Turn the books your organization already receives into a quarterly check.
How it works
Option A — We do the work
Best for busy organizations with limited volunteer time. You collect books in a box or corner. Once a month (or as needed), we come by, scan and sort on-site, and take the sellable books. Everything else stays with you for your own book sale or free bin.
- Zero effort for your team
- We bring boxes and a scanner
- Same-week pickup availability
- Books that don't sell come back or get recycled — your choice
Option B — You do the scanning
Best for organizations with active volunteers and higher volume. We lend you a Bluetooth barcode scanner and a simple phone app. Your volunteers scan books as they come in — the app tells them which ones we want. Fill the boxes, we come pick them up.
- Higher volume = higher quarterly checks
- Scanner and app provided free
- 15-minute volunteer training
- Pickup when you tell us the boxes are full
The process, start to finish
- 1 You reach out. Fill out the short form below or email haylee@lastmilebooks.com. Tell us who your organization is and roughly how many books you receive per month.
- 2 We meet in person. A 20-minute walkthrough at your location. We see the space, look at some sample books, and figure out whether Option A or Option B fits you better. No pressure.
- 3 We sign a one-page partnership agreement. Plain English, no lock-in, cancel any time with 30 days notice. Your board or director can review it in five minutes.
- 4 We start picking up. First pickup usually happens within a week of signing. From there we're on whatever cadence works — weekly, monthly, or on-call.
- 5 Quarterly check + sales report. Every three months you receive a check (or Zelle transfer) and an itemized report showing which books sold, when, at what price, and your share of the profit. Full transparency.
Why partner with a local operator instead of a national mail-in program?
Local, in-person, accountable
We are based in Temecula. When you have a question or a concern, you get a text back from Haylee — not a support ticket. If something goes wrong, we drive over and fix it.
Fair split, in writing
50/50 after marketplace fees, disclosed up front, in the partnership agreement. No mystery percentages. No "results may vary" fine print.
Faster payments
Quarterly, not annual. And we can adjust to monthly for higher-volume partners.
You keep the community relationship
Your Friends of the Library sale, your thrift bookshelf, your rummage table — those stay yours. We only take the books that would otherwise be recycled, discounted to nothing, or thrown away.
You're a good fit if you are…
Friends of the Library
You run monthly or quarterly book sales. Whatever doesn't sell either gets stored, discounted to a quarter, or recycled. That "leftover" pile is exactly where our program creates revenue.
Independent thrift stores
National chains have started selling their own valuable books online, but independent thrifts usually don't have the setup. If books sit on your shelves too long or you cycle them out on a schedule, we turn that inventory into cash.
Schools, PTAs, and school libraries
End-of-year cleanouts, weeded library collections, and parent donations. A quarterly fundraising stream that requires zero bake sales.
Boys & Girls Clubs, senior centers, church libraries
Any organization that receives donated books but doesn't have a bookstore of its own is essentially sitting on unrecovered fundraising dollars. We fix that.
Common questions from Friends of the Library, thrifts, and school groups
How is this different from just letting Amazon or a national mail-in service handle it?
National programs make you scan and ship everything yourself, or they route trucks through your region on their schedule (which usually means once or twice a year). We are 20 minutes away. First pickup is usually within a week. And our 50/50 split is more generous than the industry norm.
Do we lose control of our own book sale or fundraiser?
No. You choose which books enter the program. Most partners keep running their in-person book sale and only give us the books that don't sell locally — that's where the biggest hidden value usually sits (older textbooks, technical books, specialty cookbooks, out-of-print titles). Your community events stay yours.
How much money can we realistically expect?
It depends entirely on volume and mix. A small Friends group with 200–500 leftover books per quarter might see $150–$600 per quarter. A busy thrift store with active donation flow might see $1,000–$3,000+ per quarter. We will give you a realistic estimate after the first walkthrough, based on the books we see.
What happens to books that don't sell online?
We hold them for six months. After that, per your preference, we either return them to you (for a free-book bin or community giveaway) or recycle them responsibly through a paper mill.
Who handles taxes and reporting?
You receive a 1099 at year-end if we've paid you $600 or more. Payments to your organization are simply consignment revenue on your books; talk to your treasurer or accountant if you're unsure how to book it.
How do we know the sales are accurate?
Every quarter you receive an itemized report with each book's title, ISBN, sale price, marketplace fee, net profit, and your 50% share. If you want spot-check verification, we can share our Amazon and eBay dashboards read-only.
What's the catch?
There isn't one, but the honest answer is: this only works if your organization actually receives books. If your donation volume is very low or extremely picked-over (thousands of the same romance novel, for example), the numbers won't be exciting. That's why we do a walkthrough first — to be honest with you about what to expect.
Can we cancel if it's not working?
Yes. 30 days notice, no penalty. We keep any books already in our inventory and pay you your share on those; anything not yet picked up stays with you.
Apply to become a partner
Fill out the short form below. Haylee will reply within one business day to set up the 20-minute walkthrough. No pressure and no commitment until you've seen the agreement.
Or email Haylee directly at haylee@lastmilebooks.com.