About a month ago, one of the oldest used bookselling companies in the US abruptly shut down. Today, we’ll discuss why it happened and also explore other ways of finding affordable books now.

Having been on the bookselling market for two decades, DiscoverBooks went out of business somewhere around March 22, 2024. There has been no official notice or press release so far; the employees were notified on the spot, and many orders were left unfulfilled.

Here are a few of the Reddit user quotes about the current situation:

“I was an employee at the Hammond IN plant. The company closed for good March 22, 2024.
The employees were not given any notice on March 11, 2024. Only 6 employees were kept to more or less clean up,”

– June141953

“As an ex employee at the Hammond Plant we were not given any notice on March 11 that this was going to happen. We got off work at 2:30 PM and at 2:25 we were told that there was going to be a meeting. At 2:50 PM we were notified that production was ending. When you speak of courtesy what would you say that of this date I have not been paid formy last day or the PTO I was promised. The company is now in recievership.”

– 2013Equinox

Other commenters on Reddit mention that they were unable to receive their orders or get refunds. Also, the company’s eBay and Amazon online stores have been deactivated, and their book listings have been removed. Again, according to some commenters on Reddit, bulk booksellers and other Discover Books partners couldn’t get any response from the company and failed to receive scheduled payouts. So, all in all, we can suggest that DiscoverBooks suddenly closed because of financial problems.

At the moment, the DiscoverBooks website is inaccessible. However, they used to run a blog that celebrated famous authors and their works and provided all sorts of reading challenges and recommendations for book lovers. The blog is still accessible, with the archive of posts from May 2016 to November 2023. You can also access their Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest pages. Facebook, however, is no longer available.

Founded in 2004 by Philip McMullin and Jeffrey McMullin, DiscoverBooks used to be “an online gently used bookshop for people who love to read but don’t like the cost of new books”. The company wanted to provide everyone with access to good and affordable books and donated or recycled the books they could not sell. Their mission was to “Let the Stories Live On”. In other words, DiscoverBooks did all in their power to keep good books from going to waste. The sudden closure of the business surprised many customers and partners.

Where to Find Affordable Books Now?

Sadly as it is to see one of the oldest and largest online booksellers go, there are still options where you can get affordable books (and no, they are not just Amazon or eBay).

Amazon

First, you can obviously check Amazon, as it genuinely requires no introduction. Even if you used to buy your reads on DiscoverBooks and liked them for their authenticity, Amazon undoubtedly has its perks, and the first and foremost is the choice of books and the number of booksellers. You can literally find any book you need at any price. You can also sell your books on Amazon; check one of our earlier posts where we covered How to Sell Textbooks on Amazon in detail.

eBay

Naturally, eBay comes next. You can either buy books there for a fixed price (Buy It Now) or place a bid (Auction). There are a plethora of booksellers and individual sellers on eBay, so you can find books in all genres and in all possible conditions. The same goes for price. eBay has a lot of old and rare books, as well as first editions that cost a small fortune. You can also sell your books on eBay and get your money back. To learn how to do it, check our tips and recommendations: How to Sell Books on eBay: A Short Step-by-Step Guide.

BetterWorldBooks

BetterWorldBooks is another well-known bookseller that sells both used and new books. Their motto is “Buy Books. Do Good”. Also, when you make a purchase, you can help others access the books they need by supporting the company’s donation and fundraising programs. Read more about BetterWorldBooks in our article Where to Buy Used Books Online.

BooksRun

You can also find plenty of good and cheap books at BooksRun. They have more than a million titles in stock, both new and used books. You can also rent textbooks and sell your used books back to them.

BookScouter

Finally, we’d like to mention BookScouter, as it’s probably the surest way to find the best offers for used books. You can find book price information from 20+ booksellers on this online price comparison platform. Just enter the book’s ISBN, author, or title and get access to all the current offers. You’ll see the best one in the top right corner, and all the others are listed below in descending order.

Since there are more than 20 booksellers working with BookScouter, checking it in the first place is easier and faster than going to any of the websites mentioned above individually, but we’re just giving you the information. It’s up to you to decide.

Here are more detailed instructions: How Do I Buy Books on BookScouter? and more answers to your questions about why you should buy textbooks with BookScouter.

All in all, every time one of the companies either downsizes or goes out of business completely, we have to adapt and look for other ways to get the books we need. So we hope that BookScouter will be useful to you in finding great offers. Also, if you’re looking for wholesale books, you can check our post about 5 Places to Buy Used Books in Bulk. If you’re looking for kids’ books, we have a post about 6 Best Places to Buy Used Children’s Books.

We’ve already written about how to scout books and book arbitrage in general, as well as about some ways to get books for free in your location if you’re reselling. Yet, we’ve decided to dedicate the entire post to free books. So, regardless of your goal—you’re looking for new reads, textbooks for your studies, or you’re a book scout and reseller—we’ve collected the information for you and compiled it into a neat article.

How to Get Used Books for Free

Let’s explore all possible options for obtaining physical books for free. Although you may already have some ideas, we’ll go over the list together.

Book Gifts from Friends and Family

One of the simplest ways to find books is by asking your friends and family if they have any books they don’t need and are willing to share. Perhaps you have older siblings or cousins who have just graduated and are happy to pass on their textbooks to you. Maybe your relatives are looking to downsize their library. You can simply ask them, and they might be more than happy to help.

