How To Sell Used Books Online

What you need to know to sell your books and earn some extra cash in the process.


Every reader has had that moment where they’ve looked at their overflowing shelves and piles of books and thought, it’s time to clear some space. It can be a difficult realization to confront, and even more difficult to start visualizing the process of downsizing and letting go of even a single volume in your precious personal library.


There’s good news though: when you are ready to take the leap, there are more tools and resources for online bookselling today than ever before.


On this page, we’ve brought together a ton of information on selling books with various tips and explanations on how to trim back your book collection and earn a little spending money in the process. While many of the specifics we’ll offer here are oriented around our app and its intuitive selling tools, most of these principles can also be applied wherever you choose to sell your books.


Read on for answers to common questions folks ask when starting to sell books, as well as a step-by-step guide to the whole process. We have a number of specific resources and articles that go deeper into some of these topics which we will link to below. If you have any Pango-specific questions or need help getting set up, feel free to visit our Help Center for answers to common questions or to contact our support team.

Sell your books directly to other readers to earn the most money.

Where Should I Sell My Books?

When you’re looking to downsize your book collection, the first step is to consider where and how to sell. In answering this, there are a few general options to consider each of which has its pros and cons.


For folks who just want their books out of their house, selling locally may be your best bet. This route includes options like selling to a local used bookstore or maybe hosting a yard sale. Donating books to a local organization is also a wonderful choice that we certainly encourage. The downside to selling books locally is that you will likely only get offered a very small amount for each book, and most used book outlets will probably not take every book you bring to their storefront.


For those who want to maximize the money they make back on their books and establish their own ongoing bookselling presence, an app or platform like PangoBooks is the best bet. Not only is the process intuitive and simple, but it’s also a lot of fun to connect with other like-minded readers in our community. You can find more info on how to sell via PangoBooks in the space below or hop over to this page for a quick summary of what selling on our app entails.


Book Selling Options at a Glance:


  • Marketplaces Apps (like PangoBooks) — Sell to other readers directly, make more money per book.
  • Wholesale / Clearance Platforms — Provide a list of books you have for sale, get offered a small amount for the ones they want.
  • Local Sales — See if any local bookstores or wholesalers are interested in your collection, sell the ones they want for a small portion of their eventual resale price.
  • Donation — Seek local organizations in your community that might benefit from your books.
Basic materials for packing and shipping books.

What Materials Will I Need?


To sell books online, all you really need is a smartphone, some available packing materials, and, obviously enough, the books you want to pass along to the next reader.


As far as a camera is concerned, while a fancy DSLR may seem like a necessity, the fact of the matter is that most modern smartphones sport cameras that are more than good enough for the purposes of online resale. You can find more tips on book photography via this blog post.


For packing materials, bubble mailers are always a good bet, but some sellers prefer to use small cardboard boxes with added cushioning in the form of bubble wrap or craft paper. This is an especially good choice if you’re selling higher-value books such as limited editions or rarer antique publications. Whatever the case, our recommendation is to save packing materials from things you buy online so that when your books sell, you’ll have a decent stockpile to tap into. That plus a few rolls of packing tape and a pair of scissors will cover the basics. Check out this post on our blog for more information on packaging books.


One other bit of equipment not to overlook would be a printer to print your shipping labels. While you can also buy a label at the post office (or a shipping store), buying labels online will save time in line. If you are selling through PangoBooks, we will provide a pre-paid USPS label to you automatically, which can be printed and attached to your package. We also offer the ability to have the post office scan a QR code in place of using a printed label.


Book Selling Materials at a Glance:


  • A smartphone to take pictures and make listings
  • Boxes and/or bubble mailers (we recommend recycling materials as much as possible)
  • Packing tape and a pair of scissors
  • Optional: a basic printer for printing labels


Do I Need to Clean or Repair Books Before Selling Them?


When making a listing for a used book, it’s never a bad idea to clean it up a bit. Be wary of attempting any specific repairs such as mending torn pages or bent spines as often this may cause more problems than it solves. For some tips on basic book repair, you can visit this page.


More important than attempting any sort of repair though is being upfront and specific with any condition issues or flaws when creating a listing. Add photographs of any imperfections such as lingering dog-ears or highlights over chunks of text. Specify any problems in your description and be sure to select the right condition when going to make a listing. You can find our list of book conditions and what they mean here.


It’s always better to be upfront about any condition issues when selling books than risk having a disappointed buyer and a frustrating return situation.



What Sorts of Books Should I Sell? Which Used Books Sell Best?


