BookHolders

Name

BookHolders

Legal name

BookHolders LLC

Website

https://bookholders.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Textbook Resale and Rental Services

NAICS

Book Retailers and News Dealers (45921)

akta.pro primary industry

Textbooks & Academic Books Retail (CRALAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

General Bookstores (New Books) (CRALAAAA)

Keywords

• Textbook resale services
• Textbook rental services
• Used book marketplace
• College bookstore alternative
• Academic notes publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

College Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Book Sales (New and Used): BookHolders sells both new and used textbooks and general books to students through their physical stores and website.
2. Book Rentals: Students can rent textbooks for a semester at a time with rentals starting as low as $4. Rentals are available online or at physical store locations.
3. Advantage Consignment Program: BookHolders acts as a consignment service, selling books on behalf of students for a 15% and $0.50 commission per book. Sellers receive the remainder of the sale price minus the commission.
4. Student Notes Sales (Terp Notes and Student Notes): BookHolders sells professional typed and handwritten class notes to students. Notes are sold in daily, exam, midterm, or semester packs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

BookHolders operates a textbook marketplace that lets college students buy, sell, and rent new and used textbooks both online and at four physical campus-adjacent stores in Maryland and Virginia. It runs a semester-based textbook rental program starting at $4 and offers a consignment-based Advantage program that sells books on behalf of students for a 15% plus $0.50 commission. The company also publishes and sells academic class notes (Terp Notes and Student Notes) in daily, midterm, exam, and semester packs.

Product overview

BookHolders operates a textbook marketplace with three interconnected core services: a buying/selling platform for new and used textbooks, a rental service with semester-based options, and a notes service (Terp Notes and Student Notes) for academic study materials. The platform supports both online transactions with shipping and in-store pickup at physical locations in College Park, Towson, Blacksburg, and Richmond. The Advantage program enables consignment-based selling where BookHolders takes a 15% and $0.50 commission to facilitate sales on behalf of sellers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TerpNotes: Professional typed notes for daily class lectures taken by hand-selected students. Also includes Student Notes for classes not covered by Terp Notes.

Products and services

• Book Buying/Selling Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Students can save significant amounts compared to campus bookstores (e.g., 'Maria from USF just saved $203.79 off the University of South Florida Bookstore price')
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Barnes & Noble College: Operates physical campus bookstores at U.S. universities—the incumbent channel BookHolders positions against on price and buyback. Same customer (college students), same SKU mix (new/used textbooks), but as a 1,000+ location national operator rather than a four-store regional.
• Knetbooks: Online-only textbook rental and buyback platform for college students. Same semester-rental mechanics and seller buyback offering as BookHolders' core products, competing head-on for the e-commerce slice of the same market.
• BookRenter: Textbook rental e-commerce site targeting college students with semester-based pricing. Mirrors BookHolders' $4–$26 rental tier concept at national scale.
• ThriftBooks: Large online used-book retailer with buyback program, serving general and academic used-book buyers including college students. Comparable operating model to BookHolders' used-book marketplace, but at materially greater scale and focused on general rather than strictly textbook inventory.
• Chegg: Online textbook rental, buyback, and study-help platform serving the same college-student textbook and study-materials needs as BookHolders, but at national scale and without a physical storefront presence. Closest functional comparison for rental/sell flows.
• ValoreBooks: Online used/new textbook marketplace with rental and buyback flows serving college students nationwide. Direct overlap with BookHolders' core buy/sell/rent value proposition, just without the campus-adjacent physical retail.
• Alibris: Online marketplace aggregating used, new, and rare book inventory including textbooks from independent sellers. Comparable used-textbook marketplace dynamics and seller-consignment-style model to BookHolders' Advantage program.
• Half Price Books: Physical + online retailer of new and used books including a strong textbook resale and buyback program across the U.S. Comparable mix of in-store retail and e-commerce for used textbooks targeting college students and the general reading market.

Broad incumbents

• Amazon (Textbooks): Mega-retailer with the largest used-textbook marketplace (and Amazon Trade-In buyback) shipping nationally from third-party sellers. Competes with BookHolders on online textbook pricing, selection, and shipping speed across the same customer base.

Emerging players

• SlugBooks: Course-material price comparison and rental platform for college students, allowing price-shopping across multiple textbook vendors. Overlaps with BookHolders' textbook discovery and rental flows but offers no inventory or buyback of its own.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bookholders_umd
• Facebookfacebook.com/bookholderscollegepark
• Instagraminstagram.com/bookholders
• Pinterestpinterest.com/bookholders
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/book-holders

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BookHolders