Free Giveaways

The next great option is free giveaways. Look for local ads online or on bulletin boards that offer free books. Many people would rather give books away than sell or donate them. All you need to do is pick them up. Don’t overlook this option, as it’s not necessarily very old or used books that people give away; sometimes, you can find hidden gems among them.

Local Sales and Fairs

Garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores, library book sales, auctions, and local markets are all prime destinations for finding literary treasures. You can often expect very cheap books, but chances are you can find free books there, too. Use BookSaleFinder to locate nearby events and find places where you can get books for free. Occasionally, you might even stumble upon entire packs of books ripe for the taking.

Liquidation Opportunities

If you’re a book scout, you can also check two key platforms for acquiring large quantities of books at low prices: Govdeals and Liquidation. While you probably won’t get books for free there, chances are you can find plenty of books as cheap as $2. Keep in mind that you’re usually expected to come and pick them up yourself.

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Online Groups and Social Networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.)

You can also join Facebook groups where members offer books they’re willing to give away, trade, or swap with others either at your location or through mail exchanges. Some book influencers, bloggers, and online book clubs sometimes host giveaways or distribute free copies of books on their Instagram or TikTok. Authors and publishers sometimes run social media contests, giveaways, or promotions, too. There, they offer free copies of books to followers on social media to build buzz around new releases. If you’re interested in a particular author, you can follow their social media page and maybe get a new book for free.

Local Library Giveaways

Public libraries frequently clear out their book collections and offer them for sale at discounted prices or for free to the community. It’s a great way to find some great books while spending really little or nothing at all! To take advantage of this, keep an eye out for library book sales or inquire about their policies on donating or giving away books.

Online Book Swapping Sites

If you’re willing to give away a book before you take one, check websites like BookMooch, and PaperBackSwap. They allow you to trade books with other readers across the globe. Simply list the books you’re willing to give away, and you’ll earn credits to request books from others. It’s an excellent way to declutter your shelves and give used books a new life.

Little Free Libraries

These tiny book exchanges have been popping up in neighborhoods worldwide. Little Free Libraries operate on a “take a book, leave a book” principle, allowing you to grab any book you like for free (provided that you leave something instead). Check if there’s one in your area, or you can start your own.

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BookCrossing

Last on our today’s list is BookCrossing. Like Little Free Libraries and book swapping, this practice encourages readers to “release” their books into the wild by leaving them in public places for others to find, read, and hopefully continue the cycle. You can register your books on the BookCrossing website to track their journey, or you can start book exchange in a similar manner in your own location without any website at all.

Conclusion

By using the power of the internet, social media groups, and local initiatives like Little Free Libraries or simply visiting a local library giveaway, you can find used books for resale purposes, titles for your personal library, great reads for your kids, and whatnot— without breaking the bank.

We hope that one of the ways or resources we listed in this post will help you find what you want, be it another book from the Harry Potter series in your collection or a digital copy of a beautiful Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile.

Understanding the weight of books is more important than it might seem at first glance.

For those who sell books—online booksellers, book scouts, or students selling their old textbooks—it’s a way to optimize logistics and profitability. Book weight directly affects shipping costs, the choice of the carrier, and methods for shipping.

In this post, we’ll take a look at the average weights of various book types and provide insights into calculating book weights accurately.

1. Why Book Weight Information Is Important?
2. Who Needs to Know about Book Weight?
3. How to Learn about the Weight of a Book?
4. So, How Much Does a Book Weigh?
5. How Much Does the Average Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Paperback Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Hardcover Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a 300-Page Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Coffee Table Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Textbook Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Comic Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Children’s Picture Book Weigh?
6. Do You Need to Know the Book’s Weight to Sell It via BookScouter?

Why Book Weight Information Is Important?

When you sell books online, you should give accurate weight information. This helps calculate shipping costs, explore cost-effective shipping options, and offer reliable shipping estimates. It’s one of the parameters that can make a difference to your customers when they consider making a purchase from you.

Understanding book weights also helps eliminate unexpected shipping charges and improves the overall customer experience.

Who Needs to Know about Book Weight?

• Online booksellers need accurate book weight information to provide potential customers with precise shipping estimates.
• Used book traders often sell books by weight instead of individually, so book weight is also important for them.
• Brick-and-mortar bookstores that buy used books from customers can also weigh books to determine how much store credit or cash they can offer for them (if they sell in bulk, for instance).
• Mail carriers need accurate weight data to calculate shipping rates.

How to Learn about the Weight of a Book?

Undoubtedly, the most accurate way to determine a book’s weight is by using a scale.

So, if you plan to sell books regularly, investing in a basic postage scale is highly recommended. These scales are designed specifically for weighing packages and calculating shipping costs accurately.

1. Weigh Books with a Scale

Alternatively, a kitchen scale can also work for most books. Kitchen scales are readily available and can provide a reasonably accurate weight measurement for your books.

2. Discover Book Weights Through Online Resources

You can also look for book weight information online. In this case, make sure you’re looking for the correct edition. Check the ISBN number of your copy against the one you’ve found online to ensure accurate weight information.

3. Use Book Weight Calculator

To calculate the weight of a book, you can use online book weight calculators. These tools typically require you to input details such as the book’s dimensions, page count, and binding type to provide an estimated weight. Here are a few examples:

• Lugaru Software Book Weight Calculator requires details like book dimensions, page count, binding type, paper type, and printing location to estimate the weight and thickness of a book.
• Bookmobile Book Weight Calculator asks you to enter the book’s trim size, paper weight, number of pages, and binding type to calculate the weight of the book.
• Thomson-Shore’s Book Weight Calculation Guide provides a step-by-step guide with formulas to calculate approximate book weight based on trim size, paper weight, page count, and binding type. It also offers estimates for carton and pallet weights.

