Bookbyte Review 2024: Is It Legit or Scam?

Bookbyte is an eCommerce that erases the financial barriers between college students and their academic success by providing multiple options for buying and renting inexpensive textbooks, and also strives to offer the highest buyback prices for students selling books.

As you conquer and move on from any level of education, you leave a lot of textbooks in its wake. Instead of stocking these textbooks somewhere to become feed for paper mites, you sell them to put some money in your pocket.

Also, because the cost of education is ever-increasing, many students will want the opportunity to pay relatively less for pre-owned textbooks instead of stumping up huge fees for new textbooks. This is where Bookbyte comes in.

Bookbyte advertises as one of the longest-running used textbook businesses online. It gives you the opportunity to sell used textbooks and to buy or rent pre-owned textbooks that you’ll need.

The big question is whether it is worthwhile to use Bookbyte. For example, does it support a wide range of textbooks and book conditions to make it the ideal destination for many users? Also, how about its pricing; does it offer reasonable buyback prices? If it supports many subjects and gives a good price, what about its services; does it offer top services that we’ll expect of an ideal online platform (such as being user-friendly, offering easy and fast shipping, effective customer service, and more)? In the first place, is Bookbyte legit?

This Bookbyte review will examine Bookbyte in order to provide the information that will help you answer these questions and more.

Yes, Bookbyte legit. The reason why we said that it is not a scam is that it has been explained in detail below; continue reading.

Bookbyte Review at a glance

• Website: bookbyte.com
• An Oregon based used textbook online business started in 1999
• Services include buying, selling, and renting used textbooks
• Supports different types of textbooks and thousands of titles
• Offers very good prices when selling, buying or renting textbooks
• When buying or selling books, a prepaid shipping label is provided
• Customer support is available via email (help@bookbyte.com) and an online contact form

What is Bookbyte? – About

Bookbyte was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Salem, Oregun. Bookbyte says it is dedicated first and foremost to improving the student experience. With the cost of education ever on the increase and the cost of textbooks one of the reasons for the increase, Bookbyte was established by Steven Gross to help students get textbooks for less (via buying or renting pre-owned and used textbooks).

It will also buy your used textbooks. Thus, the complete range of its business is selling, buying and renting of used textbooks. With time, new textbooks were added to their collections. So you can now also get brand-new textbooks from Bookbyte.

However, the services of Bookbyte are not directed at persons under 13 years of age. Yes, these persons need textbooks too and may have some textbooks that they no longer need. So, Bookbyte allows for minors to use the site only with the assistance of a parent or guardian.

Is Bookbyte legit?

There are so many scam artists online that if you do not determine that a platform is legit before using it, you just may be ripped off. Thus, the big question is whether Bookbyte is legit. The short answer to that is yes. The longer answer is that it is 100% legal, it has industry-wide recognition, and it has a rich operating record laden with satisfied users.

Our first check of a legit online platform is usually legality. This is because online platforms that are 100% legal are less likely to be scams. Thankfully, Bookbyte ticks this box. Bookbyte is owned by RentU.com LLC, which is a 100% legal company in the US with registered office in the US (Suite 220, Salem, OR 97306). Suffice it to say that scam stores do not bother with company registrations.

Another check of a legit online platform is visibility and industry-wide recognition. This is because the scam platforms operate in the shadow. Thankfully, Bookbyte ticks this box. Being one of the first online used textbook retailers, Bookbyte has a strong reputation in the industry. So much so that the Oregon based business was even ranked 79th on the Private 150 Oregon companies list for 2014. Suffice it to say that a scam store will not have such recognition.

Another check of a legit store is the test of time. This is because time shows up the scam stores. With time any scamming activity is exposed, and with such exposure, the store dies out. Thankfully, Bookbyte passes this test of time. Started in 1999, Bookbyte has grown from being operated literally out of a closet, to being operated out of a garage, to its current status as one of the biggest used textbook retailers on the west coast. Suffice it to say that a scam store cannot survive scamming people using the same font for over a decade.

However, the ultimate check of a legit online store is fitness for purpose. As a platform for selling, buying, and renting used textbook, fitness for purpose will be that: customers that send in their textbooks after receiving a quote actually gets paid; and customers that places orders to receive (buy or rent) textbooks actually get delivered the textbooks.