When getting started selling books, the easiest way to jump in is to do an audit of your book collection and make a stack of the books you don’t see yourself reading again and that don’t carry any particular sentimental value. We have a whole blog post on this topic you can peruse for more specific strategies.


If you’re looking to take your bookselling up a notch and actually try to acquire fresh inventory to resell, there’s a whole range of strategies you can employ. Here too, you can visit our blog for some more insights.


Generally speaking, the books that sell the best online are, obviously enough, books that are currently popular with the general reading public. If a book is on a year-end bestseller list, for example, and you can find a used copy, that is a book that will likely sell quickly at a fair price. Classics in the literary canon—like those often found on school reading lists—can also sell quite well on platforms like PangoBooks. The key thing to remember here is that there is often quite a bit of inventory for these sorts of titles so you want to make sure you are pricing your listings competitively.


There are definitely some categories of books that do not sell especially well. Obsolete technical books (think Windows ‘95 for Dummies) are probably not worth listing, and similarly, out-of-date textbooks tend to have a hard time finding a buyer. Books tied to some specific bygone fad or trend also often go un-bought, though there are sometimes collectors markets for these sorts of things.


Beyond that, there is a potential buyer for almost any sort of book you can get your hands on. And keep in mind that you can list as many books as you want on your Pango shop for free (we only charge any sort of fee if your book sells), so there’s no risk in the listing.


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What’s the Easiest Way to Ship Books?


Within the US, the most economic way to ship books is through USPS’ Media Mail service. This method is specifically designed for books and other media formats and is generally the cheapest option for book shipping. Be aware though that when using Media Mail you can not ship any items that do not adhere to USPS’ specific policies. You also cannot use USPS’ Priority Mail Boxes for your packaging with Media Mail.


If you’re shipping a more valuable or fragile book, you may consider springing for a higher-tiered USPS service like Priority Mail or shipping via a private carrier such as FedEx or UPS.


As mentioned above, if selling on PangoBooks, we will automatically generate a shipping label for every book or bundle of books you sell through our platform. With this, you can simply attach the label to your package and drop it in a blue mailbox or post office without having to pay anything additional.


For more tips on the basics of book shipping, check out this blog post.

Are My Old Books Worth Anything?


There are millions of different books in circulation on today’s used market and, frankly, most of them are not worth a ton. For most folks who sell online, the best strategy is to try to earn a little extra money by selling an assortment of books at modest prices rather than trying to strike it rich with some mythical rare find.


Generally speaking, best-selling and recently published hardcovers will sell at prices nearest to the original retail price. The longer a book has been out in the world, the more copies are likely to hit the used market which creates more supply to meet the demand and prices typically go down. For this reason, even super popular titles that have been out for a long time often only sell for $5 or so, though there are lots of exceptions. Physically large books such as college textbooks or finely printed artbooks can sell at higher prices as well, though prices vary considerably.


Many new booksellers assume that older and antique books are worth a lot but here too it can be extremely hit or miss. While some collectible volumes can sell for thousands of dollars, a book simply being old is not a sign of value in and of itself. First editions of classic novels can be quite valuable but are often misidentified since subsequent editions may look almost identical. We highly recommend researching a specific book online before labeling it as a first edition. The same is true with the presence of an author's signature on any book.


Speaking of rare editions, there is a whole other category of limited edition and special runs on the used market which often come from specialist book outlets or subscription services such as Fairyloot or Owlcrate. These sorts of books are highly valued by many people in the online book community for their artful designs and frequently rank as the highest-priced items to sell on Pango.


For more tips on used book pricing, you can visit this article on our blog.

Want to See What Other Folks Are Selling on Pango?

Take a look at the newest listings on Pango via this link. We see thousands of books from a huge array of sellers hit our platform every day. Start exploring to get a sense of how other folks sell their books!

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How To Sell Books Using PangoBooks


With the above frequently asked questions covered, let’s turn our attention to the specifics of how to sell books via the PangoBooks app which, in our humble opinion, is the easiest and most straightforward tool for online book sales currently available. Again, many of these tips will be useful even if you opt to sell your books elsewhere.

Take a picture to start the listing process.

Creating Fantastic Book Listings

Listing books for sale on Pango is extremely intuitive and straightforward. You can list a book for sale effectively with a single photo and less than a sentence of description. If you want to kick your listings up a notch, however, there are some easy steps to take your book listings and Pango shop from good to great.



Taking Awesome Book Photos


We can't overstate how important photos are when selling individual books online. Original photos of the actual physical book you are selling go a long way in setting your book apart from the crowd and communicating to potential buyers that you are someone who takes your bookselling seriously.


