Not University staff?
If you are not university staff, you can arrange for your unwanted academic books to be collected from any home or work address in England and Wales.
A standard fee of £45 (payable in advance) applies per visit regardless of geographical location and quantity of books.
Collections are always subject to Simply Textbook’s existing schedule, availability in your area, and the quantity of books you have for collection.
If you can leave the books boxed or bagged outside your property without risk of them getting wet, it is not a requirement for you to be present when Simply Textbook arrives to collect from your property.
For smaller quantities, you may wish to pay to ship the books over by courier Royal Mail, DPD, Evri or InPost. Please send an email to matthew@simplytextbook.co.uk for further details.
Please note, Simply Textbook does not provide any drop-off facilities, either at its base in Swindon, or at any university that you are not personally connected with. You can only drop off at a university if you personally have a contact willing to store your books. Dropping your books off at a university does not guarantee that Simply Textbook will be able to collect.
In limited circumstances, it may be possible for you to bring your books to Swindon, and hand them over in person at a public meeting spot. This is typically restricted to Fridays. Please get in touch if you would like to arrange a hand over.
Assessing the viability of a collection
To help determine if your collection will or will not be possible and practical for Simply Textbook to carry out, the following criteria will be assessed:
- Your location
- Quantity of books
- Your flexibility on timing
Collections may be subject to a minimum or maximum quantity, dependent on your location, and the timing of your request.
Please note, it may be months before Simply Textbook will next be in your local area.
Location information
Simply Textbook is based in Swindon, Wiltshire.
Areas visited with greater regularity on average
- Swindon – all surrounding routes
- London/M25 (Central/North/West)
- Essex/M25/A12
- M4 corridor between London and Bristol/Bath
- Surrey/Sussex/M25/M23
- South Wales/M4
- West Midlands/M5/M6
- East Midlands/M1
- Cambridge/A11/M11
- North West/M6/M62
- North Wales/M6/M56/A55
- Yorkshire & North East/M1/A1M/M62
Areas visited less regularly by Simply Textbook
- South East (South East London & Kent)
- South West (beyond Bristol, and west of Southampton)
- East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk)
- Cumbria
- Northumberland (north of Newcastle)
- Yorkshire Dales
- Mid & West Wales
Areas NOT visited by Simply Textbook
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Isle of Wight
- Anywhere outside of the United Kingdom
£45 charge
Pricing is standard. Regardless of quantity and location, all collections are subject to a minimum £45 charge per visit, payable in advance by online bank transfer.
Any collection which requires multiple visits may be subject to a £45 charge per visit. In some rare cases of greater complexity, a further additional surcharge may apply, but this will always be explained, discussed and agreed with you up front.
Simply Textbook will provide you with a formal receipt confirming your collection once payment has been received.
If you wish to cancel or reschedule after paying the charge, you can do so for a full refund up to 23:59 the night before the collection. If you cancel or reschedule after 23:59 the night before the collection, the charge will not be returned.
If the books are not available for collection at the pre-arranged date, time and location, the £45 charge will not be returned.
If Simply Textbook does not collect your books for any reason outside of your control, your charge will either be refunded to you (within 3 working days), or your collection will be rescheduled for no additional charge.
Drop-offs
Simply Textbook does not offer a public drop-off facility.
In limited circumstances it may be possible to arrange an in-person handover of the books in a public location in the Swindon area at a pre-arranged time/date.
No payment for books
Simply Textbook does not offer any payment for books.
This is a paid-for service, offering a reliable and convenient solution for safely passing on unwanted books that you no longer wish to keep. Simply Textbook makes best possible use of the books, ensuring that they are kept away from landfill.
Items accepted
Please note, Simply Textbook is now only accepting published books that have an ISBN (preferably barcoded). If you have any significant quantity of books that pre-date ISBN, it is recommended that you contact a book dealer specialising in rare or antique books.
Items not accepted
Simply Textbook DOES NOT collect the following items: journals, periodicals, magazines, dissertations, manuals, reports, folders, newspapers, pamphlets, brochures, or any other paper items that are not published books with an ISBN. Please recycle any such materials.
Simply Textbook does not collect Encyclopaedia Britannica and other multi-volume mass market encyclopaedia sets. Please find another outlet for these.
Schools
Simply Textbook DOES NOT accept requests from from schools and colleges. This is due to significant challenges processing and redistributing large quantities of duplicate titles in generally poor resale condition.
Transferral of ownership
Once the books have been collected, you willingly transfer ownership to Simply Textbook for the purposes of finding them a new home or purpose.
Books cannot be returned once collected
For reasons of practicality, Simply Textbook cannot guarantee the retrieval or return of any books if they have been presented for collection in error.
Please be extremely careful to only present books that you are happy for Simply Textbook to collect and redistribute. Simply Textbook takes no responsibility for any books presented for collection in error.
If you do discover that a book has been presented for collection in error, it is imperative that you alert Simply Textbook at the very earliest opportunity possible. This will need to be within hours, not days.
Doorstep collections only
Simply Textbook DOES NOT enter private residences. It is your responsibility to unload all bookcases and bookshelves, and to pack boxes/bags ready for collection.
For health and safety reasons, Simply Textbook does not carry large quantities of books up and down stairs, unless completely unavoidable (e.g. lift out of service). All books must be ready for collection at ground or entrance level.
It is not essential for you to be home on the day of the collection. You are actually encouraged to leave the boxes/bags outside by your doorstep ready for collection, making a concerted effort to keep them dry if rain looks likely.
If you have read, understood and accept all of the above notices, please click below to proceed to the collection request form.