In this respect, it is safe to say that Bookbyte is fit for purpose. This is especially in the buying and renting department; you are sure to get delivered authentic and really good (brand new or like-new) textbooks when you order. In the selling department, many persons have also been able to use Bookbyte to turn their textbooks into cash, by receiving payment when they ship their textbooks to Bookbyte.

However, as we’ll see in the complaint section, there are just too many complaints about not getting paid or not receiving the full quoted price. Thus, while Bookbyte is very legal, it is fraught with many issues (especially when you’re selling to them).

Is Bookbyte safe?

Bookbyte is safe. It is not enough that an online platform is legit, it also has to be safe in ensuring that the sensitive information that you share with it does not leak to unauthorized users. It’s a no-brainer that data like credit card details and personal details should not be allowed to get into the wrong hands (think cyber fraudsters and identity thieves).

In this regards, Bookbyte assures that transactions are 100% safe. It uses Verisign which is one of the most trusted and recognized name for online payment. The Bookbyte website also uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technology.

This is the industry standard for creating a private connection between a buyer and a seller over the web. SSL uses bank-grade encryption protocols to ensure that data cannot be read even if intercepted. With the use of this technical security measure, secure payment methods, and more, it is safe to say that Bookbyte is safe.

Selling your Used Textbook

When you have books you’ll rather turn to cash, you’ll want a used books retailer that supports a wide range of books. Bookbyte ticks this box. The types of books that it accepts include Textbooks, Laboratory manuals, study guides, student solutions manuals, Working papers, Loose-leaf editions, and international editions. However, Bookbyte accepts buy-back orders from only the US, this means that you can turn your used textbooks to cash using Bookbyte only if you are resident in the US.

You want a relatively smooth experience when you want to sell your book. Thankfully, Bookbyte offer this. On the homepage of the Bookbyte website, you’ll find a search bar. Type in the ISBN of your book; and hit search. You’ll be quoted an offer, which you can accept by clicking “Continue Sale”. The page that opens next prompts you to select your payment method. To complete the buyback quote, you’ll then have to provide your shipping address and contact information.

Bookbyte will then send you a pre-paid shipping label which you can print out. You can then proceed to package the textbook appropriately; attach the printed shipping label to the outside of the box; and take the package to the shipping service.

However, you can only sell a textbook to Bookbyte if its buyback value is $10 or more. Bookbyte will also not accept more than 5 books in one order. More so, you are not allowed to sell and get more than $2,000 in buyback revenue within a 30-day period. However, the minimum order size is low enough to make the platform appealing for cashing in on low-value textbooks, and the maximum order size is high enough to allow reasonable amounts of transactions.

It should also be said that after receiving a quote, the price is only guaranteed for 30 days. That is, to be paid the quoted price, you’ll have to make sure that the textbook gets to Bookbyte within 30 days of receiving the quote.

While you may still receive payment for textbooks getting to them after 30 days, Bookbyte says that this payment will be the “current sell price”, which from experience is almost always significantly less than the previously quoted buy-back price. To ensure that the book gets to them within this 30 days window, Bookbyte advises that you mail your package within 5 days of receiving the quote.

If you have used textbooks that you’ll want to sell to a used textbook store; it is because you want to turn these textbooks into real cash instead of them being mites’ feed. Thus, an important consideration is how much you’ll be selling them for. Thankfully, this is one area where Bookbyte really shines. It quotes really generous prices for your used textbooks. In fact, persons who flog Bookbyte use their relatively low buy-back prices as a stick. For example, you’ll find comments like “they offer you a really good price to lure you to ending your property to them…”

However, it should be said here that the price that Bookbyte quotes when you are selling any used textbook to them is based on the ISBN that was entered. As you’ll know the condition of the book is not known at the time. Thus, many times, upon receiving the book and completing their inspection, Bookbyte may decide that the book is worth less than the originally quoted price.

In such cases, the customers will only get paid an amount considerably lower than the originally quoted price. Sometimes Bookbyte will even conclude that the book is not authentic or damaged and therefore not resalable, and in such cases, the customers will not get paid, and worst still, the books will not be returned.

