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Make More Money Selling Books Online with Bonus Codes

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These days, thanks to book buyback comparison sites like Bookscouter, more and more book buyback companies are competing for your business.

So it should come as no surprise that many of these buyback companies offer special incentives for you to sell them your books – including bonuses and entries in contests that can earn you cash prizes and/or cool giveaways like gift cards, iPads, and tablets.

As someone who’s taken advantage of these offers, I encourage you to keep your eyes open for such opportunities – especially when you have a lot of books to sell online. You can get more money for your books (particularly if you have over $200 of books to sell and the company is offering a 10-20% bonus) and it’s always fun to win a contest.

How do you get these cash bonuses and enter these contests? Most of the time, it’s a simple matter of requesting e-mail alerts for special offers from these book buyback companies when you create a free online account with them.

Each company will then email you special bonus codes that you can enter when creating a buyback order. Creating a buyback order with these codes also usually enters you in the company’s contest, giving you multiple chances to earn extra money.

Quick tip: These special bonuses do not show up on Bookscouter when you look up buyback bids online for your books, so you’ll want to keep that in mind when you choose a buyback company to sell your books to.

Here are three book buyback companies I’ve regularly received cash bonuses from.

Cash 4 Books

Cash 4 Books is one of my favorite book buyback companies to sell to since they offer a new bonus and/or contest practically every month. These bonus codes are often good for the entire month (although some are valid for only a few days) so you’ll want to keep your eyes open when one shows up.

What kind of bonuses and/or prizes can you expect from Cash 4 Books? In the past few months, I’ve received offers for 10%-15% cash bonuses on my buyback orders, entries for $300 gift cards, and chances to double my buyback cash order.

(Full disclosure: I’ve never won one of Cash 4 Books’ contests – although I have enjoyed frequent cash bonuses from them).

To get these Cash 4 Books bonus codes, all you need to do is send Cash 4 Books your email address. Just visit the Cash 4 Books website, enter your email address at the bottom of the main page where it says “Sign up for special offers,” and click “Subscribe.”

Now every time Cash 4 Books offers a bonus or contest, they’ll send you an email with a special bonus code in it. Enter this bonus code when you create your buyback order and you’ll increase your money and be automatically entered into one of their contests.

Tip 1: Before selling your books to Cash 4 Books, go into your email account and do a search for “Cash 4 Books” to see if you received any emails with bonus codes in them in the last few days or weeks. If the code is still valid, you can use it in your order.

Tip 2: These bonus codes can usually only be used once – so use them with a large order if you think you’ll be sending Cash 4 Books multiple orders in the same month. There’s also a limit on some of these bonuses (normally $50) so be sure to read the bonus code terms at the end of your emails.

Tip 3: Some of these special offers may require you to sell more books than usual (Cash 4 Books normally requires you to sell them only $5 worth of books per order, but you may need to send them bigger orders to get certain bonuses).

As with any book buyback company, you’ll want to make sure the books you send Cash 4 Books match their book condition requirements.

Valore Books

Valore Books cash bonus codes are typically best used by people who have a lot of books to sell and/or books that receive high buyback bids as you usually need to have high buyback orders (often about $100) to receive these bonuses.

This may actually work for students who sell back their textbooks, so be sure to keep Valore in mind when you’re looking through Bookscouter for any good buyback bids.

The bonuses can range from an additional $5 up to $100 bonus per order and you can receive the codes through emails you sign up to receive from the Valore Books website.

In addition to bonus codes, I’ve received emails offering to enter me in drawings for $1000 bonuses if I ship my buyback orders within 5 days (something I normally do anyway) as well as survey contests asking me to rate my experience with Valore Books (with an entry into a prize for a Visa Giftcard).

Students selling their textbooks to Valore Books may also be interested in contests asking them to review any of the books they sold to Valore. Such contests also come with an entry into a drawing for a Visa Giftcard.

(Full disclosure: I’ve never won one of Valore’s contests, although I have enjoyed some of their cash bonus codes).

If you’re interested in receiving cash bonus codes and/or contest offers from Valore, sign up to receive their emails when you create a free online account with them, and do a search for “Valore Books” in your email when you want to sell books to them to see if you can get a bonus code.

TextbookRush

One thing I like about TextbookRush’s bonuses is that you don’t need to enter any bonus codes – if they offer a bonus, it will be stated on their website and will be automatically added to your order if you fulfill their requirements.

In the past, most of the bonuses I’ve received from TextbookRush had to do with the quantity of the books I sent them (for instance, if I sent them more than 3 books, I’d receive an automatic $5 bonus on my order).

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen many such bonuses offered by TextbookRush lately – but keep your eyes open when you visit their website if this changes.

If you sign up to receive emails from TextbookRush, you may receive offers to complete a survey on your experience with them for an entry into a drawing (often for an iPad).