So, How Much Does a Book Weigh?

The weight of a book can vary significantly depending on several factors, including the number of pages, the type of paper used, and the binding method.

A standard book can weigh anywhere from a few ounces to several pounds.

In case you don’t have access to either a postage or kitchen scale, you can get a rough estimate of your book’s weight by considering the following factors:

• Paperbacks: A typical paperback book weighs between 6 and 12 ounces (170 to 340 grams), depending on the number of pages and the quality of the paper used.
• Hardcovers: Hardcover books are usually heavier, with an average weight ranging from 1 to 3 pounds (0.45 to 1.36 kg). Larger or more extensive hardcover books may weigh even more.
• Page count: As a general rule, the more pages a book has, the heavier it will be. A 300-page book can weigh anywhere from 10 ounces (283 grams) for a paperback to around 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) for a hardcover edition.

How Much Does the Average Book Weigh?

So, based on the information above, you can roughly suggest that the average weight of a book typically falls within the range of 1 to 2 pounds (0.45 to 0.9 kg). However, this can vary based on the book’s format and dimensions.

Now, let’s get into more detail and check how much different books weigh on examples.

How Much Does a Paperback Book Weigh?

Paperback books are generally lighter than hardcover books.

A typical mass-market paperback book weighs between 6 and 12 ounces (170 to 340 grams), depending on the number of pages and the quality of the paper used. Most such paperbacks with coarse paper rarely exceed half a pound, except for some lengthier titles.

Trade paperbacks, which are usually higher-quality paperback versions (e.g., popular fiction and nonfiction books, comic books, graphic novels, etc.) usually weigh between 8 to 16 ounces (227 to 454 grams).

What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz, mass-market paperback, 7.6 oz

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, mass-market paperback, 12.3 oz

How Much Does a Hardcover Book Weigh?

Hardcover books tend to be heavier due to their sturdy binding and thicker covers. The average weight of a hardcover book ranges from 1 to 3 pounds (0.45 to 1.36 kg), with larger or more extensive books potentially weighing even more.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, hardcover, 11.6 oz

The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, hardcover, 11.7 oz

Amber Dispels The Darkness by Aquila Lucida, hardcover, 23.8 oz

How Much Does a 300-Page Book Weigh?

A 300-page book can weigh anywhere from 10 ounces (283 grams) to 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg), depending on whether it’s a paperback or a hardcover edition. The weight can vary based on the paper quality, binding method, and the presence of additional elements like illustrations or photographs.

Higher Education in America by Derek Bok, trade paperback, 480 pages, 1.36 lb

How Much Does a Coffee Table Book Weigh?

These books, along with art books and cookbooks, can vary significantly in size but rarely weigh less than 2 pounds (0.91 kg), with some reaching up to 10 pounds (4.54 kg).

Rothko by Jacob Baal-Teshuva, trade paperback, 12.8 oz

Bridges Explained by Trevor Yorke, trade paperback, 10.6 oz

How Much Does a Textbook Weigh?

Hardcover textbooks usually weigh between 2 to 6 pounds (0.91 to 2.72 kg), some heftier textbook volumes may exceed this range. Paperback textbook weight depends on the book size and paper quality.

Master the SAT, paperback, 3.44 lb

How Much Does a Comic Book Weigh?

The average weight of a traditional comic book is 2.2 ounces (62 grams). The small differences in weight between comics from different publishers suggest that they were made using different materials.

Graphic novels are likely heavier than comic books and can range from 8 ounces to over 1 pound (227–450 grams) depending on page count and binding.

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner, graphic novel, trade paperback, 15.5 oz

How Much Does a Children’s Picture Book Weigh?

Children’s picture books have different dimensions and sizes; therefore they can weigh anywhere from 5 to 16 ounces (142 to 454 grams), with smaller-format books weighing just a few ounces.

Do You Need to Know the Book’s Weight to Sell It via BookScouter?

When you sell a book via BookScouter, you don’t have to enter its precise weight. All you need to do is enter the ISBN and check whether the vendors offer the exact match to your edition (e.g., publisher, publishing date, binding, etc.). That’s it. The information about the book’s weight is already in the system, as we receive it together with the book characteristics related to its ISBN.

Men in Style: The Golden Age of Fashion from Esquire—book details on BookScouter

Men in Style: The Golden Age of Fashion from Esquire—book details on BooksRun; vendor page

Conclusion

We hope that today’s article will help you improve your bookselling experience.

After all, in book scouting and selling, the weight of books is more than just a number—it’s a factor that influences other things, shipping costs, specifically—and understanding the subject as well as learning how to weigh books and use book weight calculators are the surest ways to provide accurate shipping estimates.

Opening a book is like opening a door to a whole new world. For many avid readers, the thought of owning and running their own bookstore is a dream come true. It can offer a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction to see people come in and leave with a book in hand. However, starting a bookstore business is no easy feat. It requires careful planning, research, and execution to make it a success. In this blog post, we will delve into the important aspects of starting a bookstore business and provide you with insights and tips on how to make it a thriving and profitable venture.