When you first select to create a listing on PangoBooks, you’ll first be prompted to take a photo of the book. Here you just need to take one picture of the cover of the book—you will have a chance to add more later.


Here’s a snapshot of some of our recommendations for taking pictures of books for resale:


  • Use bright, even lightning with whatever light source you have on hand, and try to avoid any shadows in the frame. Shooting during daylight near a window or even outside is always a good bet.
  • Use a consistent and not overly busy background on all your listings. Being consistent with your photos will do a lot to help establish your bookselling brand.
  • Add additional shots beyond the first cover shot to show any imperfections such as writing in the margins, bends in the spine, or anything else a potential buyer would want to know about.
  • Leave a little negative space between the edges of the book at the rest of the frame. If you zoom in too close it can be difficult for folks to take in the full image on their phones.


You can find more tips on book photography for your book selling via this blog post.

Setting Up Your Pango Shop

The first step to selling books on PangoBooks is to download our app to your smart device and create an account. Our app will ask you a few questions when you first sign up, and then it's just a matter of selecting “sell” at the bottom of the screen to get started. You’ll be prompted to take a picture of the cover of your first book and the app will walk you through the rest of the process of making a listing. From there, you can add as many additional listings as you like.


All your listings will live on your Pango shop page which you can view by going to your account screen and selecting the option to view your bookstore. From this section of the app, you can customize your shop with a profile picture and short bio. You’ll also have the option to customize your username and the name of your shop. Feel free to be creative and evocative here. Try to imagine the vibe you want to communicate to other readers who happen upon your page.


You can read through this blog post for tips on how to bring some personality to your PangoBooks shop.

Scanning the Barcode on PangoBooks

Scanning the Barcode (If There Is One)

After you take your first picture for your listing, you’ll be asked to scan the barcode on the book which identifies its ISBN (International Standard Book Number). Doing so will tap into our book product database and fill in as many details about the book you are selling as possible including the title, author, genre, and more. We encourage you to always check to make sure this information is accurate and feel free to update if necessary.


If there is not a barcode or ISBN present, you will have to fill everything in manually, but that still only takes a minute or two in most instances. In some cases where there is an ISBN, we may not have any info on the title yet, and here too, you will need to enter the information from scratch.



Fill in the Details and Write a Description

The next step in completing your listing is to fill in any fields that were not auto-filled by the ISBN/barcode scan. This includes writing a description and adding hashtags to help people discover your book.


With the description, you can choose to keep this short, but it never hurts to add any thoughts that might help a potential buyer decide to buy the book. Some ideas here include a short summary or some suggestions of the sort of readers that might like the title. You should also use this space to specify any conditional issues with the book even if you’ve shown these in your photos.


In this same space, you add hashtags to specify the book's style, genre, or anything else you want. Hashtags can be a little confusing for new sellers but are a vital part of how we serve your books to potential buyers. We have a dedicated article on how to use hashtags on Pango that you can read here.



Choosing the Right Condition For Your Book Listing

On PangoBooks we have a six-point scale of condition which goes top to bottom: New, Like New, Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor. For full information on what each of these ratings means, take a look at this page about book conditions in our help center.


As a general guideline, we recommend erring on the more conservative side when rating your books and communicating any issues via your photos and description. For instance, books that have been opened or read even once should never be rated as in New condition even if they are basically brand new. Similarly, books with visible damage should almost always go into Good or Fair condition as opposed to Excellent.



Pricing Your Books

As mentioned near the top of this page, there are a ton of different factors to consider when pricing used books, most of which are determined by the relative supply and demand of any particular title or edition. Generally speaking, we recommend starting with 50% off the original retail price (which can often be found on the book's back cover or inside the dust jacket) and moving down from there based on the book’s condition and relative availability (and popularity) on the market.


Doing a search for other listings for the same title can give you a sense of where other sellers are pricing their copies. Needless to say, putting your price below everyone else’s will certainly help you sell your book quickly.


Take a look at this blog post for more tips on used book pricing.


Best Practices for Managing Your Shop and Sales


Listing a book or many books as described above is, of course, just the first part of the process. Once your listings are out in the world, and you start to rake up sales, there are some additional best practices to follow to earn a reputation as a stellar online bookseller.


Shipping Books via Pango

We provided some pointers on shipping up top including what materials you may need, and we also pointed to this blog post which has some more tips on shipping books via Pango.