There is a gaping hole here. Many times, the criteria that Bookbyte uses for declaring books inauthentic or damaged are at best vague. As we’ll see in the complaint section, many times Bookbyte claim book to be damaged or inauthentic and either pay the customers only a small part of the original quoted price or nothing at all, but the aggrieved customers will come out claiming that their books are authentic or in perfect conditions. Thus, the relatively high buy-back quoted prices of Bookbyte are not guaranteed.

Another important consideration will be how you’ll receive your payment and how long you’ll have to wait for it. In this regards, Bookbyte advertises that it typically takes 3 – 5 business days to process orders, but warns that this may take longer in peak seasons (May and December). Payments are generally issued the business day after processing. Bookbyte sends payments via check and PayPal. Checks typically take 3 – 7 days to reach any destination in the US, and will remain valid for 90 days.

Selling Pros

• The selling process is relatively easy
• A wide range of books and titles are supported
• Features a low minimum order size ($10) and high maximum earnings ($2,000 per 30-day period)
• Get a very generous buyback quote
• Buyback price you are quoted is valid for 30 days
• Offers free shipping of your Textbook to Bookbyte
• Prepaid- shipping labels are provided to make shipping the textbook to Bookbyte super-easy

Selling Cons

• Does not accept buy-back orders from outside the US
• Too many complaints of Bookbyte refusing to pay claiming that book is inauthentic, damaged or not received

Buying a Textbook from Bookbyte

Another service that Bookbyte offers is the sale of textbooks. That is, you can buy both used and new textbooks from Bookbyte. You’ll want an online retailer that supports a wide range of books so that whatever you want, it is more likely to have it. Thankfully, Bookbyte ticks this box.  You’ll find that the website features over 25 book categories and some thousands of titles.

To buy a textbook, you can start by clicking the “Buy Textbook tab”. You’ll find a search menu in the page which you can then enter the author’s name, the book’s titles or the ISBN number. The system will inform you if the book is available, then you can select whether you want a new or used book. You can then add the book to your shopping cart. You can click the bag icon to view your cart and proceed to payment. Like every online shopping process, you can then proceed to select your payment method, and include your shipping address to complete checkout. The whole process is relatively straightforward, and you really will breeze through it.

An important consideration in any purchase is pricing. That is, you’ll want to get the best deals possible. Pricing of the textbook for sales is one area where Bookbyte shines; just as it is with selling textbooks to Bookbyte. That is, you’ll find that the prices that Bookbyte will quote you for its textbooks will be relatively lower than you’ll find in many other textbooks shopping destinations. Bookbyte even advertises that you can save up to 80% on the average whether buying a well-loved used textbook or the newest edition.

An important consideration in any online purchase is shipping. You’ll want to know: whether the online store ships to your location, how long it takes to deliver, and how much delivery will cost. In terms of shipping destinations, Bookbyte target the US market. Thus, if you are outside the US, you may need a freight forwarding service if you are to buy from Bookbyte. In terms of delivery times, Bookbyte does relatively well as you’ll get your order within 2 weeks. Bookbyte aces it in terms of shipping costs. All purchase over $49 is shipped free of charge, while expedited shipping is only $2.00.

Also, it’s not news that sometimes customers are less than satisfied with their order and will want to return it and get a replacement item or refunds. Thus, online stores that allow returns are the in-thing. Thankfully, Bookbyte tick this box. That you are buying a pre-owned and used textbook does not mean that you’ll have something tattered whose sight will be annoying. Thankfully, Bookbyte used books go through a strict screening process which ensures that only the best is offered for sale. However, if you receive delivery of your order and are not satisfied, Bookbyte gives you the opportunity to return it.

The company offers a 14 days return policy. That is, you can return the textbook to Bookbyte within 14 days of your receiving delivery of it, and you’ll get a full refund.  As you’ll know many online businesses offer 30 days return window. Thus, the 14 days that Bookbyte allows is relatively small. Thus, if you must make any return, you’ll have to act very fast.