As we’ve already mentioned, launching a bookstore business is an incredibly daunting task. It can be hard to anticipate all the obstacles that may arise along the way. And, unfortunately, not all bookstore businesses manage to thrive and even survive. Here are a few comments from Reddit to get you down to earth.

If you’re still highly motivated and willing to face challenges, check out the step-by-step guide on how to start your bookstore business. Everything is possible for those who truly believe in their aspirations and have a genuine passion for reading.

We’re in our early 30’s and this is my wife’s dream. So it’s definitely not “Hey lets open a book store and make tons of money”. Basically if we can make it work to still be able to afford our current living standards, we’re fine (I’m still keeping my job, which is decent paying). And if it fails, oh well, we’re still young enough to recover. But my wife let me follow my dream and supported me (and now I have my dream job), so it would be kind of shitty for me not to support her, especially since everything is falling into place for it right now. This is definitely her passion, so if anyone can make it succeed, she can.  – By newbookstore

1. Conduct Market Research

Before starting a bookstore business, it is important to conduct market research. You need to identify your target market, the competition in the area, and the demand for books. You should consider factors such as the demographics of the area, the interests of the community, and the types of books that are popular in the region. 

You can start by visiting other bookstores in the area and observing what they offer, what their prices are, and what their customers are interested in. You may decide to focus on a particular genre like fiction, nonfiction, comics, or children’s books or on a type of book, e.g. paperback, hardcover, or softcover. For instance, you can open a local used bookstore that turns out to be a really appealing place for many book lovers:

This information will help you identify your niche and develop a business plan that meets the needs of your target market. 

By the way, if you want to fully immerse yourself in the bookstore business, find out all the peculiarities of the “internal kitchen,” and determine whether this kind of venture is really your vocation, there’s no better way than to put yourself in a bookstore worker’s shoes:

2. Decide on a Location

Choosing the right location for your bookstore is essential. You want to be located in an area that has high foot traffic, is easily accessible, and has a strong demand for books. Look for a location that is visible from the street, has ample parking, and is located near other businesses that attract a lot of people. Besides, a bookstore is likely to thrive if it’s located in the vicinity of a college or university.

You should also consider the size of the space you need to accommodate your inventory and the layout of the space. Additionally, you should research the leasing requirements and costs associated with renting space in your desired location.

3. Create a Business Plan

Before starting any business, it is important to create a business plan. Your business plan should include your goals, target market, marketing strategies, revenue streams, financial projections, and more. You may also need to include information on your suppliers, inventory management, and staffing requirements. It is an essential document that will guide you through the process of starting and running your bookstore business as well as help you stay organized and focused on your goals. 

Economists here. A couple of things to remember…
Even the chain bookstores who enjoy large economies of scale are having a hard time meeting costs. For example, you have a small shop where you must pay rent ($1500), utilities ($500), and other sundry expenses. Let’s say at the end of the day you must pay $2500 before you ever pay the first paycheck or even buy the first book to place on your shelf. If two people work ten hours per day, 6 days per week, assuming a $10 per hour wage rate, that’s another $4800 per month.

Between wages and expenses we’re up to $7300 per month in expenses. Assuming a 40% markup on all books sold (and assuming that the average hard-back book costs $20 retail), you would need to sell 38 books per day, every open day, just to break even. I would be curious if a small boutique shop can meet those numbers. In the middle of a large city, yes… but then your rent will be much, much higher and thus the number of books which would need to be sold.

Note that the large book sellers now have coffee bars up front, not b/c they love coffee, but because the markup is so much more than on a book. In this way they subsidize the book operation.

Finally, you have the initial out-of-pocket expenses. Again assuming a 40% markup and the average price of a hardback book being $20 retail, for you to open the doors with 2000 books, that’s an initial outlay of $24,000 plus the renovation of your shop, plus bookshelves, plus registers, plus etc. etc. etc. Assume an initial outlay of between $30,000-$50,000.

Wrapping up: most of these things I’m sure you’ve thought of. If you’re opening a bookstore b/c you love books and readers and this is your long term hobby, I wish you the best. If, on the other had, you are opening with the thought of earning a living and preparing for the future, then the numbers are against you… By Russiophile

 – By Russiophile 

If you’re unsure how to create a business plan, there are free online resources available such as those provided by the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA). Additionally, you may want to consider taking an online course or class at a local community college to gain knowledge on small business operations.

4. Choose a Name and Register Your Business

It is not mandatory to trademark the name of your bookstore, which can be a costly and intricate process. Nonetheless, safeguarding the name of your bookstore by registering it with your state government prevents it from being utilized by others. Choose a name that is memorable and easy to spell. Once you have a name, you need to register your business with the appropriate state and local authorities. It’s also important to choose your business structure (sole proprietorship, LLC, or partnership) and get tax identification numbers. By the way, if you own a bookstore in the United States, you can acquire an employer identification number (EIN) without any hassle by visiting the IRS‘s website. To begin managing your bookstore’s finances, open a business bank account to maintain a clear separation between your personal and business finances.

5. Obtain Necessary Licenses and Permits

Depending on your location, you may need to obtain certain licenses and permits (such as a local retail permit and business license) to operate your bookstore business legally. Check with your local authorities to find out what licenses and permits you need. As to obtaining funding, there are several ways, including seeking investors, applying for loans, or using personal savings. You should also consider the costs associated with running your business, such as utilities, employee salaries, and business insurance.

