A better way to sell books

BetterWorldBooks.com is a Web site founded in 2002 that collects and sells books to fund literacy initiatives.

"We were founded in 2002 by three friends from the University of Notre Dame who started selling textbooks online to earn some money, and ended up forming a pioneering social enterprise, a business with a mission to promote literacy," according to the Web site.

There are more than two million books of various types and genres in stock. The Web site promises that students will "make more money than they will at their school's bookstore."

Social and environmental responsibility play a huge part in the business of this site - it was the purpose for which the company was created.

According to a representative for the Web site, "environmental responsibility is at the core of our business. You could say it's in our DNA."

Better World Books has seen a major increase in their business and the amount of traffic on their Web site in the past year or so, which could stem from a couple things like the amount of money that is given back for books or the current recession. People are trying to save money and get business taken care of as easy as possible.

"We're breaking new ground in online book selling. We believe that education and access to books are basic human rights. That's why books sold on Better World Books help fund high-impact literacy projects in the United States and around the world," according to the Web site.

On Better World Books all books are available with free shipping to any location within the United States or just $3.97 for worldwide shipping.

In addition to selling new titles, Better World Books supports book drives and collects used books and textbooks through a network of over 1,600 college campuses and has partnerships with nearly 1,000 libraries nationwide.

"So far, the company has converted more than 11 million donated books into $4.5 million in funding for literacy and education. In the process, we've also diverted more than 6,000 tons of books from landfills," according to the Web site.

Better World Books is always willing to take or buyback books, no matter the kind of book, how much it originally costs or the condition that it's currently in. Even if the book is not in good condition, they can recycle it to make paper which could save one more tree.

"We believe that most every book has lasting value and the potential to help change the world, we see our job as helping to find new homes for unwanted books, we have donated nearly one million books to partner programs around the world," according to the Web site.

The five primary literacy partners of Better World Books are Books for Africa, Room to read, World Fund, the National center for Family literacy and Invisible Children. Books for Africa is an organization that ships and distributes book to children in Africa, they are the world's largest shipper of donated books to Africa.

Every book purchased from Better World Books contributes to individual literacy throughout the world and the promise of a better life.