBay’s fees have climbed to about 15% of the total sale (including shipping) plus $0.30 per order. After fees and shipping costs, your net payout is typically 40-55% of what the book retails for new. That’s still significantly better than most instant-quote buyback sites.

Before listing, check eBay’s “Sold Items” filter to see what your textbook actually sold for recently. This gives you realistic pricing expectations. Use “Buy It Now” with “Best Offer” enabled. Auctions tend to attract lowball bids.

How to Sell Textbooks Online (Step by Step)

The process is the same regardless of which platform you choose. Here’s the most efficient workflow for getting the best price with the least effort.

1. Gather your textbooks. Pull every textbook you won’t use again. Check the condition: no missing pages, excessive water damage, or broken bindings. Light highlighting is usually fine
2. Find the ISBN. Look on the back cover above the barcode (13-digit number starting with 978). Or check the copyright page inside the front cover
3. Check BookScouter first. Enter each ISBN to see instant offers from 30+ buyback vendors. This takes 30 seconds per book and immediately tells you the best available price
4. Compare with peer-to-peer options. For textbooks worth $30+ on buyback sites, check what they’re selling for on eBay and Facebook Marketplace. If you can get 50%+ more, the extra effort of listing is worth it
5. Ship using the free label. Most buyback vendors provide free prepaid shipping labels. Pack books securely (no loose pages) and drop off at the specified carrier
6. Get paid. PayPal payments typically arrive within 1-5 business days. Checks take 2-3 weeks. Store credit is usually instant

4. TextbookRush

TextbookRush has been buying back textbooks since 2002. They’re one of the most reliable instant-quote platforms: enter your ISBN, get an offer, accept it, ship for free, and get paid via PayPal within 1-3 business days. No surprises.

TextbookRush typically pays 15-35% of retail for in-demand titles. Their store credit option adds a 5% bonus, which is worth considering if you’re buying textbooks for next semester anyway. Processing takes 2-3 business days after they receive your books.

5. BooksRun

BooksRun is newer than TextbookRush but has carved out a niche with a faster process and a particularly useful feature: QR code shipping labels. You don’t need a printer. Just show the QR code on your phone at the post office, and they print the label for you.

BooksRun updates their prices daily based on current demand, which means their quotes fluctuate more than competitors. Check prices now, but also check again in a week if you’re not in a rush. The $8 minimum order value means you’ll need at least a couple of books worth selling.

6. Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble runs a textbook buyback program both online and at their campus bookstore locations. During peak buyback periods (start and end of each semester), they’ll pay up to 50% of the current list price for books in good condition. That’s competitive with peer-to-peer selling.

The catch is timing. Off-peak, their offers drop significantly, sometimes to 10-15% of retail. If you’re selling during the last two weeks of a semester, Barnes & Noble is worth checking. If it’s mid-summer, use BookScouter instead.

Barnes & Noble is also a solid place to buy books online. Their B&N Membership ($39.99/year) gives you 10% off all purchases, which stacks with textbook rental savings if you’re buying and selling in the same place.

7. Chegg (via Valore)

Chegg used to run its own textbook buyback program, but it now redirects all sell-back traffic to Valore (formerly ValoreBooks). When you click “Sell Textbooks” on Chegg, you land on Valore’s platform.

The process is the same as any instant-quote buyback: enter your ISBN, get an offer, ship for free, get paid via PayPal or check. Typical payouts are 10-30% of retail. Not the highest, but Chegg’s brand recognition makes it a common first stop for students.

If you’re already using Chegg Study for homework help, selling your textbooks through the same ecosystem is convenient. But always check BookScouter first to make sure Valore’s offer is competitive.

What You’ll Actually Get Paid

The gap between the best and worst payout is enormous. Selling peer-to-peer on Facebook Marketplace or eBay can net you 4-5x what a campus bookstore offers. Here’s the realistic payout range by platform.

8. Amazon

Amazon discontinued its dedicated Textbook Trade-In program on April 1, 2020. You can still sell textbooks on Amazon, but you’re doing it as a third-party marketplace seller, which means listing the book yourself, handling shipping, and paying Amazon’s seller fees.

Amazon’s fees for book sellers add up: 15% referral fee + $1.80 closing fee + $0.99 per item (Individual seller plan). That’s roughly 18-20% of your sale price gone to Amazon. After fees and shipping costs, your net take is similar to what you’d get from a buyback site, but with significantly more effort.

Amazon still makes sense for high-value textbooks ($50+) where the larger buyer pool justifies the fees. For books worth less than $30, a buyback site with free shipping will net you more after expenses.

9. Powell’s Books

Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon runs an online buyback program with free UPS shipping. The standout feature is their store credit bonus: Powell’s pays 50% more in store credit than cash. If you buy from Powell’s regularly, that’s a significant premium.

For textbooks specifically, Powell’s quotes aren’t always competitive with dedicated textbook buyback sites. They’re a general bookstore, not a textbook specialist. But for academic books that aren’t standard textbooks (reference books, supplementary reading, trade nonfiction), Powell’s often pays more than textbook-focused vendors.

10. ValoreBooks

ValoreBooks (now branded as Valore) handles both its own buyback program and Chegg’s sell-back traffic. They offer a wide range of payment methods: PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, direct deposit, prepaid debit cards, and checks.

Payouts are in the 10-30% range for most textbooks, which puts them in the middle of the pack. Processing takes 5 business days after they receive your books, and PayPal payments arrive within 2-7 business days after processing.

One concern: multiple reports from late 2025 mention difficulty reaching ValoreBooks’ customer service. If you sell through Valore, keep your tracking number and screenshot your offer confirmation before shipping.

How to Maximize Your Textbook Payout

After selling textbooks on every platform in this list, here are the strategies that consistently recover the most money.

1. Sell immediately after your course ends. Textbook values drop the moment a new edition is announced. Don’t wait until next semester. Sell within a week of finishing the course
2. Always check BookScouter first. It takes 30 seconds and shows you the best available buyback price from 30+ vendors. This is non-negotiable
3. Use peer-to-peer for books worth $30+. For valuable textbooks, the effort of listing on Facebook Marketplace or eBay is worth it. You’ll net 40-70% of retail vs. 15-35% from buyback sites
4. Use buyback sites for books worth under $20. The time spent photographing, listing, and shipping a cheap book isn’t worth the incremental payout. Let a buyback vendor handle it with a free label
5. Choose PayPal over checks. Checks take 2-3 weeks and can get lost. PayPal payments arrive in 1-5 days
6. Consider digital alternatives for next semester. Services like Textbooks.com offer rentals, and subscription services like Perlego give unlimited access for $12/month. Less money spent means less to recover later

Frequently Asked Questions

The difference between selling textbooks smartly and selling them lazily is hundreds of dollars over a college career. Thirty seconds on BookScouter before accepting the campus bookstore’s lowball offer is the single best return-on-time-invested move a student can make.

If you’re looking to buy textbooks for less, check out the best online bookstores where ThriftBooks, Book Outlet, and Perlego can save you 50-90% compared to campus prices. And if you’re exploring other ways to earn as a student, here’s a guide to making money online as a student.

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