If you have ever tried to sell used books, you know the frustration. You scan a book you paid 50 euros for, and Momox offers 3.78 euros. It is frustrating. But it is fast. And that is exactly the dilemma.
I have spent years testing platforms, comparing prices, and refining my method. And I came to a simple conclusion: there is no single best site. There are two fundamentally different strategies, and the right choice depends on your patience, your time, and above all the real value of the book in your hands.
To make this concrete, I took a real book from my own library, Le grand livre des koï by Bernice Brewster, Chantecler edition (ISBN: 9782803442706), and compared both approaches with real numbers. No theory. Just screenshots.
Strategy 1: instant buyback
How it works
You scan your book, the platform makes you an offer, you ship it, and you get paid. Simple, fast, no negotiation. But the platform sets the price, not you.
On March 22, 2026, I scanned this book on the main French buyback platforms. Here are the results:
| Platform | Buyback price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gibert | 10.70 € | The best buyback price, by far |
| Recyclivre | 3.91 € | 10% donated to charities |
| Fnac (Recommerce) | 3.91 € | Same price as Recyclivre |
| Momox | 3.78 € | The best known, not the most generous |
| Ammareal | 1.27 € | Very low offer |
| La Bourse aux Livres | No buyback | No offer for this title |
First conclusion: the gaps are huge. Between Gibert at 10.70 € and Ammareal at 1.27 €, it is almost a 10x difference. And La Bourse aux Livres does not even take it. If you do not compare, you can literally lose 9 € on a single book.
Second conclusion: even the best buyback price, 10.70 € at Gibert, remains far below the real value of this book.
How do I know? That is where the second strategy comes in.
Strategy 2: know the real value and sell it yourself
Before listing a book anywhere, I always check its real value on BiblioScan. It is a tool I built because I was tired of selling books for 4 € when they were really worth 60.
BiblioScan analyzes past sales, the number of live listings, the real median selling price, and gives you an estimated net profit. Here is what that looks like for our koi book:
See the problem? Momox offers 3.78 € for a book whose real median selling price is 77 €. Even Gibert, with its “generous” 10.70 € offer, represents only 14% of the real value.
BiblioScan also tells me this book sold for 80 € nine months ago and 135 € two years ago. It is a niche book, it only sells about twice a year, but when it sells, it sells at a real price. And that changes everything. Because if you had only scanned it on Momox without thinking, you would have taken 3.78 € and moved on.
OK, so where should you sell it?
Once BiblioScan confirmed the book was worth selling myself, I still had to choose the right platform. Here are the ones I use depending on the case:
- Vinted — 0% seller commission. Ideal for mainstream books and paperbacks. Huge audience. It is often my first choice for books priced between 5 € and 30 €.
- Leboncoin — Perfect for local pickup and heavy lots of books. No shipping cost if the buyer collects. Very good for large art books and bulky titles.
- Rakuten — Strong loyalty program that attracts repeat buyers. Good for technical books and titles sought after by collectors.
- BookVillage — A 100% book-focused app. Community of readers. Very fast listing flow by scan. Great when the book has a targeted audience.
- eBay — International reach. If the book is rare or in a foreign language, eBay can reach buyers French platforms never will.
What about Amazon?
If you start building a serious inventory, say more than 150 books listed, becoming an Amazon seller starts to make sense. Visibility is unmatched, niche books can sell well, and FBA removes most of the logistics. But for selling 3 books a month, it is clearly overkill.
For our koi book, I chose to list it myself. I was patient. Thanks to BiblioScan, I knew it sold about twice a year and that the median price was around 77 €. I set my price, I waited, and...
The result
Real gain by selling it myself: +54.30 €.
65 € instead of 3.78 € at Momox. Or even 10.70 € at Gibert. That is 6 to 17 times more. On a single book.
Did it take more time? Yes. I had to create the listing, take a photo, pack it, and ship it. In total, maybe 15 minutes of work and a few weeks of patience. For 55 € more in my pocket, the math is pretty obvious.
The two strategies, summarized
There is no bad strategy. There is the right strategy for the right book.
Instant buyback
Who it is for: you have boxes of low-value paperbacks, you are moving next week, or you want cash fast without headaches.
Platforms: Momox (volume), Gibert (better unit prices), Recyclivre (if you like the charitable angle), La Bourse aux Livres (including Fnac drop-off options).
The trap: not checking the real value first. You might let a 60 € book go for 3 € without realizing it.
Direct sale
Who it is for: you have time, you like optimizing, or you spotted through BiblioScan that the book has real market value.
Platforms: Vinted (0% commission), Leboncoin (local), Rakuten (collectors), BookVillage (book community), eBay (international). Amazon if you scale up.
The advantage: you set the price. You capture the real value of the book. And on niche books, the gap can be spectacular.
My advice
Before selling anything, scan your books. Not just to get a buyback offer, every app can do that. Scan them to know their real value, the price at which they truly sell between private buyers.
That is exactly why I created BiblioScan. The tool gives you the median sale price, history, the number of sales over 12 months, the recommended maximum buy price, and an automatic ranking called BiblioRank. If you only need to check one book, you can scan its barcode. If you have many books, just photograph the shelf: the AI identifies them all, and within seconds you know which ones deserve a direct sale and which ones can go to instant buyback without regret.
The koi book is just one example among hundreds. Every week, I come across books people would have sent to Momox for 2 € even though they are worth 30, 40, sometimes 100 € or more. The difference between a seller who makes 50 € per box and one who makes 500 € often comes down to one thing: information.
In short
Always compare buyback prices across platforms, the gaps can be huge. Check the real value of your books before underselling them. And when a book is worth it, sell it yourself. Your time will be very well paid.