Final Tips

Once again, please let me reiterate that the books you sell to these companies (or any buyback company) should fulfill each company’s book condition requirements. It doesn’t do any good to use a bonus code and then send in a badly damaged book – you won’t receive any money for it.

Likewise, once you’ve created a book buyback order, send the books out ASAP! Most buyback companies give you a week to send your books to them, but if you want to get your money fast, you need to send your books out fast – in two days if possible. (And as you’ve seen with Valore Books, some buyback companies even offer greater incentives to send your books as quick as possible).

Hope these tips help you make more money from your buyback offers! As always, if you have any more questions, feel free to contact me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.

And if you’d like to learn more about selling books online to make extra money, please subscribe to my blog for constant updates!

How to Make Money From Books You Can’t Sell Online

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It’s an annoying truth about selling books online – sooner or later, you’ll find some of the books you bought can’t be sold for a profit.

The reasons for this vary – maybe the books you listed on Amazon suddenly dropped in value, leaving you with a lot of worthless inventory. Maybe the buyback companies that offered good prices reduced or removed their bids. Or maybe you found some of the books you bought were damaged, preventing you from selling them for extra money.

When this happens, you’ll need to have some strategies in place that will let you sell or trade those books for a profit and institute some clutter control on your home.

Here is a simple 4-step plan you should follow on a regular basis to get rid of that excess stock as soon as possible.

Step 1: Keep the Books You Expect to Rise in Value

Sounds kind of counter intuitive, doesn’t it? After all, isn’t this article about how to declutter your home from excess books?

Well it is. But it’s also true that a lot of book buyback companies you find on Bookscouter tend to buy the same books over and over again – and even when a certain book doesn’t receive any bids one day, it will suddenly receive multiple cash offers the next day.

A lot of this has to do with when you sell the book – many textbooks and other educational materials become more valuable before a new college semester when the book buyback companies are building up their stock. So sometimes, it pays to wait for a while and see if your books rise in value.

As you become more familiar with selling books online, you’ll discover what books and titles you can expect to reliably sell over and over again. (Quick tip: many of the same classic American and English literature titles regularly receive attractive bids from many buyback companies, particularly Textbooks.com, eCampus, and Sell Back Books.)

Here’s what I suggest – keep an empty cardboard box by your desk as you look up buyback bids (preferably with a scanner if you want to make your job easier) for your books on Bookscouter. When you come across a book you think will be eventually profitable but isn’t currently receiving any bids, place it into the box.

Over the next few days, re-scan the ISBNs of these books through Bookscouter and see if any book buyback companies are offering any bids. Odds are, you’ll be able to still re-sell some of these books for a profit.

After a week, if you have any books left, you’ll want to get rid of them using some of the strategies below.

Step 2: Return Any Books to Thrift Stores with a Return Policy

Some thrift stores offer a return policy on the items you buy from them, allowing you to exchange some of your worthless stock for trade credit that you can use to buy more profitable books.

There’s often a time limit on how long you can keep the merchandise before returning it (usually about two weeks), so make sure you learn the store’s policy when you purchase books from them.

Most stores also require you to have your original receipt with you when you return items, and the price tag may need to still be on the book so the item can be re-scanned back into their inventory.

To ensure that you have all these materials with you, follow this simple strategy – whenever you find a book you know you can’t sell (i.e. one with water damage, torn pages etc.) stick the store receipt into the book like a bookmark. Then toss the book into a second cardboard box marked “Return.”

Once you’re done scanning all your books through Bookscouter, you can then take the box and return all the books back to the thrift stores and exchange them for trade credit.

This will go a long way in reducing your overhead costs (since you’re basically reusing your money to buy better books), which will help you keep more of your profit!

Step 3: Exchange Books at Used Bookstores for Trade Credit

If you find you can’t sell your books on Amazon or through buyback companies you find on Bookscouter – and if the stores you bought them from don’t offer a return policy – you can still profit from them.

Just load those books into a third box labeled “Trade.” Then, take them to all the used bookstores that offer a trade credit program. (You may have to do an online search for used bookstores and call them up to confirm they exchange books for trade credit).

One nice thing about this strategy is that a lot of the books you buy to sell to buyback companies tend to be very popular (bestselling fiction, recent textbooks, popular nonfiction etc.) so used bookstores should be interested in a lot of them.

Some used bookstores may even offer you a cash deal for your books – but I tend to favor exchanging them for trade credit since you get more this way.

And while selling your books for trade credit isn’t the same as selling them for cash, you can still profit from this method by buying profitable books from used bookstores with your trade credit and then re-selling those books through Bookscouter.

Step 4: Donate Books to the Library or Thrift Store for a Tax Deduction

If all else fails, you can donate the books to the library bookstore or thrift store you bought them from and receive a tax write-off.

