The Ultimate Guide to the Best Online Used Bookstores
Can I get a "what-what" from all the used book lovers out there? Getting a shipment of new-to-me books from online retailers feels like Christmas. Getting the best price on used books online? That's winning the lottery. So, I decided to set out and find the best price on popular books used online.
I expected the obvious winner to be my favorite seller: BetterWorldBooks- but I was wrong. And it ain’t ThriftBooks either. Some of these stores are more expensive than buying new books from Target!
So, if you’re looking for who has the best price on used books online, then you have come to the right place. Because we are going to go through them all.
Where to Find the Best Deals on Used Books Online
The Stores in Question
After scouring Google and Reddit for the most popular online used booksellers, I came up with a list of 6 stores for my research (and I’ll place them here in alphabetical order to avoid showing favoritism):
AbeBooks
Alibris
BetterWorldBooks
Biblio
HPB (Half Price Books)
ThriftBooks
Of this list, Biblio took first prize in having the best deal on used books. But stay tuned to find out why, and how the other stores measured up!
What Books Are on the Shopping List?
Credit: iStock/Unsplash
After compiling my list of stores, I needed to select the books I wanted to purchase. It made the most sense to try and find books that were widely popular, but not too new that they wouldn’t have used options. (I’m looking at you, Sunrise on the Reaping).
To do this, I identified the top 10 best books on BookTok according to Goodreads. At the time of writing this article, this list included:
A Court of Mist and Fury
Six of Crows
The Cruel Prince
A Court of Thorns and Roses
The Lightning Thief
The Song of Achilles
A Court of Wings and Ruin
Caraval
The Inheritance Games
Shatter Me
I also added Fourth Wing to this list. I was shocked to see it wasn’t included and wanted a little more title variety since there are three ACOTAR series books on the list.
So in total, I shopped for 11 books at each store- which is more than I typically buy in a used book haul. (My average is anywhere from 3 to 7 books at most usually)
Important Note:
Armed with my two lists, I set off to find the cheapest cart I could fill. But I had three other requirements set for myself:
Not adding any copy listed as worse than “Good” condition to my cart
Trying to prioritize free shipping copies at stores that offer that option
Consider the BBB (Better Business Bureau) rating of each company
Finally, to come up with my verdict, I compared the prices of all the books before shipping and tax. I also looked at the price of shipping and the average cost per book to paint a full picture!
I should also clarify that I did not order these carts from ANY of the stores. This was all a hypothetical research experiment.
As far as previous shopping experience, I have ordered from BetterWorldBooks and ThriftBooks before, as well as Target (obviously).
What Online Used Book Store is the Best?
Without further ado, let's get down to business. The best bargain booksellers ranked as follows:
Biblio
Alibris
AbeBooks
BetterWorldBooks
ThriftBooks
HPB
1. Biblio
Biblio was the winner for cheapest online used bookstore! I was able to find copies of all eleven books. Each book was listed as in Good condition.
Total Book sum cost: $54.32
Average cost per book: $4.17
Shipping cost: $9.98
Total Sum (before tax): $64.30
I had never heard of Biblio before doing all this research. Located in Asheville, NC, Biblio is a small private company dedicated to supporting independent bookseller businesses throughout the world. They have an A+ rating with BBB(Better Business Bureau).
They had plenty of copy options available for almost every book.
Trustpilot rates them highly, as does ScamAdvisor.
Possible Problem with Biblio
Biblio is a marketplace. When you do business with them, you’re doing business with different sellers- and you cannot guarantee the validity of these sellers. This also means that shipping can take a while. It’s the luck of the draw.
The one book I hesitated on was Fourth Wing. Why? There was no copy available that had a picture (stock or real) of the book. If you're going to order from a place like Biblio, I would prioritize copies with pictures and good product definitions.
However, Biblio's “Biblio Guarantee,” allows for a little extra peace of mind.
The other thing I didn’t like was that some of the books did not specify whether they were paperback or hardcover copies.I like to know these things- but maybe that’s just me.
2. Alibris
Second place: Alibris, which is similar to Biblio in the fact that it is a marketplace for booksellers with an A+ rating with BBB.
I was able to find copies of all eleven books in paperback (my preferred option). Each book was listed as in Good condition.
Total Book sum cost: $22.38
Average cost per book: $1.72
Shipping cost: $47.39
Total Sum (before tax): $69.77
The Problem with Alibris
Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room: the $47.39 shipping cost. I’m sorry- what?! That number seems insane. But there's a reason. The shipping cost is so high because each book is shipped from a different seller, and thus has its ownshipping fee.
What I didn’t know when I first shopped for this cart, was that Alibris offers free shipping. The catch? It’s only on select copies of books, and they’re mostly (if not all) new copies. Buying new books from Alibris to get free shipping doesn't save me enough money to make it worth it. Especially since, despite the expensive shipping fee, the eleven used books in my cart still cost less than the other four online bookstores on this list.
3. AbeBooks
AbeBooks is very similar to the Biblio and Alibiris, except it has a lower BBB rating (B+). It is only fair to point out that this is the only shop on this list with a rating lower than A+ from the BBB. Do with that information what you will.
However, it is still well-loved by customers, and I was able to find copies of all eleven books in paperback. Each book was listed as either in Very Good or Good condition.
