How it works

Search for a book by title, author, or ISBN. Pick the edition you want, then choose from the copies real people are selling. Every listing shows photos of the actual book, not a stock image, so you can see the condition you’re getting.

Choose delivery or local collection at checkout. Your payment is held by retale: the seller isn’t paid until you’ve got the book and confirmed you’re happy, or 48 hours pass without you reporting a problem. Buyer Protection covers you if something’s wrong.

Scan the barcode or search for your book, add photos of the front and back, set your price, and tick which delivery options you can offer: tracked delivery, local collection, or both. You don’t set postage prices; retale works those out from a live courier quote when the buyer checks out.

Once your book sells and the buyer confirms they’ve received it, the money is paid straight into your bank, usually within 1–2 working days. The first time you list a book, our payment partner Stripe asks a few questions so they can pay you. It takes about 2 minutes.

Every posted book goes tracked. retale buys the label for you, paid for out of what the buyer’s charged for delivery, so there’s nothing for you to pay or arrange. Most services don’t need a printer: show the QR code at the Post Office or Evri ParcelShop counter, they print the label for you, and you hand the parcel over.

Tracking updates happen automatically, so there’s nothing to type in and nothing to chase.

Collections work a little differently. Rather than paying up front, a buyer reserves the book and the two of you agree a time and place. Once that’s settled the buyer pays, and they’ll get a four-digit code.

At the meet-up, the buyer checks the book and gives the seller their code. Entering it confirms the handover, and the seller is paid 48 hours later if the buyer hasn’t reported a problem. If a collection doesn’t happen, the buyer is refunded automatically. See staying safe for tips on meeting up.