Buying Pros

• The process of buying a textbook is relatively easy
• Features a great collection of books that includes 25+ categories and thousands of titles
• Offers both new and used books
• Offers relatively low prices (up to 80%)
• Free shipping is offered for every order over $49
• Expedited shipping is only $2.00
• Allows the returns of books if you are not totally satisfied with your purchase

Buying Cons

• Has a relatively small return window (14 days from delivery date)

Renting Textbook from Bookbyte

Renting books is a way of getting much-needed textbooks for less; this is because the price of renting is relatively lower than buying the textbooks outright. Bookbyte offers book renting service. Like all renting contracts, you’ll have to return the books to Bookbyte at the end of the term of use. Just as when buying a book from Bookbyte, you’ll have to go to the “rent” page and enter the book title in the search menu to get a quote.

Your completing the order means that you agree that Bookbyte will charge your credit card the Rental Price. Bookbyte also does well in terms of the rental price. It offers some of the best prices when renting textbooks.

You can always increase the rent period, and you also opt to retain the book at the end of the rent agreement. When retaining the book, as a benefit for coming off the rental agreement, you’ll pay a “Rental Discount” price which is an amount lower than the book’s list price.

It’s also relatively easy to return the book to Bookbyte, as it provides a pre-paid shipping label. Bookbyte will send email reminder notifications so you’ll know your Return Date. These are sent in the following intervals: 30 days, 14 days, 7 days, when due, and when past due.

Also, Bookbyte also gives a grace period, which is the period after the Rental sell date within which the book must be returned else you’ll be in default. Thankfully, this is a relatively long 20 days. That is, if by the Return Date Bookbyte has not received back the book or notification of your intention to retain it, Bookbyte will give you a grace period of 20 days to ship the book back to them.

However, when a customer defaults (fails to return a book even after the grace period), Bookbyte will charge the customer the Discount Price (as when the book is formally retained) as well as a $10 default fee. Do not try to jump this by cancelling your credit card. Bookbyte will bring in third-party collection services; you’ll be tracked down and will pay considerably more (including 18.5% interest rate compounded monthly, collection fee, attorney fees, etc).

Renting – Pros

• You can choose how long you’ll want to have the book for
• Offers relatively low rental prices
• Sends email notification as a reminder of your Return Date
• Offers a prepaid shipping label for returning the books
• When retaining books previously rented, you’ll pay lower than the book’s listed price
• Offers a Grace Period that is up to 20 days

Renting – Cons

• When there is default Bookbyte charges a default fee of $10 in addition to charging the customer the discount Price of the book

Complaints

It is true that there is no business that customer will not throw one or two jabs at. However, the ideal stores will have just a few complaints which will be drowned by a sea of positive reviews; while it is the less-ideal stores that will be overridden by complaints.

However, it will seem that Bookbyte falls into the latter category (those overridden by complaints). For example, in the top independent customers’ review platforms, Bookbyte is not highly rated. For example; It is rated 1.4/ 5 in sitejabber.com (by 20 reviewers), and 1/10 in resellerratings.com (by 4,935 reviewers). In Trustpilot.com Bookbyte had a relatively good rating of 3.4/ 5 (by 13,390); but a look at reviews showed that 16 of the 19 most recent reviews were a 1-star rating.

Not paying after receiving books

The main complaint which accounted for the poor ratings was that Bookbyte many times do not pay after receiving your book. For example:

• Bryan in Trustpilot says “Bookbyte keeps even perfect books and pockets YOUR money”
• Leah Cerilli in Trustpilot says “Scam – stay away”. The review continued that “…this company is a bait and switch scam. I sent my book valued at $100 in good condition, and they claimed it is damaged and cannot pay me at all, or give me my book back. So they have taken my book, refuse to compensate me for it, and will probably sell it off to someone else. I asked for proof that the book was damaged or donated/ recycled as they claim, and was not given any proof. They offer you a good buyback price to lure you into sending your property to them, but they will not compensate you”
• Tim in Trustpilot says “I was scammed”. The review continued that “Placed my 1st order with 1 book to see how quickly they paid compared with other companies that I have been dealing with. They run a good SCAM!!! They sent me an email stating that my like-new book was unsalable and also suspended my account … This was an authentic book bought from a legitimate state-run organization…”

In the reviews platform, there are just many cases of customers sending books in and not getting paid. Many times, Bookbyte claims that the book is not authentic. The reviews show that many customers dispute this because of having originally bought the books in question from authentic sources such as “legitimate state-run organization”, college bookstores and library, etc.