Total Book sum cost: $64.63
Average cost per book: $4.97
Shipping cost: $7.48
Total Sum (before tax): $72.11
The shipping cost is more doable, too, compared to the previous two stores.
4. BetterWorldBooks
I have been a fan of BetterWorldBooks for years. I’ve hyped them up to friends, family, coworkers, mortal enemies, acquaintances- literally everybody. They offer sales that help make their books even more affordable. However, for this project to be fair, I ignored any possible sales… and there were none available at the time anyway. I don’t think the sales would have made a huge difference though. Sadly.
I found all eleven books. But not all were used. There were no used copies to purchase for two (A Court of Mist and Fury, and A Court of Thorns and Roses). My costs were a bit higher because of those two new copies.
Total Book sum cost: $102.17
Average cost per book: $7.85
Shipping cost: FREE
Total Sum (before tax): $102.17
BetterWorldBooks offers free shipping on any order over $15- which is part of why I love them so much. I can also find copies of the books I want to purchase usually for around $5, and with some of their sales, I can get that even cheaper. Yet, when comparing the numbers to Biblio and the others, they don’t measure up as well. They do, however, have an A+ BBB rating.
5. ThriftBooks
I saw someone on Reddit refer to ThriftBooks as the place that sells used for the price of new. They weren’t kidding.
Similar to BetterWorldBooks, I had to purchase three NEW copies of the books on my list (A Court of Mist and Fury, The Cruel Prince, and Fourth Wing). There were used copies available for Fourth Wing, but they were hardcovers that cost more than the new paperback edition.
Total Book sum cost: $109.95
Average cost per book: $8.45
Shipping cost: FREE
Total Sum (before tax): $109.95
ThriftBooks is one of the most popular online bookstores, so I was disappointed to see the prices. Most of the books are cheaper to buy brand new at Target, or only around 20 cents less to buy used over the new Target copies. With Target’s semi-annual Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale… ThriftBooks doesn’t seem worth it to me. But they do have a loyalty program, and an A+ BBB rating.
6. HPB Website
I LOVE Half Price Books. I grew up on Half Price Books. But, I have never shopped on their website before this experiment. Now I know why.
Unlike the previous two, I was able to find all eleven books with used copies. However, shipping is obviously (and sadly) not free, and that's what sent HPB to the very bottom of this list (despite their A+ BBB rating).
Total Book sum cost: $84.89
Average cost per book: $6.53
Shipping cost: $43.89
Total Sum (before tax): $128.78
Aside from the total cost, there was one other thing I didn’t like about HPB’s online shopping— they didn’t disclose the condition of the used books. If I’m going to pay an average of $6.53 per book, I want to know whether it is in good condition or not. Perhaps HPB only sells the best condition used books on their website, but who knows? Not me. And I ain’t paying $128.78 to find out. Not when I can get the same eleven books for half that price at either Biblio or Alibris.
Honorable Mention: Book Outlet
Okay, so they don't sell used books, but they deserve to be listed. I had high hopes for Book Outlet at the start of my experiment. They would be much higher on this list… if only their stock was more consistent. Sadly, Book Outlet didn’t have copies of five of the books from my list. Plus, the only copies they had of ACOTAR books were in a box set (Granted, this box set of five books was only $37.49- which is incredible, but not what I was looking for).
They were having a Fiction sale while I was “shopping,” which placed each fiction book around $5.99 or less.
My recommendation is to check Book Outlet out first for the books you want. You may get lucky and find what you’re looking for. They have free shipping for orders over $35.
To clarify again, Book Outlet books are new, not used- which makes them an incredible bargain.
However, Book Outlet is not BBB accredited. I found two different pages on Trustpilot reviewing Book Outlet. One Trustpilot page has an average of 3.5 stars with 390 reviews, and the other gave a 3.8-star rating with 587 reviews.
Comparison to Buying New from Target
ThriftBooks, BetterWorldBooks, and HPB all cost more than Target- and those are mostly used books compared to fresh new copies.
Pictured below is the spreadsheet I created for all my research. I included it at the end here so you can see a book-by-book price comparison and contrast for each store, including how each used copy compares to the price of a new copy at Target.
I chose Target over other stores, like Barnes and Noble, because I tend to find the best book prices there.
I love spreadsheets, so here’s my spreadsheet with all the information on prices, condition, and paperback versus hardcover copies at every store.
Final Thoughts
Different books will cost less at different stores. That's the base of the matter. This experiment compared the prices of the top 11 BookTok suggestions from Goodreads. The books you want may be cheaper at any of these other stores than at Biblio, or etc. If I was purchasing books from my TBR, the results might be slightly different- though, I will say that some of my favorite books are on the Goodreads list I used.
The best prices I have found on used books are in person, usually at local library book sales (plus it helps you support your local library- and what’s better than that?). Thrift stores tend to have hidden gems at times, too. Half Price Books in person is usually a little cheaper than online (plus they have their clearance section).
Most, if not all, of these websites, feature sales and limited-time offers to help lower costs even more. It's a matter of what you're most comfortable shopping. I still will probably shop BetterWorldBooks, but I am excited to try out one of these other stores once I'm no longer on a self-induced "book buying ban." In the meantime, I'm enjoying reading books for free with the Libby app!
Do you have a favorite used bookstore? Was it covered in this article? Let me know! I'm always looking for more suggestions!
