Sell your books at college bookstores, including those operated by Pierce College, University of Southern California, University of California at Los Angeles and Occidental College. Some university bookstores have specific buyback weeks, while others purchase used textbooks year-round. Call your school bookstore to find out about its requirements and deadlines.
Place an ad in college newspapers. If you have to pay to list the ad, keep your text short. List the course numbers related to your books, along with your first name and phone number or email address.
Sell your books at used bookstores in the Los Angeles area. Many used bookstores purchase books directly from the public. Call first to make sure they buy textbooks.
Visit Big Words, a site where you can enter the ISBNs for your textbooks to find out how much online textbook retailers—including First Class Books, Textbook Recycling, E Campus and Bookbyte—will pay for your books. Click on the link to the highest-paying site to sell your textbook directly to the retailer. In most cases, the retailer will cover the cost of shipping your books to them.
Post your books on sites where customers can list and sell books, including Amazon Marketplace, Barnes and Noble, TextbookX Marketplace and Alibris. In most cases, the sites take a percentage of your sales in return for your listing your books with them.
List your books on eBay, either through an online auction format or at a fixed price. If you aren’t willing to ship the books, specify that buyers can pick them up from you in the Los Angeles area.
Post a free ad on Craigslist, under the “Books and Magazines” category. On Craigslist’s Los Angeles site, list your ad either in “Westside-Southbay,” “San Fernando Valley,” “Central L.A.,” “San Gabriel Valley,” “Long Beach” or “Antelope Valley.” Post the ad in the area in which you live, so you’ll attract local buyers.