Sell Us Your Books


used books on shelf

Hours: Mon-Sat 12:00 PM-4:00 PM

Location: 536 W 112th St

To sell us your books, you must have a valid government- or university-issued photo ID.

General Guidelines*

What We Buy

  • Literary and classic fiction 
  • Literary nonfiction
  • Current academic texts
  • Gently used paperbacks published in the last 15 years
  • Hardcover editions published within the last year

What We Don't

  • Kids Books (all age groups)
  • Young Adult (YA) books
  • Cookbooks
  • Art Books/Monographs
  • Coffeetable Books
  • Books with torn/missing covers, broken spines or missing pages 
  • Water damaged or mildewed books

*These are general guidelines to help you assess which books to bring in for valuation. Many factors contribute to our buying decisions, in addition to those listed above and below.

 

Book Selling FAQ


Where and when do I bring my books?

Bring your gently used, resellable books to Book Culture (on 112th St.) between 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM Monday through Saturday and we’ll assign them a value in both store credit and cash. To sell us your books, you must have a valid government- or university-issued photo ID.


How long will it take? Do I have to be there when you go through my books? Can I just leave my books with you?

It can be quite a quick process, especially if your books have high resale value. We prefer to evaluate around 20 or fewer books per patron. We strongly recommend calling ahead (212-865-1588) or emailing libraries@bookculture.com if you have questions about lots larger than 20 books.

If selling back books during our buyback hours, you must be in the store as we go through your books (though you are welcome to browse as we do). 


How much will I get for my books?

For books that we are interested in reselling in our store, we will pay up to 15% of the resale value in cash.

Books in high demand have the most value. Your offer may be as low as $0. We offer no money for books of little resale value.

We offer 50% more in store credit, over cash offers.


How do you determine how much you will give?

We primarily use our sales history, with some consideration of online listings, including Biblio and Alibris.


What types of books do you buy?

We are primarily looking for recent paperback editions, published in the last 15 years, and hardcovers published in the last year.

We take literary fiction, literary nonfiction, and current academic texts.  

We cannot pay for kid's books, young adult books, journals, catalogues, art monographs, cookbooks, or advanced reader's editions.


What about books that you don't pay for, can I leave them with you? Can I give you my books as a donation?

No.

Unfortunately, most donations we have to pay to recycle or dispose of, so books that we cannot accept will have to be taken out of the store by the customer. Because we are not a non-profit we are unable to provide donation receipts. The closest in-person donation center is:

Housing Works Thrift Shop
2569 Broadway, New York, NY 10025
(Between 96th and 97th)

Other places to donate books (Please be sure to check with each organization in advance to confirm they are currently able to accept donations!):

NYC Books through Bars
123 Columbia St, Brooklyn, NY

Appalachian Prison Book Project
**Books must be mailed to facility according to instructions provided.**

Brooklyn Book Bodega
multiple Brooklyn drop-off locations

RECIRCULATION | RECIRCULACIÓN
876 Riverside Drive (& 160th St.)
Check the Word Up Books and Recirculation Book Donations page for hours and guidelines.
Spanish language books and good-condition children's books only.