Where to Sell Used Books in 2026: Amazon, eBay, Mercari or Facebook?

Profitvana Editorial Team · Updated November 9, 2026

Books are cheap, heavy for their price and sold by the thousand on two platforms built for them. Amazon charges 15% plus a $1.80 closing fee on media, which on a $15 book is 27%; eBay's books category is 15.3% plus $0.30. Mercari's flat 10% is the cheapest paid route, but Amazon is where book buyers search by ISBN. Media Mail at about $4 for a paperback is the cost that decides whether a book is worth listing.

What you receive on each platform: $15 book, buyer pays $4 shipping, Media Mail costs you $4

Computed from each platform’s verified fee schedule in our registry, on the same sale, ranked by what lands in your account after fees and the label. Costs the schedule does not carry (optional promotion, returns, your time) are in the notes and the text below.

#	Platform	Fees	Label you pay	You receive	Schedule used
1	Mercari 10% on item + shipping; no closing fee	$1.9012.7% of price	$4.00	$13.10	10%
2	Facebook Marketplace 10% with checkout; 0% local	$1.9012.7% of price	$4.00	$13.10	10%
3	eBay 15.3% books/movies/music rate + $0.40 (orders over $10)	$3.3122% of price	$4.00	$11.69	Final value fee (15.30%) + Per-order fee
4	Amazon 15% referral + $1.80 closing; Individual plan adds $0.99 per item	$4.6531% of price	$4.00	$10.35	15% + $1.80 media closing fee

Amazon's closing fee makes cheap books expensive

Amazon's referral fee on books is 15% with a $0.30 minimum, and every media item also carries a $1.80 fixed closing fee that has not changed since March 2017 (it was $1.35 before). On a $15 book the two add up to about $4.05, 27% of the price, and an Individual-plan seller pays a further $0.99 per item. Amazon sets the shipping credit the buyer pays, and for a heavy hardcover the credit may not cover Media Mail. What Amazon gives back is demand: a buyer searching an ISBN lands on the Amazon listing first, and a textbook or out-of-print title sells there at a price the open marketplaces will not bear.

eBay for sets and collectibles, Mercari for the rest

eBay's books, movies and music category is 15.3% plus the per-order fee, raised from 14.95% in February 2025 and the highest percentage in the table. It earns that on first editions, signed copies and multi-volume sets, where auctions and collector search add value; for a reading copy it is simply the dearest option. Mercari's flat 10% on item plus shipping, with no closing fee and no subscription, is the cheapest paid route and its buyers browse books by title and cover, which suits popular fiction and children's books sold in lots.

When not to list a book at all

A $6 paperback nets about $1.50 on Mercari after the label and about nothing on Amazon. Bulk buyback services and local used-book stores pay less per book but take the box; for anything under $8 that is the better use of an afternoon. The books worth individual listings are textbooks in the current edition, technical and professional titles, out-of-print and signed copies, and complete series sold as one lot.

Verdict

Textbooks, technical titles and anything a buyer searches by ISBN: Amazon, despite the closing fee, because the demand is there.
Collectible, signed or first editions and complete sets: eBay.
Popular fiction and children's books in lots: Mercari.
Under $8 per book: a buyback service or donation; no marketplace fee structure makes it worthwhile.

Frequently asked questions

What is Amazon's closing fee on books?

A fixed $1.80 per media item (books, music, video, DVD, video games) charged on top of the 15% referral fee. It has been $1.80 since March 2017.

Is Media Mail allowed for marketplace sales?

Yes, for books and other media with no advertising, within the US. It is the cheapest book-rate service and takes 2–8 days; most buyers accept it when the listing says so.

How this page is computed

The table runs one realistic basket for this category through the fee schedule of each platform as held in our registry, where every schedule carries the official page it was read from and the date it was last checked; category-specific rates (eBay’s sneakers, electronics, clothing, books and guitars rates, StockX and Whatnot tiers, Grailed’s price bands) are applied where they change the result. Platforms not yet in the registry are discussed but not ranked. Rates move: the change log records each change and this table recomputes with it.