While this isn’t the same as getting money for your books, it can save you a few dollars when tax season comes around – and more importantly, it helps reduce the clutter created by your excess book inventory.

Be sure to ask the store for a receipt that you can file away for your taxes (many thrift stores have a pre-made form that you can fill out on your own later).

Hope this helps you profit more from your books when you sell them online! As always, if you have any more questions, feel free to contact me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.

And if you’d like to learn more about selling books online to make extra money, please subscribe to my blog for constant updates!

How to Sell Used Homeschool Books Online

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Recently, while shopping at a thrift store to find used books to sell for cash, I met a mother who home schools her kids.

It seemed she’d been buying a lot of homeschool books and other supplies – many of which were now lying around unused since her kids had graduated to higher levels.

She was eager to sell these homeschool books online for cash – but like a lot of inexperienced online sellers, thought her only options to sell books were Amazon.com and eBay.

I immediately referred her to my blog, which I hope can help not only her but also any parent seeking to declutter their house and turn their sell their homeschool books for cash by selling them to buyback companies – which can then be used to provide funds for their children’s education.

Homeschooling families are actually in a great position to make extra cash by selling books online since many of their textbooks are recent editions – which makes them easier to sell for higher prices (provided they sell them as soon as their kids are done using them so the books don’t have time to be replaced by later editions).

Families seeking to sell their used homeschool books and other curriculum materials online should follow these three steps:

Step 1: Visit Bookscouter.com

Once your kids are done using their textbooks, visit Bookscouter.com and enter the ISBNs of your books in the search bar to see if you can immediately sell your books for cash to buyback companies.

This is the fastest and simplest way to get money back for your books – but to make sure you get the best prices you need to sell these books immediately after your kids are done with them since textbooks depreciate rapidly as new editions replace the old ones.

(If your books are already a few years old, you might still be able to make a few dollars from them, but don’t expect them to sell for anywhere near what you bought them for).

Be sure to create a free Bookscouter account to ensure you receive offers from as many buyback companies as possible. If you’d like to know which buyback companies I feel pay the best and the fastest, read my articles 8 Great Book Buyback Companies to Sell Books To and 2 More Great Book Buyback Companies to Sell Books To.

(Incidentally if you’re looking for a great book buyback company to sell textbooks to, I recommend K-12 Book Buyer. This company specializes in buying grade school, middle, grade, and high school textbooks — as well as clean workbooks — so you should be able to sell quite a few books for extra cash to them).

Also, if you have a lot of books to sell, I suggest you invest in a barcode scanner — the wired versions are very affordable and will make selling your books a lot easier.

As you find buyback company bids from your books on Bookscouter, you may discover you can sell your books for higher prices by selling them yourself on Amazon.com. This is also a good option (especially if you want to turn selling books online into a side business) but please read my article Should You Sell Textbooks on Amazon or to a Book Buyback Company to Make Money? to learn how much Amazon takes in fees and commissions before you get paid.

As always, you’ll want to make sure that the textbooks and other educational materials you sell are still in good condition before you send them in. For instance, if your kids have filled out all their workbooks with answers, you won’t be able to resell them. (This is particularly true of buyback companies like Powells Books which will pay you well for your novels, textbooks, and nonfiction titles, but only if the books are in excellent condition).

For a more detailed list of book condition guidelines, read my article Is the Book Condition of Your Textbook Good Enough to Make Extra Money?

(After reading that article, I’m sure you’ll agree that it pays to keep your textbooks in good condition if you want to sell them!)

Step 2: Consider Re-Selling Textbooks for Trade Credit Instead of Cash

If you’ve read my articles, Should You Sell Your Books for Amazon Credit? and Advantages of Selling Books for Powell’s Trade In Credit, you know you can exchange your books for trade credit to companies like Amazon, Powells, and TextbookRush.

This can be a very attractive option for home schooling parents since many buyback companies offer more in trade credit than cash when they buy books online.

This trade credit can then be used to buy additional homeschooling books and materials as your child requires them. You can even keep exchanging these educational materials for trade credit to these companies over and over again (provided you keep them in good condition), saving you a lot of money in the long run.

You can find trade credit bids for your textbooks on Bookscouter.com as well (just be aware that your trade credit bids will often be higher than the amounts Bookscouter reports – Powells, for instance, offers a 50% bonus on all bids reported on Bookscouter if you accept payment in trade credit).

Step 3: Trade Books at Used Bookstores

If you find your used homeschool books are out-of-date and don’t receive very attractive bids on Bookscouter, don’t lose heart – you can still profit from them.

Just do an online search for used bookstores in your area. Then call them up and check to see if they buy books for cash or exchange them for trade credit.

Odds are most used bookstores have a trade credit program – and will accept many of your old textbooks. You can then use the trade credit to buy additional educational supplies at the bookstore.

