At the end of every semester, many students are left with stacks of textbooks they no longer need. Selling them is an easy way to recover some costs—but where and how you sell can make a big difference in both profit and convenience.
There are several ways to sell back your textbooks if you’re in Canada. Some are convenient but pay very little, while others take more effort than they’re worth. Here’s what to expect from each option, and how recent changes in the industry are making textbook buyback more straightforward and profitable for Canadian students.
1. Campus Bookstores
The campus bookstore is the traditional place to sell used textbooks. It’s quick, familiar, and located right where you study. However, convenience often comes with trade-offs. Bookstores typically only accept specific titles, and whether they accept or reject your books often depends on their physical condition and whether the same edition will be used again next term. Even if your books are accepted, the offer is usually a non-market one—often lower than what online buyback vendors would pay.
In short, the campus bookstore option is acceptable, but it has drawbacks and is rarely profitable.
2. Local Marketplaces
Alongside well-known U.S. retailers like 2nd & Charles and ThriftBooks, Canada also has local bookstores such as Kestrel Books and Alpha Textbooks that buy used books. Kestrel Books offers cash or store credit for secondhand titles, while Alpha Textbooks hosts seasonal buyback events and accepts book drop-offs or mail-ins. However, these local options remain limited in scale, and online platforms often provide a simpler and more consistent way to sell your books.
3. Online Marketplaces
Websites like eBay and Kijiji offer a broader reach but require patience. Listing books online means taking photos, writing descriptions, and shipping each sold book one by one, which can be time-consuming. For some titles, buyers may never appear at all. Unless you’re experienced with online book reselling, this option is a true side job and requires effort and altering selling strategies before you find what’s working.
4. Buyback Vendors
A textbook buyback vendor offers a fast and effortless way to sell your books without the hassle of creating listings or dealing with buyers. You can get instant buyback quotes, enjoy fair offers without waiting for each book to be sold, send all your books in one package, and get your money as soon as the parcel arrives. Buyback vendors provide a prepaid shipping label, and orders and payments are processed quickly.
BooksRun brand now operates in Canada, offering a convenient buyback option for students, book flippers, and anyone looking to declutter their shelves. The process is fast and straightforward: check ISBNs one by one or in bulk, get instant price quotes, and ship your books using a prepaid label or QR code for drop-off. Once your books are received and verified, you’re paid quickly via PayPal in CAD.
A Simple Way to Give Your Textbooks a Second Life
Selling textbooks is a practical way to declutter and recover some of what you’ve spent on your studies. Instead of letting your books sit unused, you can pass them on to someone who needs them — and get paid in the process.
Turn your textbooks into extra cash — sell books online in Canada with BooksRun and get paid fast for the stuff you no longer need.
