Most second-hand books are worth very little online. A few are worth a lot, and the skill of book reselling is telling them apart quickly. This guide covers what to check before you buy, and how to price what you keep.
Start with the barcode or ISBN
Almost every book printed since the 1970s has an ISBN on the back cover or the copyright page. The ISBN identifies the exact edition, which matters: a hardback first edition and a later paperback of the same title can be worlds apart in value. If there's no ISBN, the book is either older or unusual, and both are worth a closer look.
Books that tend to sell
- Niche non-fiction: local history, transport (railways, buses, aviation), military history, crafts, specialist hobbies and older technical manuals.
- Textbooks and professional books: recent editions in medicine, law, engineering, accountancy and teaching. Check the edition number; an out-of-date edition sells far slower.
- First editions and signed copies: check the copyright page for a number line ending in 1, or "First published" with no later printings listed. A signature on a title page only adds value if it's genuine and the author is collected.
- Out-of-print titles: books that were never reprinted can be in demand even if they look ordinary.
- Sets and series: complete runs of a series often sell better as a bundle than one by one.
Books that usually don't
Recent bestsellers, celebrity memoirs, mass-market fiction and book-club editions are printed in huge numbers. They often sell for less than the cost of posting them. If you see ten copies of a title on one charity shop shelf, that tells you something about its value.
Check condition honestly
Look for water damage, loose pages, highlighting, ex-library stamps, a missing dust jacket on a hardback, and smells (smoke and damp put buyers off). Describe every flaw in your listing. An honest "Good" sells better and gets fewer returns than an optimistic "Very good".
Setting a price
Look at what identical copies are listed for now, in the same condition, and then use eBay's Sold items filter to see what buyers actually paid recently. Price against copies like yours, not against the most expensive listing. Remember to account for postage: most books go as a Large Letter or Small Parcel, and a heavy hardback can cost more to send than it sells for.
What to do with the rest
Books that aren't worth listing individually can go to trade-in sites that buy by barcode, be sold as a themed bundle ("20 crime paperbacks"), or go back to a charity shop. Don't let low-value stock fill your shelves.