To qualify for the BookDeal Guarantee, you must follow these guidelines:
1. Adhere to the Book Condition Guidelines
2. Adhere to the Book Acceptance Guidelines
3. Adhere to the Packaging Guidelines
4. Upload photos of your book using Upload Book Photos.
Please read the following regarding book conditions.
NEW – New books have never been used. Therefore, the book must be clear of writing, markings, and damage. Cover must be free of stickers and its clean all around. If the book is loose-leaf, the original shrink-wrap must be intact. Supplementary materials must be included, unopened, and unused (access codes, DVDs, etc.)
USED-VERYGOOD - Cover must be clean and free of stickers. Additionally, corners are not damaged or bend. Pages are clean and free of writing or highlighting. All pages must be included and attached to the binding. Supplementary materials must be included (DVS, CDs, Online Access, etc)
GOOD - All pages and covers are intact to the binding. Limited notes and highlighting (no more than 5 pages). All text must be legible. Cover has minor cosmetic defect. No water damage. No big stickers, “USED” sticker is okay. Supplementary materials must be included (DVS, CDs, Online Access, etc)
ACCEPTABLE - Books must not have any water damage. All pages are included. The cover may have noticeable cosmetic wear with slightly damaged corners. Limited notes and highlighting (no more than 10 pages). Acceptable books have no odor, no big stickers or tape. Acceptable items still require the supplement materials such as DVDs and CDs.
UNACCEPTABLE - Please don’t send the following Books: Books that have missing pages, broken binding or water damaged. Any type of water damage is considered unacceptable. Books with odor such as cigarette smell, custom books, mold, or damaged books. Practice books with writing in more than 5 pages are considered unacceptable.
Items we do not accept:
1. ISBNs that are different than the one quoted
2. Rebound books
3. Custom editions for specific college or area
4. Used, opened, visible, or scratched access codes
5. Incomplete sets (e.g. volume 1 of 2-volume set)
6. Items without any ISBN – even if you can cross reference and find the ISBN for the book on third party sites like Amazon
7. Any markings on workbooks and study guides
8. Textbooks with practice tests that are filled out
9. Excessive highlighting or markings in more than 10 pages
10. ANY water damage: wrinkled, curled pages; yellowing or stains, mold, color change
11. Ripped, missing, or falling out pages or cover
12. Heavy wear, e.g. damaged or detached binding, torn pages or cover
a. Cover damage greater than 2” x 2” section
b. Stuck-together pages.
13. Counterfeit books
14. Encyclopedia sets, magazines, music books, comic books, non-book items
15. Pornography or otherwise offensive or explicit materials
16. Repaired or rebound books
17. Dated Materials/Books, Calendars, Daily Planners, Dated Diaries/Journals/Code Guides
18. “Free Copy”, “Annotated Instructors Edition”, "Complimentary Book”, and "Rental Edition"
19. Special edition books are not acceptable.
If you are selling a loose leaf edition, make sure you are using the correct ISBN, you have all the pages in the correct order and an unused and non-visible access code if there is one. Remove all stickers and tape, even if they contain the ISBN. Stickers and tape are often used to conceal the original ISBN or to conceal markings that indicate the item is not for sale. If a textbook originally came with a CD or DVD, the original CD or DVD must accompany the book when shipped back. The CD or DVD should be in working condition, uninstalled and unregistered from all other computers. Your book-buyer may have additional guidelines, so make sure to read and follow them.
Acceptable Physical Condition:
