eBay or Half.com? Where do you buy or sell your used books?

#1

Suzanne 3FC , 04-13-2008 01:53 PM

I'm going to thin out my books, I have far too many and most will never be opened again. All are non-fiction and most are diet/fitness related and fairly new releases. I want to sell them and buy an Amazon Kindle so I don't have to keep adding to my shelves.

I'm trying to decide between Half.com or eBay. Do you buy or sell used books? Which do you go to first and/or have better luck with?

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#2

Azure , 04-13-2008 02:02 PM

I buy used books--mostly for school, but I always go to Half.com before e-bay. That's just my personal preference; I usually find better deals on Half.com.

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#3

kaplods , 04-13-2008 02:08 PM

I usually buy from amazon.com, and I while I have used amazon auctions, I'm more familiar with ebay, so if I'm going to sell stuff, including books, I usually sell there.

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#4

Apple Cheeks , 04-13-2008 02:12 PM

I usually donate my books to some organization or another.

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#5

Ophelia924 , 04-13-2008 02:22 PM

I sell my used books on Ebay or donate them to my public library. They provide documentation for all books that you donate and allow for a one dollar per book tax deduction under charitable contributions on your federal tax returns. If the book is somehow special they are honest and let you know. (at least that is what my local library does) My library sells the books at their annual used book sale. I have seen most paperbacks in good condition for 1 or 2 dollars and most hardcovers vary from 5-15 dollars. I however buy my used books usually from amazon typically but sometimes use ebay if there is a particular author I like I can sometimes buy a lot for a decent price.

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#6

CountingDown , 04-13-2008 02:33 PM
Half.com for both.
Reasons:
- Selling
- Cheaper fees
- No "duration" - they stay listed until I take them down
- Easier - no pictures to take, descriptions to write, etc.

Buying
No bidding - I pick out the quality I want and buy it on the spot
Usually cheaper shipping options - media mail for instance if I am not in a hurry
There are less "pros" here and I like supporting people like me or college kids that are thinning their collections

FYI - I feel the same about workout DVDs too. I buy almost all of mine at half.com.

meowee , 04-13-2008 03:25 PM

We have a local used book seller that also buys and allows a 10% store credit for each book brought in (as long as they are not already overstocked). I gather mine up about twice a year and take them in. They mostly only want fiction though. Anything they don't take I donate to one of the local hospital gift shops.

nanj , 04-13-2008 03:25 PM

I buy used books from Amazon, Half and a place called Abesbooks. To bad you can't make a list for us here. I'm interested.

chickybird , 04-13-2008 03:43 PM

Half.com or Amazon. Also, lots of hospitals, nursing homes, and senior citizen centers like getting books.

#10

cephalopod gal , 04-13-2008 04:35 PM

http://textbooks.com

AND shipping is pretty awesome.

#11

ANOther , 04-13-2008 05:23 PM

I donate, either to a thrift shop that makes periodic pickups in our neighborhood (one of the few that DOES accept books) or, my workplace is part of a hospital complex and in the lobby there's a donation box for used books for the hospital library. If it's a book of crossword puzzles and I've done all the puzzles in it, I just recycle it

I really should get back to doing BookCrossing as well

Also nanj, try betterworld.com, they sell used books and use the proceeds to fund literacy programs

#12

suzie76 , 04-15-2008 10:49 AM

I sell books on Amazon. They do not charge listing fees like ebay does. They do take a commission, though.

I also belong to paperbackbookswap.com That way I can get rid of books I don't want, and get ones I've been looking for without buying them.

Sherry

#13

HarpoChicoGroucho , 04-15-2008 01:51 PM

There's a website called http://www.alibris.com/ that I use sometimes. It has rare OOP books. I also use Amazon marketplace, even though one time I ordered some paperback romance novels for my sister for Christmas, and they never came. I still use them though. I'm not sure if Amazon has buyer protection like Ebay does. I usually always buy used (except new releases). I've never sold, I've donated and still have 2 bookcases of books in my parent's basement.

#14

Its Courtney , 04-16-2008 01:10 AM

I use amazon and ebay...I'll resort to ebay if I absolutely can't find the price I'm looking for on amazon. But I like selling better on ebay.