+45 votes
by (830 points)
Anyone ever sell to Half Price Books? Is it worth it?  
Anyone ever sell to Half Price Books?

39 Answers

+42 votes
by (1.1k points)
 
Best answer
Worth it if the alternative is recycling the books. Not worth it if you're trying to get actual money for the books or are able to donate them.  
by (750 points)
This. I had a pretty terrible experience with them, myself. They were apparently very busy but didn't have the presence of mind to just get my phone number or email to tell me when they had gotten to my books. I had to fart around for nearly an hour and a half for them to get to my bag of books. Got 5 bucks. Still better than just throwing them in a recycler. Probably will just donate books next time I need to purge.  
by (1.1k points)
I actually found it hard to donate books. Libraries don't want them and I couldn't find another charity that did.  
by (510 points)
@renell6 Good Will
by (510 points)
@renell6 lots of places to donate. Just Google it
by (1.1k points)
I did google at the time and had a hard time finding a place that would take the books we had (no kids books, mostly non-fiction). so I went to half-price books. We purged down to just the essentials, so I doubt I'll need it again :)
+41 votes
by (720 points)
I have. They really don't give you much. If you have books that are slow movers for them, they won't give you anything. They ask you to donate those with them. Books need to be current and in good condition.  
+43 votes
by (7.3k points)
Don’t give you much and takes a while
+43 votes
by (720 points)
I was sorry that I sold them a carefully organized set of Inspector Morse books for $2. The person buying them said they’d probably be pulped. Should have just donated them.  
+41 votes
by (6.4k points)
You can give them a box full of items and maybe only get $5 - not worth it.  
+41 votes
by (3.7k points)
They don't give much but it's easy to do so if you want convenience it's ideal.  
+40 votes
by (1.2k points)
You wont get much for them, but a good way to re-home them!  
+37 votes
by (760 points)
Not worth it at all.  
+45 votes
by (5.3k points)
They won’t really give you much. But if you were gonna donate them anyways it may be worth it. I took a handful and got maybe $25. Some were old college textbooks though  
+33 votes
by (1.9k points)
I heard that they throw a lot of them away in the dumpster, so sad! There are some people that dumpster dive for books though!  
+45 votes
by (1.6k points)
If you have the patience to sell them yourself--could take a VERY long time--you'll get more money that way. If you just want them gone but don't want to throw them away, HPB is a good option. When we lived in Iowa, we used to pick up a lot of free books from friends and family who were throwing them out, and we'd take them to HPB in Des Moines whenever we were in the area. We've gotten anything from $2 to over $100 for loads of various sizes. We got the most for recent textbooks (which probably cost a fortune new), and we got a decent payout for some old paperback books about French film.  
by (1.6k points)
It takes anywhere from 10 minutes to over an hour depending on how busy they are. We like poking around bookstores anyway, so that part was never a problem for us.  
+39 votes
by (1.3k points)
I have to say excuse the language. Hell, no.  
+24 votes
by (1.3k points)
They give you nothing. And give you excuses. Right up they don't want your stuff? They act like they're doing you a favor. Frugal Muse is actually pretty good. Very nice people to deal with
+40 votes
by (790 points)
No, to me it's fairly insulting the prices they give. I feel much better donating.  
+40 votes
by (970 points)
I have I had a TON of books to get rid of and it was very worth while for me.  
by (970 points)
For the record, I got hundreds of dollars back when i sold books at Half Price Books.  
by (970 points)
@protolanguage9 everything from travel books to text books to collectables.  
+33 votes
by (1.6k points)
From reading all these comments they just sound like Game Stop  sell 25 games you get back $1
+43 votes
by (790 points)
I’ve done it twice. Both times eh. You can’t leave the store when you bring books in, the most I’ve gotten back was $20. But the pokiness of the employees when you have to wait wastes time. I’ll be looking for better donating options next time.  