6. Find Suppliers

To start a bookstore business, you need to have a reliable supplier of books. You can find suppliers through book wholesalers, distributors, or publishers. 

Research and compare prices and terms to find the best supplier for your business. Furthermore, you should create a system for managing your inventory, such as a point-of-sale system or inventory tracking software.

7. Set Up Your Store

Once you have found a location, registered your business, and obtained the necessary licenses and permits, it is time to set up your store. Invest in bookshelves, display cases, comfortable seating, and other furniture to make your bookstore inviting and comfortable for different types of customers. 

If you, by any chance, still not sure about your desire to open a bookstore or need ideas on how to visualize and arrange it, just take a look at this Reddit user’s comment that inspired us immensely.

I don’t have the resources right now but I’ll definitely open a bookstore someday. I love books and my city needs a decent bookstore (THERE IS NOT A SINGLE GOOD BOOKSTORE IN MY CITY !?!?!!!!!?!!?!). I understand that it’s a passion project and might not earn me much or anything at all but I’m willing to go broke for it. I keep thinking about its infrastructure; high ceilings, buttloads of plants, walls filled with books. My body bursts with happiness just by thinking about it. I’ve decided to keep second hand as well as fresh copies, which will allow for book signings. There’ll be a little corner dedicated to promoting artwork and music by lesser-known artists. Might have a book club, might give books on rent and give it a library touch. A small suggestion box, books in Braille, and wheelchair accessibility. I thought about having a cafe/bakery but then someone will have to constantly monitor the space to make sure the books don’t get stained, seems a bit chaotic overall. A good way could be to not have an eatery inside your bookstore but next to it. I hope you open that bookstore and have the best time of your life.  – By jkjkjkjjkjsike

As a small independent bookstore owner, it’s important to consider offering additional products to enhance your customer’s experience and increase profits. While books may have a low-profit margin, your customers will value the unique experience they get from shopping at your store. To reinforce this experience, you could consider adding a small cafe or wine bar, as food and drink typically have higher profit margins. Additionally, selling branded merchandise such as t-shirts, hoodies, and coffee mugs can help you make money while also promoting your store. 

It’s important to keep in mind that you’re not just in the business of selling books, but also in the business of connecting with people. To foster these connections, consider hosting book clubs and events featuring guest authors. By doing so, you can incentivize and engage your community, bringing people together over a shared love of literature.

8. Hire Staff

As your business grows, you may need to hire staff to help with day-to-day operations. Look for people who are passionate about books and have excellent customer service skills. Having employees who are well-informed and attentive can distinguish your store from others and retain customers.

9. Market Your Business

Marketing is essential for any business, and a bookstore is no exception. You should develop a marketing plan that includes advertising, social media, and events. You may also want to consider partnering with local schools, libraries, and book charity organizations to promote literacy and education in your community. Additionally, you should create a website or online store to sell your books and reach customers beyond your local area. 

Use social media, flyers, ads, and other marketing strategies to promote your business and attract customers.

Final Thoughts

Starting a bookstore business can be a fulfilling and profitable venture for those passionate about literature and community. By researching the market, identifying a niche, securing a location, developing a business plan, and creating a welcoming atmosphere, entrepreneurs can establish a successful bookstore. 

Starting a book shop in this day and age requires courage, a special niche or foolishness – perhaps a little of all three.
 – By Lino P. Matteo  

It is important to remember that the book industry is constantly evolving and adapting to new technology, so it is crucial to stay informed and flexible. With hard work and dedication, your bookstore can become a thriving business and a beloved community gathering place for book lovers. Good luck on your entrepreneurial journey!

In this article, we’d like to share a book reselling business model you may have never heard of and a few insights about the benefits and challenges of running a book reselling business based on bulk used book supply. Tune in!

Online Book Arbitrage vs. Retail Book Arbitrage

Let’s define online book arbitrage and retail book arbitrage and then discuss how the business model we’d like to introduce in this article differs from both.

The major difference between retail book arbitrage and online book arbitrage is the SOURCING METHOD.

Retail arbitrage means you physically visit retail stores (in our case, bookstores, thrift stores, garage sales, etc.) and scan items to find books that sell below market value, then resell them online for a profit. In online arbitrage, you find books selling below market value and resell them online (e.g., on Amazon or eBay) for a profit.

Nowadays, it’s easy to enter the book reselling business, and both the above-described business models are well suited to get started and learn the basics. You can choose one or another depending on personal preferences, skills, and resources. Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to do research and understand which model aligns best with your goals and strengths. However, after a while, you can hit a glass ceiling in terms of profit. To move on, you’ll have to be on a constant lookout for new business models. Here’s one of the options we’ll be describing further on. 

Next Level Book Reselling: A Business Model to Grow Your Book Arbitrage Small Biz into a Company

There’s a business model in the book reselling niche that will help you grow your small business into a company with 7-figure profits, and it definitely deserves your attention. Well-described by Omar Mohit, the founder of BookzPro, it’s a sort of book reselling arbitrage where you source and buy used books in bulk from non-profit and donation-based organizations like Goodwill, Salvation Army, Savers, and other local chains and then resell them on Amazon for a profit. 

