Selling Books on PangoBooks Made Me $1000—Here’s How to Sell Yours

Source: @estherfungreads Source: @estherfungreads

Moving is a stressful event for everyone, but only us bookworms know the horror of packing up our beloved home library into boxes that weigh as much as a baby elephant. When my husband and I moved from our apartment to our first home, I decided to half-fill boxes with books and put clothes in the remaining space. It helped, but just barely. I ended up needing twice the number of boxes. After we moved, I had no idea which sweater or which book was in which box. It took me weeks to find my copy of Anna Karenina.

I knew I needed to pare down my book collection even before this, but what could I do with the books I was no longer keeping? The Little Free Library near me could only take so many, and I was loath to hand them over to Goodwill, where they could languish on shelves for years. My books had been handpicked by me, read, and loved, so even if I no longer wanted to keep them, I wanted to find them good homes. That’s when I found PangoBooks, an online platform where I could sell my beloved books to other readers.

Sponsored by / MICROSOFT

It’s Time to Close the Laptop …and other college secrets to getting more done. CLICK TO READ

I read through the hundreds of five-star app reviews, but opening up a bookstore from home seemed like a lot of work. Could the books I wanted to rehome actually make me money? Skeptical, I created an account and listed a few books. Twenty-four hours later, I received a notification that I had sold my first book. I’ve sold hundreds of books through PangoBooks since then, and just last year, I made over $1,000 from the app. Now, I’m going to teach you how to make extra money doing the same. If you’re interested in how to sell books and turn those unwanted books into extra revenue, keep reading to learn how to sell books on PangoBooks.

In this article 1 What is PangoBooks? 2 Why are secondhand books in demand? 3 What types of books can you sell on PangoBooks? 4 Books that are worth selling versus books that aren’t 5 How to start selling books on PangoBooks 6 What I wish I knew before selling books on PangoBooks 7 Is selling on PangoBooks worth it?

What is PangoBooks?

PangoBooks is an online platform where readers across the United States can shop other book lovers’ shelves. It’s basically Depop or Poshmark for books. Users can open their own bookstore from home, sell books they no longer want, and make extra cash. Plus, they can save on new books by buying them secondhand from other users. It’s the perfect marketplace for anyone who wants to build a home library on a budget or supplement their monthly income, all while decluttering their shelves.

Why are secondhand books in demand?

The secondhand economy is growing in popularity across industries, but it is especially booming in the book marketplace. The rising cost of books plays a big factor here. When I was younger, I could buy several books with my allowance. Now, a new paperback can cost up to $20, with $35 hardcovers becoming the rule rather than the exception. For a book lover who wants to build their own home library or a parent looking for bedtime books for kids, buying secondhand is a whole lot more affordable than buying new.

Not to mention, there is a growing desire across the board to shop more sustainably. The publishing industry has to cut down one tree for every 25 books being printed. This adds up to approximately 32 million trees a year. When you buy secondhand, you are reducing the demand for new books and saving unwanted books from ending up in landfills.

Lastly, with the cost of everything rising these days, everyone is looking for a profitable side-hustle. And while opening up your own bookstore may sound intimidating, PangoBooks has become an easy side-hustle for people wanting to make extra money and offload their books at the same time. All you need is a book to sell, packing materials, and your phone. No printer, fancy backdrops, studio-grade equipment, or even a printer is required. It’s easy, it’s approachable, and it feels good to do.

What types of books can you sell on PangoBooks?

Some people may think that they’d only be able to sell new release books, popular fantasy books and romance titles, or viral BookTok books. But I’ve sold books in a variety of different genres, including autobiographies, short story collections, graphic novels, and history books. Thanks to PangoBooks, I’ve also been able to sell backlist books, which refers to any title that has been out for over a year.

Since PangoBooks is filled with all kinds of book lovers, there are definitely readers searching for the books on your shelves—no matter their genre. If you need further convincing that you could sell books for extra money, take a look at some of the ones I’ve actually sold on PangoBooks and for how much.

1. Katabasis (Deluxe Limited Edition): $40
2. Pride and Prejudice (Collector’s Edition): $50
3. The Correspondent: sold in 1 hour for $16
4. Anna Karenina (Clothbound Classics Edition): $25
5. Chain-Gang All Stars (signed!): $25
6. Lore Olympus Volume 3: $22
7. The 1619 Project: $22
8. The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: $20
9. Land: sold in 1 hour for $25
10. Whistler: sold in 1 hour for $22
11. A Time to Gather: $15
12. Wolf Bells: $15
13. A Psalm for the Wild-Built: $12
14. Fourth Wing: $18
15. Fundamentally: $18
16. Real Americans: $16
17. The Wall of Winnipeg and Me: $15
18. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: $16
19. Connie: $12
20. Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: $13

Books that are worth selling versus books that aren’t

There are all kinds of readers on PangoBooks searching for a myriad of books. Sellers have been able to rehome everything from special edition trophies and rare first editions to car manuals and college textbooks. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend deciding what is worth selling and what’s not based on the bestseller’s list alone. Having said that, you can always check out the PangoBooks Pricing Hub to see what is selling well now and their Sell-Out List for books that buyers are actively searching for.

