BookScouter is a free price comparison site for selling used books, especially textbooks. You enter or scan a book’s ISBN, and it shows buyback offers from more than 30 vendors, ranked by price, along with each vendor’s terms and ratings. BookScouter doesn’t buy books itself: you choose a vendor, ship the books to them, and the vendor pays you. It also compares prices for buying and renting textbooks.
At a glance
| What it is | A buyback price comparison site and app |
| How you earn | Selling used books to the vendor that offers the most |
| Vendors | 30+ US buyback vendors |
| Payment | By the vendor you choose, usually PayPal or check |
| Shipping | Many vendors provide free prepaid labels |
| Cost | Free to use |
| Where it works | US |
How it works
Search by ISBN on the website or scan barcodes with the app. BookScouter shows each vendor’s offer, minimum order rules, payment methods and seller feedback. Pick the best offer, click through to that vendor’s site and complete the sale there. The vendor usually sends a prepaid shipping label. Once they receive and check your books, they pay you by the method you chose.
You can split a stack of books across several vendors to get the best price for each, as long as each order meets that vendor’s minimum.
What sells
Textbooks, especially recent editions in demand at colleges, get the best offers. Older editions, general fiction and mass-market paperbacks often get very low offers or none. Prices change through the year and usually rise around the start of terms, when vendors need stock.
Getting paid
Payment depends on the vendor. Most pay by PayPal or check after they receive and inspect the books, often within a week or two of delivery. Books that arrive damaged, with heavy highlighting or missing access codes may be refused or paid at a lower price. Read each vendor’s condition guidelines before shipping.
Book flipping
Some people use BookScouter to flip books: buying cheap textbooks at thrift stores, library sales or online, then selling them to the highest buyback offer. It can work, but margins depend on finding the right titles and checking prices before buying. BookScouter offers tools such as price history and alerts to help.
Tips
Sell as soon as you’ve finished with a textbook; prices fall as new editions appear. Compare buyback offers with what the book sells for on marketplaces, which can be higher for valuable titles. Keep proof of postage and the vendor’s order number until you’re paid.
Getting started
Gather your books and find each ISBN, usually on the back cover or copyright page. Scan them with the app or type them into the website. Note which books have good offers and which have none, then group the sellable ones by vendor so each order meets its minimum. Pack books securely so they arrive in the condition you described.
Selling outside BookScouter
For books with no buyback offers, try local used bookstores, library donations or marketplaces for valuable titles. Popular fiction and collectible books sometimes sell better directly to readers than to buyback vendors.
Buying and renting
BookScouter also compares prices for buying and renting textbooks across many online stores. Checking both sides helps students spend less at the start of term and recover more at the end. Rental can make sense for books you won’t keep, while buying used and selling back afterwards can work out cheaper for in-demand titles.
Bulk selling
If you have many books, some vendors accept large orders with a single prepaid label, which saves time.
Owen’s take
BookScouter is the quickest way to see what your used textbooks are worth and sell them without listing them yourself. It won’t make an old paperback valuable, but for recent textbooks it saves time and usually beats campus buyback. Check a couple of vendors’ terms before shipping.
Who it suits
It suits students and anyone in the US clearing out textbooks, plus resellers who flip books. It suits less well people with mostly general fiction or outside the US.
Similar options
- Rakuten pays cash back on online purchases.
- Poshmark is a US resale marketplace.
- OfferUp is for local selling.
- Ibotta pays cash back on everyday buys.
More options are in Reselling.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Compares 30+ vendors at once
- Free, with a scanning app
- Many vendors offer free shipping
Cons
- Low offers for non-textbooks
- Payment depends on each vendor
- Books may be rejected for condition
FAQ
Does BookScouter buy books?
No, it compares offers from buyback vendors; you sell to the vendor you choose.
How do I get paid through BookScouter?
The vendor pays you, usually by PayPal or check.
Is BookScouter free?
Yes, comparing offers is free.
What books sell best on BookScouter?
Recent textbooks in demand at colleges.
Is BookScouter legit?
Yes, it’s a long-running US price comparison service.
