Better World Books FAQ
Listed below are some of the questions we get asked a lot. If you have a question that’s not answered below, feel free to get in touch with us directly. It’s always nice to hear from people. Our email address is info@betterworldbooks.co.uk
What does Better World Books do?
So what is a social business?
What’s your relationship with your charity partners?
What social and environmental impact has Better World Books made?
Where do your books come from?
Do you throw any books away?
What percentage of each sale is used to support literacy?
What kind of books do you take and can I give you mine?
How can I buy your books?
What does Better World Books do?
Better World Books is a very innovative enterprise.
In a nutshell, we keep books out of landfill and support literacy by selling them on multiple online marketplaces. Our customers have made us the world's biggest socially responsible used bookseller. We are not a charity, but a pioneering social business. We work in partnership with literacy charities using our skills in online bookselling to make money for them to plough into literacy initiatives.
So what is a social business?
Social business, social venture, social enterprise - we don’t like to get too hung up on definitions. However, we do like to make sure that our social and environmental credentials are clear and highly visible. Using these terms helps us do this.
A fundamental part of what we do is raise money for literacy organisations. We have close relationships with two UK charities, READ International and the National Literacy Trust and we share our revenue with them. When we work with libraries/charity shops they also share in the revenue when we sell their surplus books.
We feel extremely strongly about the issue of literacy and its importance in the world. Literacy is widely acknowledged as a fundamental plank of human development, crucial to communication, education and employment. Selling ‘unwanted’ books in order to have an impact on this issue makes sense to us. But we are not experts in literacy issues themselves or delivering effective solutions where problems exist. So what we do is turn ‘unwanted’ books into a stream of unrestricted funding for our charity partners who know how best to have a real impact.
It doesn't stop there, however. We are also a pioneering business for the 21st century, putting environmental and social concerns at the very heart of what we do. We are self-sustaining, and therefore ultimately sustainable. This keeps us dynamic, effective and constantly able to develop the business. It also means our impact potential is always growing…
What’s your relationship with your charity partners?
We have formal partnerships based on written agreements with each of our partners and we work closely with them. We will only work with credible, effective, UK registered charities. Anyone sending us books is given the choice of which charity they would like the sales of their books to support. Our partners share directly in our revenue – so it’s in their interest to help us grow and develop what we do. We also see a major part of our role to be raising awareness of what they do amongst the book-buying general public.
Our current partners are:
What social and environmental impact has Better World Books made?
Since being founded in 2003, Better World Books has raised over $7 million for literacy organisations and kept over 25 million books out of landfill. For example, we are now Books for Africa’s largest single donor, contributing over 50% of their annual budget. Click here for more information on the impact of our US operation.
In the UK, we’re just getting started but have already raised thousands of pounds for our charity partners and libraries across the country. We have also created 10 jobs in a difficult economic climate, and kept over ¼ million books (not to mention 3.4km of metal shelving!) out of landfill. A good start – but we’re confident it’s only the tip of the proverbial iceberg!
Where do your books come from?
In the UK, most of our books come from libraries at the moment. No – we don’t steal them – but we provide a much appreciated collection service for books that become surplus to requirements. What many people don’t realise is that getting rid of withdrawn books can be a huge issue for libraries. Our service allows these books to be kept in circulation (and out of landfill) and also makes money back for the library – and a literacy charity.
We also work with student groups, thanks to our fantastic partnership with READ International and some charity shops. We are always open to other offers of books too – so get in touch if you have books that are looking for a good home!
Do you throw any books away?
Never. We pride ourselves on our ability to do the wisest thing with every book. We always try and sell it online first – and our clever software can tell us whether this is a good idea. If online sale isn’t an option but it could be used in a Tanzanian school or university, we pack it up for our partner READ International. If it’d be no use there either, we make sure it gets recycled responsibly. To date, Better World Books has diverted over 25 million books from landfill.
What percentage of each sale is used to support literacy?
The specific terms of Better World Book’s partnership agreements are confidential. In 2008/09, about 10% of revenue went to our literacy partners.
What kind of books do you take and can I give you mine?
We take all sorts of books, subject to a few simple Guidelines which you can see here. At the moment we can only offer our free collection service to academic and public libraries, colleges and schools. If you are a private donor, we are happy to accept your books if you can get them to us or a student group that is collecting for us. Please get in touch with us directly for more information.
How can I buy your books?
You’ll find our books for sale on multiple online marketplaces – and at great prices. Our UK books are currently sold on all the Amazon sites, Alibris, Abebooks and Biblio. Whichever site you choose to buy from, we aim to get the book to you quickly and safely.
We also have our own sales site – www.BetterWorldBooks.com – where you can browse the 2.5+ million used books in our US warehouse and access most new titles as well. You can see which organisation the book you purchase is supporting and, if you’re in the US, the shipping is free. The books in our UK warehouse aren’t yet listed on this site – but watch this space as this will be changing soon!