To summarize though, when you sell a book through our app, you’ll be provided with an automatic USPS label, which makes the process super simple. We recommend using either bubble mailers or boxes with a little added padding when shipping, and trying to remove any negative space within the package so your books aren’t rattling around during transit. This is especially true with heavy hardcovers or any delicate books where a corner might get bent in the box.


We also highly recommend thoroughly taping every edge and closure of any package so it does not re-open during shipment, and making sure the shipping label is securely attached. Once this is done, it's just a matter of dropping the package off at a post office or blue USPS mailbox.


We generally require that sellers ship within three business days of any order being placed, and we highly recommend communicating with the buyer (or our support team) if you are unable to do so. Most folks will be patient if you need a little extra time, but it’s essential to communicate this and not leave them in the dark. You can message your buyer at any point from the account section of the PangoBooks app.


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Communicating with Buyers

When you make a sale on PangoBooks, it’s never a bad idea to shoot your buyer a message to let them know you’ve received the order and when you plan to ship. Buyers always appreciate this sort of communication and reassurance that their order is being processed in a timely manner. If you run into any delays, definitely keep them updated so they know when to look out for a shipping confirmation.


In the event that there is an issue during shipment or if a book otherwise arrives in a state different than what the buyer expected, they may elect to request a return or refund. At PangoBooks, we are committed to helping both buyers and sellers in the event of any problem and will always step in to resolve any issue with any order. Do not hesitate to reach out to our support team if you have any questions or concerns at any point.


By the way, if you are on vacation or otherwise unable to ship books for any period of time, you can pause your PangoBooks inventory by going to your account screen, selecting “My Inventory and Discounts” and then “Put Listings on Hold.” When you're ready to sell again, you’ll be able to reactivate your shop at any time.



Getting Paid for Your Book Sales

When you sell and ship a book via the PangoBooks app, your earnings will be made available to you three days after the point of delivery. We created this grace period to allow buyers to report any shipping or other sorts of issues to us. Once your earnings are available, you can easily transfer them out of Pango to your bank account for free or to a PayPal account, though this will add a small fee which is charged by PayPal. You also have the option to keep earnings on Pango to buy more books from other sellers. Lots of folks elect to do this as a way to turn their old books into new books.


If you sell on Pango and use your earnings to buy other books, you’ll receive a 5% Bucks Back bonus credit on your account!

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Promoting your Pango Shop

Once you have your shop set up, you might consider doing a little work to help get the word out. To start, try sharing your shop link on your existing social media accounts. You never know who in your friend group might be interested in snagging some books from you, especially if they know how wonderful your reading taste is. If you’re active in any online communities such as Facebook groups, these can also be a great place to share your Pango shop.


Some sellers also opt to create specific social media accounts for their bookselling and get involved in such popular communities as #booktok on TikTok or #bookstagram on Instagram. If sharing your books on any of these platforms, be sure to tag us at @pangobooks so we can help get the word out!



Free Shipping and Discount Offers

In addition to promoting your shop and books outside of the Pango app, we also offer a few internal tools to incite buyers and make additional sales. From your main account screen on our app, you’ll find a button for “My Inventory and Discounts.” Within that, there’s an option for “Discounts and Free Shipping.”


With discounts, you can create special offers for folks who buy over a certain amount from your shop, either in terms of a set dollar amount or a percentage of the total. So for example, you can set up a $5 discount for anyone who buys over $30 worth of books from you. You can set up multiple such offers for your shop at the same time but be aware that buyers will be able to claim all offers they qualify for on any individual order.


The free shipping tool works similarly, but rather than providing a discount, it changes the shipping cost to being paid by you, the seller, as opposed to being paid by the buyer.


With both free shipping and discount offers, the idea is to motivate buyers who might have only bought one book from you to snag a few extra in the process. Selling multi-book bundles is one of the best ways to earn extra money when selling books online.


You can find additional information on free shipping, sales, and discounts on Pango via our Help Center.

Organizing your Books

If you have a ton of books listed, we recommend re-organizing your shelves a bit to avoid having to dig around for a book you just sold. To start, try designating a specific shelf (or a box) for books you have listed for sale. You may also want to create a third space for books you intend to sell but have not yet listed.


For the books you have listed for sale, try sticking to a simple organizational system such as alphabetical by title or author. This will make it super easy to snag the right title from your inventory when it sells. Here’s a little more info on bookshelf organization via our blog.



Conclusion

Thank you so much for reading our guide to online book sales and selling on PangoBooks. If you have any further questions, please feel free to peruse our Help Center and contact us at any point. Whether you choose to sell via our app or anywhere else, we hope this page has provided some useful information and insight.


Further Reading and Resources on Pango