For Libraries
FAQ (frequently asked questions for libraries)
Who is this service for?
Why should I use it?
How much does it cost?
Is there a lot of administration involved?
What does ‘prescreen’ mean and who is it for?
If we work with you can we still run our local book sale?
What kind of money can we expect to make?
Which charities does Better World Books work with?
What type of books/materials does Better World Books accept?
Who determines the ‘saleability’ of the books?
No shipping costs? Really?
What size boxes should I use to send our books?
On which online marketplaces does Better World Books sell?
Are books ever thrown away?
What sets Better World Books apare from other similar services?
Who is this service for?
Any library that would like to see its surplus books put to good use – and raise some money at the same time.
Why should I use it?
We’ll find new homes for your unwanted books whilst making money for both your library and a charity that works to promote literacy. We sell the books online using our unique software, which allows us to get the best possible price and huge exposure for every book. They are sold on multiple online marketplaces simultaneously, with prices changing daily according to demand. Rest assured we’ll get the most out of your excess stock; you barely need to lift a finger.
How much does it cost?
Not a bean! We often hear that our programme is “too good to be true”…but it isn’t! There are no service agreements (unless requested), sign-up fees, monthly fees or one-off fees. There aren’t even any contracts to sign. Other than the time it takes to properly box the books and seal the cartons, there are no costs associated with using our service.
Is there a lot of administration involved?
Almost none. You simply sign up using our unique online Portal. You then use the same site to 'prescreen' your books to check their sales potential and arrange collections at the click of a button. We pride ourselves on offering a friendly, helpful and efficient service and our small team will do all we can to make it easy for you.
What does ‘prescreen’ mean and who is it for?
We’ve developed a unique tool that we call ‘Prescreen’ – you can find it on our Portal. In a nutshell, it enables you see which of your books are appropriate for the online marketplace. It’s as easy as scanning the ISBN bar code on a book and reading the screen. We encourage all libraries to use the tool if they can so we are not needlessly shipping books around the country, but it’s most important for public and school libraries.
If we work with you can we still run our local book sale?
Absolutely. In fact using Prescreen can be the perfect complement to running a book sale. Generally the books that sell well online are very different to the ones that are popular in a local book sale. So if you use our Prescreen tool, you can be really confident that you’re getting the most value out of each and every ‘unwanted’ book you have.
What kind of money can we expect to make?
Your library, and the charity partner you select, both receive a percentage of net sales – so the more saleable books you send us, the more money you stand to make. Some libraries that are already working with us have already received hundreds of pounds. Net sales are defined as the sale price of the book minus any marketplace commissions. For example, a book sold on Amazon.co.uk for £10.00 would have a net sale price of £8.50, as Amazon’s marketplace commission is 15%. Payments are made quarterly once an account accrues a minimum of £25 in commission payable. Commissions roll over until this £25 mark is reached.
Which charities does Better World Books work with?
Our first partners in the UK are the National Literacy Trust www.literacytrust.org.uk and READ International www.readinternational.org.uk. We selected them because they are credible, well-established and have proven operating backgrounds. We also work with equally fantastic charities in the USA. In addition to providing them with a regular stream of unrestricted funding, where appropriate we also donate books to these organisations.
What type of books/materials does Better World Books accept?
We’ve learned a lot about selling books online – and one of the things we’ve learned is that, no matter how hard you try, some things will just never sell. That being so, we’ve developed a few general Guidelines to make sure we’re not needlessly encouraging people to ship books around the country. By keeping these in mind, we minimise our carbon footprint, and ensure the maximum return for our charity partners.
Who determines the ‘saleability’ of the books?
To a certain extent, you do. Anything that you would be unhappy receiving as a customer, we suggest not sending. After that, it's our unique system and skilled team that enable us to process, list and price the books we receive. You can have confidence in our ability to sell the most books at the best prices.
No shipping costs? Really?
Yes. We take tremendous pride in being able to offer this. Our aim is to provide collections on demand for any volume of books. Whilst it's great if you can store up books before we collect them, our minimum is one full box. Collections of fewer than 25 boxes can be arranged at the click of a button using our online Portal. For larger volumes we’ll liaise with you directly. In either case, it’s all free.
What size boxes should I use to send our books?
It helps us a lot if you can reuse the boxes sent by book distributors and publishers (approximately 45cm x 29cm x 27cm). If this is problematic, we can provide our standard boxes on request. Packing them fully is also important so the books are not damaged in transit.
On which online marketplaces does Better World Books sell?
Better World Books is one of the largest online booksellers in the world and our American operation currently sells on 20 online marketplaces. In the UK we currently sell on 7 marketplaces: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Abebooks.com, Alibris.com and Biblio.com. The books in our American warehouse are also sold on www.BetterWorldBooks.com which we like to think is the only destination for the socially conscious book buyer. Watch this space as we develop this in the UK too!
Are books ever thrown away?
No. We are very conscious about the environment and recycle everything we cannot sell. Where appropriate, we also donate books to our charity partners. In America the number of books that we've already kept out of landfill is over 25 million – and in our first 6 months in the UK, this figure is already over 250,000.
What sets Better World Books apart from other similar services?
Better World Books is a social venture and very proud of the positive social and environmental impact of our activities. We provide a stable source of unrestricted funding to both libraries and our charity partners, which has totalled over £4 million over the last 5 years. We are an industry leader in the USA and are ambitious in our plans to provide the best possible service to the UK library community.