Barnes & Noble Want to Buy Your Books
by Warren McLaren, Sydney 
on 03.28.06
No doubt this is nothing new, but having missed it, thought one or two others might’ve too. Like the story about eBay buying back electronics, this is much the same process. Tell Barnes & Noble online the ISBN of your book and they’ll tell you the price they’ll pay and should you agree to the value you’ll be sent some post-free mailing labels. The prices are however not much more than you’d get at your own garage or yard sale (like $2 for Jared Diamond's seminal Guns, Germs and Steel, or $1.75 for the equally classic, though decidedly less scholarly, Dr. Seuss’s Oh, the Places You'll Go!). They’ll only take books in good condition. “That means no mildew stains, missing pages, or lots of underlined text. Books that we determine to be in unsatisfactory condition will be destroyed, and you will not receive payment for that book.“ Mostly B&N only want current textbooks, as well as recent hardcovers and paperbacks. Your collection of Mills and Boons, and Star Trek series are unfortunately not wanted. But otherwise it’s encouraging to see there is still a strong demand to keep pre-loved books in circulation. :: Barnes & Noble BuyBack via a TH commenter’s blog.
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I'd much rather donate my used books to my local library. Libraries are having a hard time of it these days, and they're the best way to share books amongst a community, since everyone has equal access to them. And since I can walk to the library, there's no emissions-producing shipping involved.
Try http://www.paperbackswap.com
Free service, just post the books you have, and people will request them. You can find the next book you want and others will send it to you for free. Only cost is to send your book to others to get swap "credits"
No corporations involved!
I think its a better idea to donate them to your library if they have a regular used book sale. That way the library is supported with funds (heck our local library will sometimes sell rare books that are donated on eBay) and you sustain a local source where you can borrow books, VHS & DVD movies for free.
Don't sell them - donate them.
Woo hoo! Thanks for the lead. My wife is an incorrigible book buyer and reader. The problem is that she tends not to cycle them back into the consumption stream...they simply stack up.
Since she buys books online, I've been trying to get her to 'sell' them online too. This may be the solution.
Thanks,
Behind the Book Stack
paperbackswap.com is a great idea. Unfortunately, it is US-only for now.
Freecycle.org probably works with books too, though that's not its main focus.
Business idea: wireless laptop + pen-ocr scanner; visit used bookstore; scan in books; buy only those you can sell for more; profit!
As large and questionable as Amazon is, their feature that allows anyone to sell new and used books is pretty darn awesome. Again, you won't make tons of money on the deal, unless you get lucky with a textbook or collectable, but it's a good way to recycle your unwanted books and make a bit of money, too.
It works well and is simple to use for most anyone. You list a book you have for sale, and if someone buys your copy, Amazon processes the order, send you the mailing info, keeps a percentage of the cost for their efforts, and then deposits the rest of the cost (plus some for shipping) into your bank account. It's a bit more work than the Barnes and Noble deal, but you probably also would make a bit more money selling through Amazon.
When I moved last fall I used this to get rid of some of by nicer books, and gave away the ones I couldn't sell.
There's also Bookcrossing.com, which is a fun way to release your books.
AmericasBookShelf.com is the internets first and only full service book club.Members dont need a printer,stamps,wrapping paper,tape,not even a pen.Just a love for books.
I have been teaching computer classes since 1989 and have a HUGE number of old, out of date textbooks. I would love to recycle them rather than just throwing them away. Our local recycle does cardboard, aluminum, plastic and newspaper - no books. Can anyone help me?