In other words, in this business model, you’ll be creating a SYSTEM that can process a huge amount of books fast and operate large volumes. Here’re its characteristics‌:

Challenges

Like any other book reselling business model, this one comes with strings attached. Here’re some of the challenges you may expect when you choose it:

• Most likely, you will have to go six or seven months without seeing any cash because you’re growing while your earnings are financing the inventory.
• You will have to constantly monitor return on inventory, the key metric that illustrates how much liquidity you are generating versus how much inventory you are holding at any point in time, in real-time.
• You should also be able to employ pricing adjustment algorithms in order to win the buy box, as well as know what percentage of the buy box you are currently in so that you don’t have to compete with others.
• You must constantly find new inventory sources, as the availability of books can vary depending on the donations received by non-profit organizations.
• Additionally, you must invest in storage space and logistics to manage the large quantities of inventory received in each shipment.

Overall, this book arbitrage business model can be quite profitable if you understand the book market and can source inventory at a low cost.

Comparing Margins for Various Book Reselling Business Models

Judging by the interest in the topic and the number of people doing business on Amazon, used book reselling is profitable. However, as in any other business, you need to understand how to organize it and how to control your finances, profit, and losses.

Let’s take a look at some hypothetical numbers and compare the potential profitability: the gross profit margin (the percentage of profit made on the selling price before any expenses are deducted) and the net profit margin (the percentage of profit made on the selling price after all expenses are deducted). The former is useful for comparing the profitability of different products or transactions, while the latter is more useful for assessing the overall profitability of a business or activity.

In online book arbitrage, you typically purchase books from online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay and then resell them on the same platform or on other marketplaces. The profit margin in online book arbitrage can vary widely depending on the price of the book, the seller’s fees, and shipping costs.

In retail book arbitrage, you buy books from thrift stores or other retail outlets and then resell them on online marketplaces or in person. The profit margin in retail book arbitrage can also vary widely depending on the factors we’ve mentioned earlier.

Once again, remember that these numbers are based on the examples of the two fictional books. Also, remember that the profit margins can vary widely depending on the specific circumstances of each transaction. With different prices, fees, and expenses, as well as such factors as time and effort required to source and resell books, these examples can only be treated as examples. Yet, you can get an illustration of the potential profit you can expect from selling used books.

Bulk buying book reselling business (where you source books from donation-based nonprofits and sell them on Amazon or elsewhere) has:

This means that after they’ve collected all the earnings and subtracted the costs of the books and other expenses, they have a net profit margin of 10%. This is a relatively good result if we take into account the fact that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to what constitutes a good gross profit margin and net profit margin for a book arbitrage business.

Ideally, you would expect something like this:

• Gross profit margin around 50% or higher
• Net profit margin around 20% or higher

Most Amazon sellers get a profit margin of 15%–20%, depending on their category (according to Sellerapp). Half of the sellers (52%) see profit margins higher than 10%; 27% see profit margins above 20% (according to JungleScout).

Yet, it’s important to remember that these are just general guidelines and statistics data based on a selected representative group. Additionally, it’s essential to understand that for a growing business, it’s hardly possible to reach such results fast and maintain them for long. Nonetheless, book arbitrage is a niche with great potential.

Return on Inventory as a Key Metric For a Book Reselling Business

It’s important to note that while book arbitrage can be a profitable business model, it also requires a good understanding of market demand and pricing trends for books, a significant investment in inventory and storage space, and an utterly critical approach to inventory management.

It’s a given that being a book reseller, you have to carry inventory, and often more than what you sell each month, as you need to buy ahead of time. This means it’s crucial to always know the real-time value of your inventory. You have to understand how much you paid out of pocket for your inventory and how much you are generating from it every month. That is how you estimate your return on inventory.

Book arbitrage also carries the risk of being left with inventory that was purchased for a high price but is now being sold for a lower price. 

Managing large quantities of inventory can be challenging and require efficient logistical processes. If you have $2.5 million in inventory and a six-month period before seeing any profit, a large amount of the earnings will go toward financing inventory.

If you are in a growth mode and have a large inventory, you must arrange your funding to cover any shortfalls, as running out of cash can risk your business. You’ll also need to be prepared to fund the additional inventory in advance.

Bookselling Tools

To manage the business, you will need a proper tool. The best-case scenario is finding a software solution that caters to all bookseller needs: product sorting, online item listing, and managing orders from thrift stores or bookstores. Alternatively, you can choose one of the available inventory management systems (check our article Book Inventory Management Software: Comparative Overview to get more details), or you can consider using BookScouter as one of your bookselling instruments. 

BookScouter gives access to real-time buyback prices, which is a huge advantage. Having such information as a part of the payout comparison process helps identify the most suitable sales channel for a book when it’s being processed. Therefore, many seasoned book resellers get a BookScouter Pro subscription and implement its powerful Pro Tools into their business processes and systems.

Conclusion

All in all, book arbitrage is an attractive and profitable business. Yet, the most attraction comes from the fact that nowadays, everyone can become a successful book reseller and make a full-time income from it. Book arbitrage has a low barrier to entry: anyone can start with a small investment and grow their business over time. It also allows for flexibility in terms of working hours and location, as well as other pros depending on your business model.

Yet, whether you choose online arbitrage or retail arbitrage as a way to enter the niche and generate your first income or shift to the business model we’ve highlighted in the article, after some time, you’re bound to grow and start scaling your business. At all times, you need to remember a few things. First, the ability to identify the potential profitability of a book by researching price differences and demand is an essential skill. Second, you should understand or be willing to learn a lot about the financial part of the business to make it generate a good profit margin. Besides, you should never underestimate challenges, from the necessity to carry out effective and efficient inventory management and inventory value management to sourcing-related problems to competition. 

