If you're in Albuquerque and want to sell books, you have a handful of real options. We're one of them. We're not the right choice for everybody. Here's an honest comparison.
Option 1: Sell Online Yourself (Amazon, eBay, AbeBooks)
Best for: 1–20 valuable books you know the value of, and you have time to list, pack, and ship.
What you'll earn: Typically 60–85% of the market price, minus Amazon/eBay fees (usually 15%), minus shipping costs.
Time cost: 20–40 minutes per listing (photography, description, verification). 10–15 minutes per sale (packing, shipping).
Verdict: Worth it if you have 5–20 valuable, known-value books and time to list. Not worth it for a basement of mixed material.
Option 2: Online Buyback Sites (BooksRun, Cash4Books, Bonavendi)
Best for: Bulk textbooks with ISBNs, standardized mass-market books.
What you'll earn: Typically 5–25% of retail, paid 1–2 weeks after you ship.
Time cost: 5 minutes per book to scan and list; 30 minutes to pack; you pay (or they pay) shipping.
Verdict: Useful for current textbooks. Terrible for anything else. Most fiction and older books are rejected outright — and you'll pay shipping back.
Option 3: Local Used Bookstore (Page 1, Don's, Organic Books, Quirky)
Best for: Modest quantities of quality fiction and nonfiction that the store's customers will want to read.
What you'll earn: Typically 10–25% of the store's planned resale price, usually in store credit. Cash offers are rarer and lower.
Time cost: Haul books in, wait while they evaluate, take back the unwanted ones. Often a 30-minute wait; large lots may require appointments.
Verdict: Great if you're also a book buyer — the store credit is often worth more than the cash. If you want cash and have a big collection, local bookstores can't usually handle it.
Option 4: SellBooksABQ (us)
Best for: Large collections, estates, rare books, and anyone who wants a cash offer without listing or driving across town.
What you'll earn: Cash, usually same-day, on a per-book basis with premium prices for valuable items.
Time cost: A phone call or text. We come to you for 300+ books; smaller lots drop off at our warehouse.
Verdict: The right choice for estates, large collections, rare material, and anyone who wants one transaction, one payment, done. Not the right choice for 3 textbooks — BooksRun will pay more.
Option 5: Goodwill / Donation
Best for: Common, low-value books you don't want to deal with.
What you'll earn: A tax-deductible receipt (usually $1–$2/book, max).
Verdict: Reasonable for fill-material from collections — but donate after a buyer has first pick, not before. Books we don't buy get donated to the New Mexico Literacy Project on your behalf if you'd like.
A Decision Framework
- 1–20 valuable books, time on your hands → Sell online yourself.
- Current textbooks with ISBNs → BooksRun or BookScouter.
- Modest quantities, mixed value, want store credit → Local used bookstore.
- 100+ books, estate, or rare material → Call us.
- Family junk no one wants → Donate.
Our Honest Bias
Yes, we're biased. We'd love to buy your collection. But we'll also tell you when we're not the right fit. If you have three textbooks, call BooksRun. If you have 400 books in your garage, call us.