1. No water damage
2. No tears on cover or pages
3. Workbooks must not have any writing on them
4. Textbooks with practice tests should not be filled out
5. Minimal highlighting/underlining/writing
6. No stickers and tape.
7. No missing or loose pages
8. No fire or smoke damage
9. Minimal wear to binding – pages should be firmly attached to binding – bindings cannot be broken
10. No strong odor
11. No items with exposed access code
12. No missing CDs or dust jacket
Items we do not accept:
1. ISBNs that are different than the one quoted
2. Rebound books
3. Custom editions for specific college or area
4. Used, opened, visible, or scratched access codes
5. Incomplete sets (e.g. volume 1 of 2-volume set)
6. Items without any ISBN – even if you can cross reference and find the ISBN for the book on third party sites like Amazon
7. Any markings on workbooks and study guides
8. Textbooks with practice tests that are filled out
9. Excessive highlighting or markings in more than 10 pages
10. ANY water damage: wrinkled, curled pages; yellowing or stains, mold, color change
11. Ripped, missing, or falling out pages or cover
12. Heavy wear, e.g. damaged or detached binding, torn pages or cover
a. Cover damage greater than 2” x 2” section
b. Stuck-together pages
13. Counterfeit books
14. Encyclopedia sets, magazines, music books, comic books, non-book items
15. Pornography or otherwise offensive or explicit materials
16. Repaired or rebound books
17. Dated Materials/Books, Calendars, Daily Planners, Dated Diaries/Journals/Code Guides
18. “Free Copy”, “Annotated Instructors Edition”, "Complimentary Book”, and "Rental Edition"
19. Special edition books are not acceptable.
There are instances when the book that arrives at the vendor’s facility is in much worse condition than the book you sent, primarily because of shipping damage. From the vendor’s point of view, the damaged book they received is far from the slightly used book that they gave you a quote on; so, they can decide to deduct your buyback offer or even decide not to buy your book. Because of this, it is very important to package your books correctly to protect against shipping damage, so that vendors can receive them in the condition you sent them, and you can receive the buyback price you were offered.
Steps to Packing Your Book(s):
1. Obtain a sturdy box, free from address labels or residue that might damage your books. Soft packaging such as boxes with thin cardboard walls or envelopes almost guarantees that your books will suffer damage during shipping.
2. Choose the right size of box. Try to not use a large box because they almost always result in damaged books.
3. If you use Priority Mail/Flat Rate boxes which are white with red stripes, the additional fees will be deducted from your buyback quote.
4. Include all supplementary materials along with your books. If you’re selling CD’s or DVD’s, place them inside their case and then inside a textbook so that they won’t break during transit.
5. Wrap your books in plastic so that if it rains during shipping, they will stay dry.
6. Lay your books flat like pancakes instead of standing them up.
Checkpoint:
- Check that you’ve included all your books via ISBN.
- Check that you’ve included all supplementary materials.
7. Pack your books tightly: you shouldn’t be able to hear your books shifting inside, no matter how vigorously you shake your package. You can achieve this in a couple ways. The first is to cut the corners of the box to the level of the books. The second is the secure all empty areas with bubble wrap or packaging paper. Tightly wadded newspaper is also a great option, but since the ink often rubs off onto the textbooks, make sure to wrap the books in a plastic bag if you choose to use newspaper. Leave no empty space in the box.
8. In the box, include the packaging slip that lists all books being shipped.
9. At this point, your box should not be over 35 pounds. Heavy boxes tend to sustain much more damage than lighter boxes.
10. Tape your box using enough packaging tape or duct tape. Using masking or scotch tape or not enough tape only increases the likelihood that your package will be damaged severely.
11. Tape down the mailing label completely, so that it won’t get teared or damage. If the mailing label becomes unreadable, the package may never reach its destination.
12. One mailing label is for one box only. Do not print multiple copies of the same label to use for multiple boxes. If you need additional labels, go to Your Orders and find the order you need an additional label for. Click Order Details, etc.
13. Insurance: Our prepaid shipping labels for FedEx and UPS come with insurance covering up to $100, meaning that if FedEx or UPS damages or misplaces your package, they will compensate you. If your materials are worth more than $100 you can buy additional insurance. Our prepaid shipping labels for USPS does not include insurance, but insurance can be bought at USPS.
14. If you use the free prepaid shipping label we provide, you don’t need to stand in line. You can just place it on the checkout counter, notify a shipping employee that you have a package ready for shipment, and walk away. Do not place packages in an Express-drop box or a self-serve kiosk.
* BookDeal is not responsible for any loss or damage incurred during shipping