How to Find Fantastic Deals on Kids' Books

Published by Pango, Oct. 9th, 2023

As a parent, you probably already know how important it is to read to your kids and encourage them to love books. Reading from a young age supports language development and critical thinking skills, prepares children for academic success, and fosters a special bond between the children and their parents as well as other family members. It's also just a lot of fun. 

For families looking to keep a steady stream of new reading material coming into their homes, borrowing books from your local library is always a good choice. That said, it never hurts to build your own library at home, which you can then update with all sorts of outstanding children’s books that reflect your kids’ changing reading levels. 

In this post, we'll cover some strategies on how to save money when buying kids’ books and even ways to earn your money back by selling the books your family has outgrown. 

Visit this page for a gateway into the vast selection of affordable kids' books you can find here on Pango. 

Saving on kids' books a glance: 

• Save by buying used kids’ books.
• Be mindful of conditions as kids can sometimes really put their books through the ringer.
• Score great deals by buying a bundle of books from another family instead of a single book.
• Reselling some of the books your kids have outgrown is an easy way to make your book buying more economical.

Buying Used Kids' Books: How to Save and What to Consider

Like many things, buying your kids' books preowned is a fantastic way to save money. By buying used, you can often save over 80% off of retail prices while ensuring that old books are loved and enjoyed by a new family. This sort of recycling and reuse is not only cost-effective but also an eco-friendly and sustainable way to approach your book-buying habits.

Where to Find Used Kids' Books

Most used bookstores will have a kids’ section that will vary in size and scope, depending on the particular store. Some stores will opt not to take kids’ books that are in rougher shape, and some might only buy popular titles they know will sell. As a result, the selection at such stores can be hit or miss.

Similarly, you can usually find a decent selection of cheap kids' books at places like thrift stores, yard sales, or community events like library sales or other fundraisers. All of these places provide great opportunities to find books for your family. You can even let your child enjoy the thrill of combing through the stacks and picking out the ones that catch their eye and imagination. 

When shopping online, the selection of books available at your fingertips opens up tremendously. In fact, there are so many options that it can be tricky to figure out where to start. There's a wide variety of online retailers selling tons of kids' books at very reasonable prices as well as a range of secondhand marketplace platforms, including PangoBooks. Marketplaces like ours enable individuals to sell books to each other and frequently at lower prices than you'd find from a more established retailer. You can also try searching for inventory aggregator sites like Google Shopping that will show you the pricing and availability from multiple sellers at once.

Buying Kids' Book Bundles

One of the best ways to save on books is by buying a bunch from the same seller at once. If you see a book you like on Pango, for instance, we suggest clicking over to the seller's profile page to see what other books they’re listing. You will likely save on shipping costs by bundling, and many sellers even offer special discounts or free shipping when you buy over a certain amount from their shop. 

Because many Pango sellers with kids’ books are listing books that their own children have outgrown, you can often find in one shop a bundle of books in the same series or are about a specific interest. For instance, if you have a toddler who is obsessed with trucks, chances are you can find another seller who had a truck-obsessed toddler in their house a few years ago and are now looking to offload their truck books in exchange for newer reads that reflect the child’s current reading level and interests. In this way, buying a bundle from a single seller is a great way to discover new books while saving a lot in the process. We’ve even found that many sellers may even toss in a bonus book or two when packing up your order. They’re just that happy to see their family’s books go to a new loving home! 

Tip: you can create a bundle by adding multiple books from the same seller to your cart. Some sellers also list multiple related books under one listing as a set or lot. 

Consider the Book's Condition

No matter where you look, you should always be wary of the books’ conditions. Kids can be fairly rough on their books, and they also tend to read the same ones over and over again, which can add to the wear and tear. This is especially true with board books and picture books for babies and toddlers, though it is certainly still a factor with young readers, middle-grade texts, and books for other age brackets. 

On PangoBooks, every book you see is the exact copy of the book you are purchasing, which makes it fairly easy to spot any serious problems. You can also easily communicate with the seller of the book to ask any further questions. Generally, some wear and tear on the cover or corners of a used kids' book is to be expected and shouldn't be a deal breaker, although you can certainly find many books in excellent or like-new condition as well. So long as the binding is intact and the book is not falling apart, a few bends or marks here and there won't change the reading experience in any meaningful way. 

It's also worth keeping in mind that buying books that have already been put through their paces can be a good thing. Beyond the fact that these books tend to be more affordable, you'll likely be less concerned about your kids being too rough with them, which can be a real stress-saver. 

One exception to the above is the presence of any mold in a book. If you see a book where that seems present, it's best to skip that particular listing. If you receive a book with mold from any retailer, you should seek a refund.

How Do I Find Books My Kids Will Love?

Due to the vast variety of kids’ literature, finding books can quickly become overwhelming, especially if you’re looking to move beyond more well-known titles like Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are. Here are a few strategies for finding books that your kids will love:

• Look for other titles in the same series.  For instance, if your kid loves Little Blue Truck, check out the subsequent installments like Little Blue Truck Leads the Way. 
• Search by your child's interest.   Does your daughter love dinosaurs? On PangoBooks, you can search specifically for "dinosaur book" and see what pops up. You can also filter for category and price range to narrow the results down. 
• Explore bestsellers.  While there are plenty of hidden gems in the kids' book universe, many of the top-selling titles got there for a reason. 
• Ask teachers, friends, and others for recommendations. You can even have some fun posting to social media and seeing what all your friends with kids recommend. 
• Try Hey Pango. On Pango, we have an AI-driven book recommender that's great with kids books. Give it a whirl on this page. 

With the above tips in mind, be sure to check that a book is appropriate for your child's age group. Most books will have this labeled somewhere, but you can also easily find this information with some Google searches.  

What About Deals on Brand New Kids' Books?

While buying used books is an easy way to save, you can still find good deals on brand new titles if you prefer your books in the untouched original condition.  Many retailers will have sales a few times a year that you can take advantage of in order to stock up on new titles. You can also try looking for kids’ books that are a few years old. Publishers and retailers tend to keep newer bestsellers at the original retail price, but if they are overstocked on a particular title from some years back, you may be able to find some good savings. 

Earn Money Back by Selling Your Books

Whatever types of books you hope to purchase, you can alleviate the price of purchases by earning back some money through apps like PangoBooks. With Pango, we've tried to create the easiest way for folks to sell books to each other. Get started by downloading the app and making a listing, which only takes a few minutes. Then, once you sell a book or bundle, we'll provide a prepaid shipping label to make the process even simpler.

Our selling tools really are a perfect match for parents. As your child grows and ages out of the baby books and picture books, you can sell those and earn some money to buy early reader books, children's encyclopedias, or anything else that catches their interest. As mentioned above, you may even connect with a family that wants to buy your whole library.

Tips for selling kid's books online:

• Accurately describe the condition of the book so people know what they are buying. 
• Add multiple photos to each listing, especially if the book has any damage to it. 
• Check what other people are selling the book for when choosing your price. (For popular titles, the Pango app will provide this information as part of the selling process.)
• Ship quickly, and communicate with your buyers! 

These are just some basic tips, but you can find all sorts of other information on selling books online here. Use this link to download the Pango app to start selling today!