Sell Your Textbooks in the US

Used textbooks in the US typically sell for $7 to $47. Textbook value collapses the moment a new edition appears, which makes timing more important here than condition.

What textbooks are worth in the US

Condition	Typical	What it means
New with Tags	$47	Unused, tags or seals intact
Like New	$40	Barely used, no visible wear
Good	$31	Light signs of use, complete and working
Fair	$21	Heavily used, or a described fault or missing part
For Parts	$12	Not working or incomplete, sold as seen

Guide ranges converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate, not quotes — sellers set their own price. Grades are seller-declared; WishThrift does not inspect or verify them.

What lifts the price

Current editions still set on reading lists
Access codes unused where bundled

What pulls it down

Heavy highlighting and margin notes
Selling mid-term when demand has passed

Selling textbooks in the US

Peer-to-peer payment apps dominate private sales, and buyers will usually offer one before they offer cash. Sales tax does not apply to a private sale between individuals.

Distances are the real constraint. State plainly whether you will ship or collection only, because a buyer three states away will otherwise ask.

Two practical things shape a US sale. Shipping is priced by dimensional weight as well as actual weight, so a light bulky item can cost far more to send than a heavy small one — measure the box before you quote. And meeting in person is common enough that many police departments now run designated safe-exchange areas in their car parks.

Working out what yours is worth

Check the edition number against the current one
List at the start of a term rather than the end

Getting it ready

Check for highlighting, annotations and missing pages, and be honest about the extent.
Check whether any access code or online component was included, and whether it has been redeemed.

Photograph

The copyright page showing edition and ISBN
A typical interior page, showing any highlighting

Put in the description

Whether any access code was included and whether it is unused
Binding condition, and whether any pages are loose or missing

Title, author, edition and ISBN: “Campbell Biology, 12th Edition, Urry, ISBN 9780135188743”. Edition is critical because courses specify one. Include the ISBN — students search by it directly and it removes all ambiguity in one string.

Sharply seasonal, peaking in late August, September and January as terms begin. Selling mid-term means waiting or discounting heavily.

It costs nothing to list

There is no listing fee, no selling fee and no commission, so the $47 a buyer pays is the $47 you keep. You and the buyer settle up and arrange the handover between yourselves; WishThrift does not hold the money or ship the item.

Where in the US

The United States is a big place and what sells well moves with it. These are the parts of the United States with their own page for textbooks.

Common questions

Where can I sell textbooks in the US?

List it free on WishThrift and deal with the buyer direct. There is no selling fee, so the whole amount stays with you. Peer-to-peer payment apps dominate private sales, and buyers will usually offer one before they offer cash. Sales tax does not apply to a private sale between individuals.

Is the access code unused?

Check and answer honestly. Access codes are single-use and often worth more than the book; claiming an unused one that has been redeemed is a guaranteed dispute.

Does highlighting reduce the value?

Yes, noticeably. Clean copies sell for meaningfully more, so describe the marking honestly rather than letting buyers discover it.

Are access codes worth including?

Only if unused. Codes are single-use, so an already-redeemed one is worth nothing and should not be advertised.

More: how to sell textbooks, what textbooks are worth, or Books across the United States.