ThriftBooks Scraper: Cheap books, conditions, pricing and inventory specs

Extract clean product listings and complete condition prices from ThriftBooks.com for any genre, keyword, or book list, with 20+ columns including formats, conditions, and stock. Built for book dealers, collectors, price-comparison sites, and retail researchers who need real-world inventory details without manual copy-paste. Drop the data straight into n8n, Make, Zapier, Airtable, or Google Sheets. $7.99 per 1,000 results.

What does ThriftBooks Scraper do?

ThriftBooks is the largest online independent used books seller, with millions of high-quality cheap titles.

This Actor turns those public listing and search pages into clean, structured data you can analyze. Downloads up to 50 product listings per second (over 3,000 products per minute), pulling:

• Format & quality options: Every paperback, hardcover, mass market, and board book variation.
• Pricing & condition details: Detailed lists of available conditions (New, Like New, Very Good, Good, Acceptable) and their respective discount prices.
• Book specifications: Original MSRP prices, publisher, publication year, page counts, star ratings, and ISBN codes.

You can export everything as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML and load it into any spreadsheet, dashboard, or workflow tool.

Why use ThriftBooks Scraper?

Real inventory data is essential for competitive book dealing, pricing strategies, and catalog curation. ThriftBooks Scraper gives you the clean details automatically.

• Used book pricing strategies: Track prices by format and condition in real time to spot profitable arbitrage or list-matching opportunities.
• Inventory monitoring: Watch stock status (InStock, OutOfStock) to track the velocity of specific titles and authors.
• Price comparison sites: Keep your listings and catalogs synchronized against ThriftBooks' large used books inventory.
• Academics and textbooks: Find the most affordable textbooks and required course readings across multiple editions automatically.
• Rare book tracking: Detect first editions, signed copies, or collectibles across the catalog on a schedule.

How to use ThriftBooks Scraper

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console and go to the Input tab.
2. Pick your filters: choose specific category genres (like mystery-thriller-and-suspense) and keywords (like harry potter), or paste direct book URLs.
3. Set your limit: choose the maximum total products you want to return.
4. Click Start and wait for the results. Most runs finish in under a minute.
5. Download your data as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML. Connect your account to n8n, Make, or Zapier for automated workflows.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
mode	enum	Yes	How to browse: search by keyword, browse a category, or retrieve a specific book details page.
query	string	No	Search keyword terms, title names, or authors (active in Search mode).
category	enum	No	The book genre/category to browse (active in Category mode).
bookUrl	string	No	Paste direct ThriftBooks book page links.
maxItems	integer	Yes	Maximum number of products to return.
maxConcurrency	integer	No	How many pages to download in parallel.
debugLogging	boolean	No	Set to true to show detailed logging steps.
proxyConfiguration	object	Yes	Automated proxy settings. Default uses residential proxies.

---

Output

Each row in the dataset represents a single book variant. Here is a real-world example:

{
  "book_id": "249579",
  "url": "https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/harry-potter-and-the-chamber-of-secrets-by-jk-rowling/249579/",
  "scraped_at": "2026-06-19T10:31:04.414Z",
  "title": "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets",
  "author": "J.K. Rowling",
  "publish_year": 1998,
  "publisher": "Scholastic",
  "page_count": 368,
  "language": "English",
  "format": "Paperback",
  "condition": "Good",
  "price": 4.39,
  "price_formatted": "$4.39",
  "lowest_price": 4.39,
  "price_new": 28.56,
  "price_likenew": 12.79,
  "price_verygood": 9.49,
  "price_good": 6.79,
  "price_acceptable": 4.39,
  "msrp": 17.99,
  "discount_percent": 76,
  "availability": "InStock",
  "isbn10": "0439064864",
  "isbn13": "9780439064866",
  "rating": 3.37,
  "review_count": 23,
  "image_url": "https://i.thriftbooks.com/api/imagehandler/m/81F48E44BF15719E1662C93AD9E71A644D9C1B2B.jpeg"
}

Data table

Field	Type	Description
book_id	text	The product identification code.
url	link	Direct link to the book page.
scraped_at	date	The exact time this data was extracted.
title	text	Full book title.
author	text	Author or writer name.
category	text	Genre or book category name.
description	text	Full book summary copy.
publish_year	integer	The year of publication.
publisher	text	Publisher name.
page_count	integer	Total page count.
format	text	Format of the book edition (Paperback, Hardcover, Board Book).
condition	text	Quality condition (New, Like New, Very Good, Good, Acceptable).
price	number	Current active price in USD.
price_formatted	text	Formatted price with the dollar sign.
msrp	number	Original retail list price.
discount_percent	number	Savings percentage off original list price.
availability	text	Current stock status (InStock, OutOfStock).
rating	number	Average star rating out of 5.
review_count	number	Total number of customer reviews.
image_url	image	Cover image link.

Pricing

You pay only for product results successfully saved to your dataset. A typical run with 1,000 records costs exactly $7.99 and finishes in 10 to 30 seconds.

💰 Cost-Saving Tip: You can safely run this scraper on the lowest memory settings (512 MB or 1 GB) in your Apify settings. This is much cheaper to run than other tools on the market and will save you a lot of money!

Tips

• Start small: Run a small query with 10 to 20 products first to verify the data shape matches your needs.
• Combine filters: Search for specific keywords across different categories. The scraper automatically combines them to locate all products.
• Toggle proxy groups: Use US residential proxies for maximum reliability during large catalog scans.

FAQ, disclaimers, and support

Is scraping ThriftBooks legal? This scraper retrieves publicly visible product information that is open to the public and search engines. You are responsible for ensuring your usage complies with local regulations and the target site's guidelines. Do not scrape private account details or pages behind a login screen.

Why do I need proxies? The target site can use anti-bot screens to block automated visits. The scraper automatically manages rotating connections in the background to bypass these screens. No configuration is required.

What is the difference between price, sale_price, and msrp?

• price is the current active price you pay.
• msrp is the manufacturer suggested retail price (the original list price).
• discount_percent is the calculation of your savings.

What if some fields are blank? Some products do not have an original list price, reviews, or technical specifications. Optional fields are left blank, and the spreadsheet tables handle them gracefully.

Can I get a custom solution? Open an issue in the Actor's Issues tab in Apify Console for feature requests, custom requirements, or integration help.