Overall, the key takeaway is that book reselling can be a profitable business for those who are willing to invest time and effort to research and find profitable business models. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, and success requires hard work and dedication. Finally, we hope that you’ve got a few insights from this article and will be able to improve your business using this information.

If you’re in a book reselling business or are planning to give it a try, we highly recommend checking the following articles:
Retail Arbitrage Experts Roundup with Tips, Ideas and Strategies for 2023
Top 10 Questions about Starting a Used Book Selling Business
All You Need to Know about Resale Value
Best Book Scanner Apps Overview
Restricted Inventory Tip
How to Prepare Your Book Business for a Recession

If you need to pull up book data for millions of books (e.g., from the standard information book title, author, and cover art to less conventional data such as book reviews and price info), where can you get it? By accessing a book database, obviously. In this article, we’ll review and analyze the most popular book databases (both paid and free) with relatively open APIs that can help you retrieve book information by ISBN.

• How to Retrieve Book Information from a Book Database
• Book Databases Overview
  • Bowker
  • Ingram Content Group
  • ISBNdb
  • Open Library
  • WorldCat (Owned by OCLC)
  • Google Books
  • Amazon Books
• Book Price Information APIs
• Other Databases
• Final Thoughts

How to Retrieve Book Information from a Book Database

Depending on your goals, you can practice different approaches to working with book databases. If your objective is to find the information about a particular book by its ISBN, you can use one of the databases we’ll cover later by accessing it via the web interface. Singular requests can be made in the search fields, and you don’t need to have any specific developer skill or knowledge to do so. Here is the example from ISBNdb:

If, however, you need to retrieve large amounts of data automatically for commercial or other purposes, you need API access to book information. Most book database has an ISBN search API. To retrieve the data you need, you send an API request and get an XML or JSON response that can be further converted to a CSV file.

APIs allow searching for books via ISBN codes and, depending on your goals and the capacity of the database in question, you can get a file with all or some of the following book metadata: author, title, publisher, genre, subject, cover art, book reviews, and price information.

For instance, if you need to query college textbooks in the U.S, you need a list of their ISBNs. You will use them as an input to make a query via API and get a file with titles, authors, publishing dates, prices, etc.

Book Databases Overview

Book databases gather data from hundreds of libraries, publishers, book resellers, and various other sources. It is hard to tell whether a repository of all known ISBN exists; however, there are several extensive databases and some less complete ones with APIs for querying books by ISBN codes. There are also databases that allow querying books both in English and foreign languages. Let’s take a look at these databases and compare their offers.

Bowker

We’ll start with Bowker, which is the exclusive ISBN agency in the U.S. and Australia and the “world’s leading authority for bibliographic and publisher information.” Bowker database (Bowker Book Data) includes its own comprehensive data and the data from LibraryThing* and other partners. Bowker is the leader in aggregating all sorts of book-related data and has several options to deliver it to the end customer. Organizations can use Raw Data License and access the data via their own software. Alternatively, the Data on Demand option allows obtaining data via Bowker’s REST APIs. While the Bowker’s database is exhaustive, we can’t claim it has everything. Contact them to discuss your specific needs and access options.

Ingram Content Group

Ingram provides services to the book publishing industry and is a major book distributor in the U.S., distributing to 40,000+ retailers. Among them are such large publishers as Barnes & Noble and small local independent bookstores, libraries, schools, and universities. Ingram also provides enhanced data services for bookstores. The company collects data and images from 30,000+ publishers in a variety of formats and promises that it’s the most accurate data in the industry. To learn more about their services and prices, you need to fill out the form with your business name and description, contact details, and your plans regarding book data.

ISBNdb

ISBNdb is the oldest book database, founded in 2002. It has an API to access book information and allows you to browse the data by categories and obtain title prices from different retailers. It is not a free resource; Depending on your needs, you can choose one of the three plans offered ($14.95/mo, $29.95/mo, or $74.95/mo). However, we can say that the database access is well worth the price. The data is accumulated from scanning various libraries all over the world. Therefore each book has records received from several different libraries.

There are more than 35 million book titles in the database, and each title contains metadata with up to 19 data points (including such information as Dewey decimal number, weight, and subject alongside the usual ISBN10, ISBN13, title, author, publication date, publisher, etc.). Another great benefit of the ISBNdb database is that it’s updated daily and contains information about books in other languages as well as about used, rare, and out of print books.

Since 2004, ISBNdb has also been scanning book retailers for price information and has a lot to share with those seeking active and historic book price information. We can recommend it as one of the reliable resources for comparing book prices.

Open Library

Open Library is a non-profit initiative from the Internet Archive that allows you to freely browse and read books. It is “an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.” At the moment, there are more than 20 million titles available in the Open Library database. The information has been collected from various large catalogs and is constantly updated. Since it’s an open project, we can’t promise you’ll have every possible ISBN there. Yet, depending on your needs, you will definitely find a fair share of book information in this database. You can access the library by the API, and you can also download the entire database (dumps of all its data are generated every month).

WorldCat (Owned by OCLC)

WorldCat is “the world’s largest network of library content and services” that connects you to an enormous book database and allows searching the collections of the more than 10,000 libraries participating in the OCLC cooperative. It enables you to access complete bibliographic records of these member libraries and integrate their resources into your website or application via the WorldCat Search API. WorldCat allows retrieving bibliographical records based on OCLC number, ISBN, ISSN, and other identifiers and finding information about the libraries that have cataloged a particular item.