+39 votes
by (7.6k points)
I donate mine. It’s really not worth it for me
+45 votes
by (740 points)
No. I was shocked at how little they offered.  
+27 votes
by (3.2k points)
Yes, very easy process.  
+35 votes
by (2.3k points)
I got maybe 50 cents per book there. Better than recycling but not much.  
+44 votes
by (1.8k points)
Took 143 books there they took 5 of them and gave me $2. 40 in store credit. Save the hassle and have a nice backyard fire in the Spring.  
by (970 points)
@horripilate71743 I kinda wanna quote Field of Dreams but don't wanna insult you.  
by (1.8k points)
@check. You can't throw out an invitation like that. I don't know you, so it would be impossible for you to insult me. I gotta hear the Field of Dreams quote. ✌
by (970 points)
"At least I am not a book burner, you nazi cow" Sorry I jumped to that because of wanting to burn a book. No offense. I just speak in movie quotes.  
https://youtu.be/6ki0xz2qrkk
by (1.8k points)
@check.  
+40 votes
by (1.3k points)
You get very little for the books you sell, but it is a good way to clear out items you don't have room for at home. On the positive side, the books I buy there aren't very expensive either.  
+40 votes
by (790 points)
Look into selling books on Amazon. Search by ISBN number and see if they offer “sell” option. I just bought the book for $100 and Amazon offered to buy it back for $50
+42 votes
by (2.3k points)
Selling on Amazon can only be worth it if it's a sought after, rare book. I hardly sell any books anymore. It was my main business on Amazon until the Kindle. If you check the ISBN, you might have some that are in demand, but they're few and far between.  
by (2.3k points)
If you want me to check for you, send me the ISBNs
+43 votes
by (1.5k points)
You should donate them to the Naperville AAUW Book Sale  All proceeds benefit AAUW scholarships, fellowships and other programs supporting women and girls, which includes our annual Angeline Gale Memorial Scholarship.  
https://naperville-il.aauw.net/booksale/
+41 votes
by (730 points)
I took 5/6 brand new books that were gifted to me, like the binding wasn’t even broken and they only gave me $5. It’s worst than GameStop.  
+45 votes
by (1.4k points)
I brought four large egg carton boxes to them full of books. They cost several hundred dollars, and they gave me $48.  
+36 votes
by (1.8k points)
I feel it depends on what books you have vs what they need in the store! I took a paper size box of books over and got $30 for the majority of the books!  
+44 votes
by (9.4k points)
We donate all of our books to: those little mailbox libraries around town, good will, daycares, or elementary schools during their book drives. I have never heard of Half Priced Books. When I buy a book I go on Audible it Libby or Hoopla or Axis 360 but chances are my library has the book I want. or I can request them to buy it for me.  
+39 votes
by (1.8k points)
I donated mine to Naperville Library.  
+39 votes
by (760 points)
My mom had a ton of books she didn't sell in her garage sale last year and donated them to her local library.  
+45 votes
by (2.5k points)
I took 11 Trader Joe’s sized bags to the Naper Blvd Library. All good to great condition. They accepted them gratefully. (Reuse. ) About to bring more. #TooManyBooks I gave a bunch of children’s books to a social worker in Oswego Schools for her young ones. S. C. A. R. E. takes books too. call first. I’m shifting from Reuse to Digital for bios, novels. Some non-fiction I still want paper.  
+33 votes
by (760 points)
If you’re looking to make money. no. But books were meant to be shared. And they won’t accept every book or item (used vinyl).  
+36 votes
by (780 points)
Not worth it. I got 7 bucks for a whole box full
+37 votes
by (1.5k points)
Better to donate them to a local nursing home or homeless Ministry or prison ministry you can get a tax write-off that way
+36 votes
by (1.5k points)
No unless you just want them out the door they pay next to nothing
+39 votes
by (1.1k points)
They stink
+29 votes
by (790 points)
No - they barely give you any money.  
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