Sell Your Books
One of our priorities when it comes to being a well-loved (second hand) seller is that our selection meets very specific conditions & content parameters. We gratefully accept gently-used, popular or well-proven titles & authors within the Adult Fiction/Non-Fiction, Children's, Middle Grade, & Young Adult genres. We will review individual books to ensure selections meet the physical requirements (as listed below) as well as are in line with our current collections.
As a small bookstore, we offer store credit or a payout as a means of payment for books because we want to keep the circle of reading going.
Physical Requirements:
- No stains of any kind (marks on the outside will be evaluated)
- No water/liquid damage
- No odors
- No writing along the interior of the books (minimal underlining will be evaluated)
- No personal/identifying information
- No broken/cracked spines
- No rips, tears, holes on outside cover or inside pages
- Stickers must be able to be removed without damage, unless considered a "permanent sticker" from the publisher
- Hard cover books must include dust jackets
Content Requirements:
As we heavily curate our book collections, we will purchase titles/authors we are familiar with. We lean heavily toward books published in the last 30 years, but consider classics as well- especially for our Children's & Middle Grade collections.
Buying Process:
Each book will be evaluated individually by a member of our team to ensure it meets our parameters. This can be done in-person or online. Online evaluation requires a specific process requiring multiple pictures to ensure we can evaluate the covers, corners, spines, & sides of each book. Detailed instructions are listed at the bottom of this page.
We can arrange pick-up or drop-off of titles selected. If you are not local to us & would like to sell books, we will "refund" media mail shipping through store credit as well (please include a copy of your shipping receipt with your shipment).
Please email shelfcontrolevans @ gmail.com with the subject line Sell My Books, list the number of books, titles, & pictures. We will respond as quickly as possible with our selections.
Buy Back Program
Another service we offer to our customers is a Buy Back Program for any New Releases purchased through Shelf Control Books. We will offer $5 of store credit as a Buy Back credit. New Releases must be associated with a customer account & meet condition requirements to be considered.
Store Credit Offer:
$2 - Children's
$5 - New Releases purchased from Shelf Control
Credits are only given through a customer account.
Payout Offer:
$1 - Children's & Middle Grade books
$2 - Adult & YA books
$5 - New Releases purchased from Shelf Control
Credits are only given through a customer account.
FAQs:
How do I sell books to Shelf Control?
Send us an email with the subject line Sell my books along with the number of books, titles, & requested pictures (instructions below).
How do you provide my credit?
Credits are given through your account with our store. If you haven't purchased with us before, you can set up an account & we will apply the credit at that time.
What if I think my books meet the criteria but Shelf Control staff disagrees?
If we receive previously approved books that do not end up meeting our parameters, we will donate the books to our Shelf Control Club exchange, a Little Free Library location, or a thrift store. We will contact you via email to inform you of the titles that didn't meet the requirements, but we will not require you to pick-up or pay to have books returned to you unless you specifically request them back.
Do I need an account with Shelf Control to sell my books?
Yes, you do. If you haven't shopped with us before, click the person icon in the upper right-hand corner of the website & enter your email address. Once you receive your code, you can log in & set-up your account. Credits will be applied to this account. If you have shopped with us before we will apply the credits to that account that matches your email.
How do I use my credits?
Credits are listed as a payment option during check out.
Instructions for submitting pictures. Fit as many in one frame as possible:
Picture 1- Front Cover
Lay all books flat, side-by-side, cover facing up.
Picture 2- Back Cover
In the same order as picture 1, flip books over to show back cover.
Picture 3- Spines
In the same order line-up or stack the books to show the spines.
Picture 4- Exterior Pages
Flip picture 4 over to show the pages opposite the spine.