If you are looking for a database with a multi-language ISBN search, WorldCat is probably your best bet. It has books in languages other than English: French, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, etc. It also has other types of media (e.g., DVDs and CDs) and information for titles published before 1980.

If you are affiliated with one of the libraries that contributes to WorldCat, subscribed to WorldCat services, and are interested in creating a new type of app employing library-created bibliographic data, you can access the WorldCat Search API for free. Otherwise, external unaffiliated access is restricted.

Google Books

Google Books is a digitized book repository maintained by Google. It allows you to search and access the database book content and create and view personalization around it. There are more than 40 million book titles in the database, and you’ll get metadata with the following data points: book information, ratings, reviews, and price information. The latter may be less reliable than the one you can get by accessing other resources. It is, after all, one of the best book databases if you are looking for content (according to some reviewers). Yet, again, it may, however, lack some of the newer books.

You can access the database by using the Google Books API. It is free; however, at some point, the access may be restricted, and you’ll have to use OAuth 2.0 for authentication and authorization.

Amazon Books

Amazon is a bookseller; therefore, it’s only natural that it has a huge book database. If you want to access this information, you can use the Product Advertising API. It will allow you to search books by ISBN as well as other variables: title, author, publication date, publisher, etc. You can also get additional data on selected titles and verify book details when you need to refresh data.

While access to the Amazon database is advertised as free, it comes with strings attached. To use Product Advertising API, you must register in the Amazon Associates Program. In other words, you should become an Amazon affiliate partner that helps sell Amazon products. In theory, you can register and proceed without selling anything. However, the entire process of registration, approval, and so on seems like overkill unless you run a book reselling business and can integrate Amazon products into your resource naturally. If you simply need access to book information, you should probably choose a more basic alternative.

Book Price Information APIs

If you are specifically interested in accessing book price information, here are several ways you can obtain it:

• • 1. You can use one of the resources mentioned above that provide book price information.
    2. Become an affiliate partner to one of the book merchants. For instance, AbeBooks will allow you to access their price data if you join their affiliate program. Register, get the client key, and follow the user guide for API access.
    3. Alternatively, you can check the book price comparison engines (e.g., BookScouter) that have their APIs and are ready to share them.

With BookScouter, you can get access to buyback prices of all top buyback vendors (real-time and historical).

Other Databases

There are other book databases that you can utilize effectively depending on your goals and needs. We’ve looked at the largest and the most popular resources above, and here are some examples of more specific and thematic databases and their APIs:

• • • Goodreads has probably the greatest collection of book reviews: 10 million reviews across 700,000 titles. They used to have the Goodreads API (free) that allowed developers to access the database and use all this precious data to create personalized book-related experiences. However, “as of December 8th, 2020, Goodreads no longer issues new developer keys.” Therefore, the database is no longer accessible to new users.
    • The New York Times Best Sellers. If you need to retrieve information about New York Times best-seller lists and look up reviews, use the NYT Books API. The service lets you get NYT book reviews by author, ISBN, or title—for free.
    • Penguin Random House. If you need access to one of the largest publishing house’s databases, you can use the Penguin Random House API to get information about books, authors, and events.
  • • Bookshare. Bookshare is a service that provides books to readers with print disabilities (e.g., blindness or a learning disability). If you want to design an app with books and reading materials available to such people, you can use the Bookshare API.
    • Digital Bibliography Library Project (DBLP). It is a computer science bibliography resource currently operated and maintained by Schloss Dagstuhl—Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik. A database and logic programming bibliography site, DBPL also has its API search options: for publications, individuals (authors/editors), and venues (journals/conferences/etc.).
    • The Web of Science, the information and technology provider for the global scientific research community, has an API that provides access to the extensive database.Web of Science API allows exporting “high-quality full item-level metadata and times-cited counts” of Web of Science documents. It is a great tool for publishers, editors, librarians, researchers, research managers, and information analysts. The API access is paid.
    • ScienceDirect, one of the largest online collections of published scientific research in the world, provides ScienceDirect APIs access to retrieve and integrate full-text content from their publications on third-party websites or applications. The use of the APIs is free.
    • Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is an online directory that “indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.” It provides open access to 17,628 journals and 7,470,016 article records from 130 countries in 80 languages and has a free DOAJ API.

You can check a more complete list of various book APIs on the Programmablewe website. It even features such interesting ones as ESV Bible Lookup API, University of Toronto Libraries API, and Bhagavad Gita API, to name a few.

The Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are quite a number of options to access book information via ISBN. You can choose the database most suitable for your needs and objectives. Unfortunately, there are few cheap databases that provide high-quality data. Moreover, most “free” databases either have restricted access or other conditions you have to comply with (e.g., affiliate program membership). Some of these resources may only give you access if you are a book-related or accredited organization or individual. If you are interested in learning more about book APIs, be sure to read the article on the top book APIs.

As of today, we can only conclude that to get the information you need fast and without hassle, you’ll have to resort to paid options. And from our analyses of the existing database offers, ISBNdb seems to be the best in terms of price and quality, with a relatively cheap subscription plan, multiple data points, and high data quality.

We hope that our book database overview will help you find the data you are looking for and that it’ll be of use to everyone in search of quality book data in general.