Is AbeBooks Legit and Worth Selling Books On?

AbeBooks is a global marketplace that’s centered on connecting independent booksellers with potential buyers looking for new, used, rare, and out-of-print books, art, and collectibles.

Essentially, it’s like selling on eBay, but just for books. It relies on sellers to upload their inventories, set prices, and ship orders, but provides the platform and payment processing.

How to sell an item on AbeBooks

As a seller, you’ll need to create an account on AbeBooks, although you can easily do so using your preexisting Amazon login details.

Depending on your inventory and ambitions, there are a few tools you can use for listing your books on AbeBooks:

• Members’ Menu: If you want to sell less than 1,000 books (or aren’t sure what you want to sell yet and plan on entering the titles manually as you decide), you can head to this menu in your seller account and list items directly.
• Your own database: AbeBooks accepts data from spreadsheet editors (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets, and Access) and from other marketplaces (Amazon, Livre Rare Books, Biblio, etc.).
• Third-party software: You can send your listings via API or FTP (a file transfer protocol) if you’re a high-volume seller or you’re already selling on multiple other platforms. This option requires a bit more technical know-how.

When you list your inventory, you can upload your books’ details (condition, price, description, etc.) and set your shipping rate and schedule.

AbeBooks fees for sellers

AbeBooks isn’t free for sellers. You’ll need to pay a:

• Monthly subscription fee
• Commission fee on each sale
• Processing fee

The subscription starts at $25 every month, but may increase depending on how many listings you have.

How seller subscription fees work on AbeBooks

The commission fee is usually fixed at 8%, with a minimum of $0.50 per item and a maximum of $40.

Assuming you accept payment through the main AbeBooks website (AbeBooks.com rather than the AbeBooks.co.uk version), your processing fee will be:

• 5.5% on the first $500 (or the equivalent in your buyer’s currency)
• 3.5% on any remaining amount above $500 (or, again, the equivalent in your customer’s currency)

Make sure you read up on how AbeBooks calculates its seller fees to avoid any unfortunate surprises on payday.

Yes, AbeBooks is a legit and reputable platform. It’s been in business since 1996 and was acquired by Amazon in 2008.

Today, it remains one of the largest online marketplaces for rare and out-of-print books.

If you have any vintage or antique collections—or if you work with books professionally and you’re looking for a side hustle for librarians that leverages your knowledge of rare titles—this platform might be one of the best options for freeing up your shelf space.

As with any platform, selling on AbeBooks comes with both benefits and drawbacks. As mentioned, it’s owned by Amazon, and the platform’s large buyer pool makes it very likely that you will get an offer for your book.

However, its fees are on the steeper side, so it may not be the best choice if you’re a one-time seller.

Here’s an overview of the platform’s pros and cons:

AbeBooks provides a lot of flexibility with how it lets you set your prices, shipping rates, and speeds. It also makes it easy to communicate with buyers directly, and you can customize your storefront to add links to drive them to your other platforms.

The primary payment option is a weekly payout via Electronic Funds Transfer or EFT (this may take 1 to 7 days to reach your account, depending on your bank). You can also request other payment methods on AbeBooks, such as:

• PayPal
• Bank draft
• Cash on delivery
• Bank or wire transfer
• Check
• Money order
• Invoice
• Direct debit

AbeBooks has long been the go-to platform for antiquarian booksellers and those who hold on to copies of out-of-print books. However, online discussions on forums like Reddit suggest that while it remains the authority on pricing, the platform’s high fees and strict inventory metrics are frustrating sellers.

Here’s what the chatter in the community has been this season:

• Authority on value: If you have a first edition or a textbook, AbeBooks still serves as a research tool and a marketplace for high-ticket items. One Redditor noted that the platform (along with eBay) is “the best tool to see the market prices for desirable books.”
• Targeted audience: Unlike general-purpose platforms, where your books will have to compete with other items, AbeBooks offers a built-in audience of serious bibliophiles. If you have the right inventory, the buyers are there.
• High subscription fees: As mentioned, AbeBooks charges a monthly subscription fee just to list your items. The chatter on forums indicates that this makes the platform effectively useless for small-scale sellers trying to clear off a single bookshelf.
• Misleading rating system: AbeBooks rates sellers based on how many of their orders they’ve completed rather than whether your descriptions of your items are accurate or you ship them promptly, etc. This can be frustrating, as it means you won’t always be rewarded for running your online store in a customer-friendly way.

Overall, how do people feel about AbeBooks in 2026?

If you’re a casual seller with 20 paperbacks to get rid of, avoid AbeBooks; the subscription fees will eat your profits, and the listing process is tedious. However, if you’re a serious bookseller with rare inventory and an organized storage system, this is still the best place to get top dollar for your goods.