For public libraries and Friends groups
Weeded titles and surplus donations become a monthly payment to the library. Your volunteers scan, UPS picks up, we do everything else.
| Your share of net sales | 50% |
| Fees charged to the library | $0 |
| Shipping and pickup | Paid by us |
| Statement | Monthly, every title |
| Staff time required | Scanning only |
Why libraries use us
Every library weeds. Every Friends group gets more donations than its sale can move. What's left is usually boxed for a recycler or a bulk buyer who pays by the pound. A surprising share of those boxes are academic, technical and specialty non-fiction that sell online for $20, $50, sometimes several hundred dollars each.
We find those titles before they leave your building, sell them one at a time, and send the library half of the net. Our partners in Livonia, West Bloomfield and Birmingham, Michigan put those payments toward the support they give their libraries.
What a typical month looks like
- Volunteers set aside the non-fiction the sale didn't move, plus staff weeds.
- Someone scans the stack with our app (an afternoon for a few hundred books).
- The app flags the titles we'll take; those go in boxes, the rest go to the usual outlet.
- We email UPS labels and book a pickup. Boxes leave from your back door.
- Around the start of each month, a statement and payment arrive for the books sold.
Prefer one payment? Choose the buyout: a flat rate per book, paid when the books arrive, no statements to track. Good for a one-time clear-out of a storage room or a closing branch.
Start with a pilot
Most libraries begin with a few boxes to see real numbers before committing. There's no obligation to continue, and the books that don't meet our bar never leave your building.
Questions from library staff
What happens to the books our book sale can't sell?
That's usually where we come in. The academic, technical and specialty non-fiction that sits through three sales is often the most valuable online. Your volunteers set those aside, scan them with our app, and ship the keepers on our labels.
Do we need a formal agreement or board approval?
We provide a short, plain agreement. Many partners start with a pilot of a few boxes before anything is signed.
Who do you pay, the library or the Friends group?
Whichever you tell us. Statements and payments go to the entity named in the agreement, typically the Friends group or the library's foundation.
How is this different from Better World Books or ThriftBooks?
Those programs ship everything to a sorting center and pay a percentage on whatever sells in bulk. We select before anything ships, price each book individually and split net sales 50/50, which for academic non-fiction can mean materially more per book. We also offer an outright buyout.