If you find a lot of used bookstores in your area, be sure to check them out before you trade with them – you’ll want to make sure the bookstore actually has items you’ll want to use your trade credit on.

Final Thoughts

By the way, while I do believe in selling homeschooling books as fast as you can (given how quickly new textbook editions pop up), if you find you can sell your books for a significantly higher profit on Amazon than on Bookscouter, you may still want to try and sell your books on Amazon (while keeping buyback companies as an alternative).

If you’d like to learn some good tactics to sell your books faster and for better profits on Amazon, feel free to check out my new Sell Books Fast Online eBook series.

I hope these tips help homeschooling families save money. If you have any more questions about how selling books online can aid in your child’s education, feel free to contact me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.

And if you’d like to learn more about selling books online to make extra money, please subscribe to my blog for constant updates!

Is the Book Condition of Your Textbook Good Enough to Make Extra Money?

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What’s the first thing you should do when your Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner and tablet/cell phone tell you the book you just found is worth a lot of money?

If you answered, “Jump up and down and squeal like a little girl” – sorry, but you’re wrong (and seriously, what’s wrong with you? That kind of behavior can get you thrown out of the store! Well, unless you are a little girl…).

No, what you want to do is check to see if the book condition of the textbook or popular fiction book you found is good enough to sell online to buyback websites (or Amazon).

Here’s the deal – while you can find valuable books for cheap prices at thrift stores and garage sales, a lot of these books have been treated pretty badly. Pages get marked up and/or torn out, bindings get broken, and water damage can make turning pages a nightmare.

And if you make the mistake of sending these books to a buyback website to make extra money? Sorry, but you’ll usually end up losing money – sometimes a lot.

To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, here are four common problems with book condition that should make you think twice before you try and sell them online for cash.

Water Damage

Ugh! These are the most common defects in used books. Sometimes the previous owner spilled a drink in his or her book, making the pages stain, stick and/or warp.

Obviously these books will be rejected by all buyback websites – the problem is sometimes it’s not easy to spot water damage at first glance.

Get in the habit of flipping through a book’s pages before you put it in your cart to buy. If you notice any warped, wrinkled, or discolored pages – put it back!

Broken Binding

Books with deep wrinkles running down its spine may have a broken spine where the pages are starting to separate from the cover.

Sometimes, broken binding is hard to spot (especially in hardback books) since the cover might look fine and hide any internal damage. Naturally, buyback websites won’t buy these books.

The same test you use for water damage can help here – books with broken bindings usually reveal their weak spots when you flip through the pages.

Marked Up or Missing Pages

Textbooks and workbooks can fetch a high price on buyback websites – especially if they’re recent editions.

But before you throw that book in your cart, check to see if the book has any quiz questions or fill-in-the-blank pages.

If you spot any writing, circling, or filled-in multiple choice slots, put the book back! Likewise, if you find any pages missing, put the book back! Buyback websites will not buy those books for cash!

Books that have a little highlighting, underlining, or even notes in the margins are a unique case. As long as the book only has a few markings (usually on less than 25% of its pages) and the text is easy to read, some buyback websites – including Textbooks.com, Cash 4 Books, Chegg, TextbookRush, and Valore – will buy these books.

But be careful! Study the book condition guidelines provided by these buyback websites before you send them anything, and be careful not to send them anything that might make it difficult to resell (like filled in quiz questions)

Missing Supplemental Materials

These days when you buy a book, you’re not always just buying a book – you’re buying a multimedia experience thanks to the CDs, DVDs, computer codes, and/or CD-ROMs that come with the book.

Make sure all these supplemental materials are in the book – buyback websites will not pay for a book that doesn’t have all its extra materials. Does the cover advertise a CD? Check the inside covers to make sure it’s in its plastic sleeve (and free of scratches).

Have the computer codes in the book been torn out or opened? Then you probably can’t sell the books for cash to a buyback website.

Other Problems with Book Condition

If you make sure to check for the four common book condition defects listed above, you should be able to make significantly more extra money selling books online.

That said, there are still other qualities that you should keep in mind when assessing book condition that will affect whether or not you can sell the book online for cash.

If you buy a lot of books at library sales, for instance, you should find out first if the buyback website you want to sell the book to accepts ex-library books (some buyback websites pay a lot of money for ex-library books, others will reject them, and still others will only pay half their quoted buyback price for them).

Because of this, it’s always a good idea to review each buyback website’s policies on book condition before sending your books to them for cash. Trust me – you’ll make more money this way and save yourself a lot of frustration.

Once you know your textbooks and/or other books are in acceptable condition for the buyback website you want to sell to, it’s time to cash in! Find out where you can sell your books for the most money in Best Books to Sell Online to Buyback Companies and The Best Places to Sell Textbooks Online Besides Amazon Part 1.

And – as always – remember to subscribe to my blog to receive updates on more tools and tricks to make more money selling books for cash online!