Textbook Arbitrage Actor Find profitable textbook flip opportunities by comparing AbeBooks and ThriftBooks prices with BookScouter buyback offers from 30+ vendors. ## ⚡ Fast & Efficient - Process hundreds of ISBNs in minutes - Sub-second price lookups per source - Smart filtering saves time by checking buyback value first Real results: 5 ISBNs → 6 profitable opportunities with up to 628% ROI ## 🎯 What It Does 1. Checks buyback prices from 30+ vendors (BooksRun, Chegg, TextbookRush, etc.) 2. Finds cheap copies on AbeBooks and ThriftBooks 3. Calculates profit including shipping costs 4. Filters by condition (only "Good" or better) 5. Returns top opportunities sorted by profit ## 📥 Input json { "isbns": ["9780321982384", "9780134093413"], "minProfit": 10, "minBuyback": 5, "maxResultsPerIsbn": 3 } | Field | Type | Default | Description | |-------|------|---------|-------------| | isbns | array | required | List of ISBN-10 or ISBN-13 codes | | minProfit | number | 10 | Minimum profit in USD to include | | minBuyback | number | 5 | Minimum buyback price to search sources | | maxResultsPerIsbn | integer | 3 | Top N opportunities per ISBN | ## 📤 Output Each result in the dataset: json { "isbn": "9780321982384", "bookTitle": "Linear Algebra and Its Applications", "rank": 1, "source": { "site": "ThriftBooks", "price": 5.99, "shipping": 3.99, "totalCost": 9.98, "condition": "Good", "sellerName": "ThriftBooks", "sellerRating": "98%", "url": "https://www.thriftbooks.com/..." }, "buyback": { "site": "BookScouter", "vendor": "Chegg", "price": 35.00, "url": "https://bookscouter.com/sell/..." }, "profit": 25.02, "roiPercentage": "250.7%", "timestamp": "2025-12-12T10:00:00Z" } ## 📈 Example Results From a test batch (ISBN 9780134753119 - "A First Course in Probability"): | Source | Buy | Sell To | Profit | ROI | |--------|-----|---------|--------|-----| | ThriftBooks | $9.48 | BooksRun $69.01 | $59.53 | 628% | | AbeBooks | $23.31 | BooksRun $69.01 | $45.70 | 196% | | AbeBooks | $32.88 | BooksRun $69.01 | $36.13 | 110% | ## ⚙️ Configuration Tips ### Find More Opportunities json { "minProfit": 5, "minBuyback": 3, "maxResultsPerIsbn": 5 } ### High-Value Only json { "minProfit": 25, "minBuyback": 10, "maxResultsPerIsbn": 1 } ## 💡 Tips - Most books (~95%) have $0 buyback - Focus on textbooks, not novels - Buyback quotes expire in 7 days - Act fast on opportunities - Condition matters - Only "Good" or better conditions are accepted by buyback vendors - US sellers preferred - Ensures delivery within quote window ## 🐛 Troubleshooting ### No Results Found Most books have no buyback value. Try: - Lowering minBuyback to 3 - Lowering minProfit to 5 - Using textbook ISBNs (not fiction/general books) ### Missing a Source Some ISBNs may not have listings on all sites. The actor searches all available sources and returns what it finds.