The only books that aren’t worth listing, in my opinion, are those in a battered condition. Think: torn covers, water damage, and stains. Otherwise, listing a book is always worth a shot. People have been happy to buy former library copies, annotated books, and even books with remainder marks at the right price.

Source: Cora Pursley | Dupe

How to start selling books on PangoBooks

Want to open up your own bookstore on PangoBooks? It’s easier than you think. Here’s how to become a bookseller today!

How to set up a PangoBooks shop

It takes less than five minutes to set up your PangoBooks bookstore. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

1. Download the PangoBooks app through Google Play or the App Store.
2. Set up your shop by coming up with a shop name, writing a short bio, and setting your profile picture.
3. Click “sell” and take a picture of the front of your book.
4. Scan the ISBN of your book to auto-populate important information like the title, author, genre, and weight into your listing.
5. Upload more photos of your book. Photos of the spine, back cover, and edges are helpful.
6. Set your price. PangoBooks gives suggestions based on sales history, but you are always in control of how much to charge for your books.
7. Write a description of the book.
8. Click “list” to publish your listing!

What to do after you sell a book on PangoBooks

Made a sale? Congratulations! Here’s everything that actually happens from when a book is sold to when your earnings hit your bank account.

1. You’ll receive an app notification and email informing you that you have made a sale.
2. Grab the books and pack them up. A lot of sellers reuse boxes from other orders they’ve placed. You can also buy bubble mailers from Mailers USA and get 10% off with our code WELOVEPANGO.
3. Print out the prepaid shipping label in your app and the confirmation email. Don’t have a printer? No problem. In the app, you can convert the shipping label into a QR code to be scanned at the post office. They will print out a shipping label for you.
4. Drop your package off at your local USPS.
5. Track your books in the app. (I love watching my books make their way to their new homes!)
6. 72 hours after your sale is marked as delivered, your earnings will be released to you. This delay gives PangoBooks time to verify that the order is received successfully, protecting both you as the seller and your buyer.
7. You can transfer your earnings to your bank or PayPal account or keep your earnings in the app to purchase books.

What I wish I knew before selling books on PangoBooks

Now that I have been selling on PangoBooks for a few years, I’ve learned some lessons. First, message the buyer as soon as you see you’ve made a sale. Buyers get a confirmation email from PangoBooks when they place an order, but they also really appreciate it when individual sellers acknowledge the sale as well. It only takes a few seconds to send a message in the app, and I’ve received so many five-star reviews because of this habit. This keeps those buyers coming back to my shop, plus it helps my shop look better to prospective buyers.

Second, reusing packing materials is a great way to make selling even more sustainable. I’ve started saving boxes and mailers I receive from my own orders and reusing them when I ship books out. It saves me money because I don’t have to buy new packaging, and it makes PangoBooks even more environmentally friendly. The key is to fill any empty spaces in the box with bubble wrap (which I also reuse) to ensure that the books won’t get knocked about in delivery.

Is selling on PangoBooks worth it?

In the three years I’ve spent selling on PangoBooks, I’ve made enough money to supplement my monthly budget. As an avid reader myself, some of my earnings have gone back into buying more books. Some books I’ve bought from other sellers include the complete Vintage Classics Jane Austen set, a signed edition of Tom Lake, and Stephen Fry’s Heroes.

It’s worth noting that anytime you pay for an order with your earnings, you also earn 2% cash back. My Vintage Classics Austen set cost $49.39, including tax and shipping. I used my earnings to pay for the order, so no money came out of my bank account. And because I used my earnings, I received 2% back, which came out to $0.99. This may not seem like a lot, but making almost a dollar on an order I didn’t spend any “real” money on is a win to me. The 2% back really adds up, considering I buy and sell books regularly.

However, I’ve also transferred a significant portion of my earnings to my bank account. My PangoBooks earnings have paid for a cozy reading chair, the digital perm I got earlier this year, and even a girls’ trip to New York City with my best friend.

I’m not the only one who has found success on PangoBooks. Sellers have been able to pay for their pets’ vet bills, textbooks for college, wedding dresses, and even a new sofa for their first apartment. I love that I’ve found a marketplace filled with book lovers who will pay me actual money to give my old books a new home. If you also have a house stuffed with books you want to rehome, I hope you give PangoBooks a try.