Well, Bookbyte’s “fake verdict” is always final and customers do not get paid. Customers who push to know why Bookbyte claim their book is inauthentic may get a response like “We cannot provide the exact details of what was specifically flagged about your book as that could aid in the production of these illegally produced textbooks and bypass our authenticity checks”. At best, this is unfair. If you claim my book which I bought from a legitimate source is unauthentic, the least you could do is tell me why.

Not only do the customers not get paid, but the books are not returned. The Bookbyte’s famous line is “We are unable to return the book since it is an inauthentic copy and should not be in circulation”

Another main excuse that Bookbyte uses to refuses payment is to claim that the book was damaged and in an unsellable condition. As you will have guessed, the customers maintain that the book is in perfect or near-perfect conditions. Sadly, Bookbyte does not give any evidence of their claims. Once again, Bookbyte is the Judge, Jury and executioner.

No matter what you think; if your book is declared “damaged”, you don’t get paid. It also hurt that Bookbyte will also not return your book. If they retain inauthentic books because “fakes” should not be in circulation, that is understandable; but why retain my book claiming it is damaged when I maintain it is undamaged and want it back? Bookbyte’s answer is that they’ll recycle it.

Looking at the reviews and Bookbyte’s responses; sometimes it does not pay to say that it did not receive the books. However, there are just too many such complaints that this comes out as a real problem in the company. If you also add that Bookbyte sends you a shipping label for use in shipping the item, then you’ll wonder why this should still be a significant problem.

Then, there is the claim by some customers that they shipped different books in one box, only for Bookbyte to say one wasn’t received. If this were true, it beats us how a book “in a box of four” will go missing; in our peanut head, it’s either all four are received or all four goes missing. However, once again, Bookbyte’s no-delivery verdict is always final; and you do not get paid. Of course, there’s no getting back your book.

The deceptive high buyback price

Remember that it was mentioned earlier that Bookbyte will quote you some of the best prices you can find for your used textbook. Too many sellers wanting to turn their textbooks to cash, this is just a trap. In addition to the many that Bookbyte users that reported not receiving payments, many others reported that after receipt of their textbook, Bookbyte paid only a fraction of the quoted price.

Customer Support Service

The ideal online store should have an effective customer support service for handling the questions or complaints of customers. This is because no matter how well the store operates, there will be those who’ll have issues with their orders, while others may just have questions that they’ll need to be answered.

In this regards, Bookbyte supports the self-support channels and contact channels. For self-support, you’ll find a lot of support articles in the “Help centre” of its website. These are categorized into different subjects to aid navigation.

For contact help, Bookbyte supports an online contact form and an email service. You can submit a support ticket using the online contact form on the “Help Center”. To use the email service, the email address to send your submissions is help@bookbyte.com. However, the support team is not active around the clock. You can expect to have replies to your submissions 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (PST), Mondays – Fridays.

Sites Similar to Bookbyte:

• Amazon

Conclusion

Bookbyte is easily one of the most popular and legitimate online used textbook businesses in the US. Its services include selling, buying, and renting textbooks.

When buying textbooks, you’ll find Bookbyte a delight. It supports a range of options; you’ll get both new and pre-owned textbooks at relatively low prices, free shipping is offered with a low $49+ minimum purchase, and you can return books if you’re not totally satisfied with the order. The one bump on the buying road is that the return window is relatively low.

When renting textbooks, Bookbyte also comes out great. Apart from its vast options and low prices, there are no fixed terms, so you set your Return Date; you’ll get email reminders at various times of this date, so there’ll be no missed returns. Also, with prepaid shipping labels, returning books to Bookbyte is relatively easy, and there’s a 20 days period should you miss returning the book on the return date.

When selling your textbook to Bookbyte, you’ll find the process relatively easy, Bookbyte buy-back quotes are some of the best you’ll find, and there’s a free pre-paid shipping label for easy shipment of the book to Bookbyte.

However, the customers’ reviews do not make for good reading after this. Complaints abound of Bookbyte not paying for the received books or only paying part of the quoted price, claiming that the book is “damaged” or “inauthentic”. Thus, when selling to Bookbyte, despite its generous buy-back quote, you really never know how much you’ll be paid or if you’ll be paid at all.