Send your strays home
Finished books become credit toward your next box, and every one we accept goes on to a new reader with a fresh passport.
Credit per book
- $1.50Like new
- $1.00Very good
- $0.50Good
Hardcovers earn an extra 25¢. Ten or more books and the shipping label is on us.
List the books you’re sending
Type or scan the ISBN by each barcode. Estimates are confirmed when we grade the books.
How do I grade a book?
- Like new
- Looks unread. No creases on the spine, no marks.
- Very good
- Gently read. Spine intact, clean pages, maybe a name inside the cover.
- Good
- Visibly loved. Light wear and creases, but nothing missing or stained.
Add 10 books for a free prepaid shipping label.
Trade-ins are for members, so credit has somewhere to go. Log in to send this list; it stays saved in this browser.
What we can and can’t take
Yes, please
- Fiction and non-fiction for adults, teens and kids
- Paperbacks and hardcovers in good condition or better
- Any book with a Stray Book Society passport
- Ex-library copies with tidy stamps
Sorry, no
- Water damage, mould, smoke or pet smells
- Missing pages, loose spines, heavy highlighting
- Textbooks, study guides and encyclopedias
- Advance copies marked “not for resale”, magazines
When do I get my credit?
Within five business days of your parcel arriving. We grade every book, email you the final amount, and the credit comes off your next renewal automatically.
What happens to books you can’t use?
We donate them to prison libraries and literacy programs, and recycle the rest responsibly. We can’t post rejected books back.
Can I get cash instead?
Trade-ins pay in account credit only. It never expires while your account is open.
How do I ship fewer than ten books?
Pack them snugly and send them by USPS Media Mail, the cheapest way to post books. We’ll email our address and a packing checklist when you submit your list.