Scout FAQ

Scouting is buying and selling: you find used books out in the world and buy them with your own money, then we buy the ones we want from you at the price our app quoted. You are an independent reseller, not an employee. You decide if, when, where, and how much you scout. There are no set hours, no minimums, and no assigned routes.

In practice it is scan, batch, submit, drop off, get paid. Scan a book to see our live quote, add it to a batch, submit the batch when you are ready to lock the prices, then get the books to us. The sections below cover each step in detail.

The one rule that matters

A price is only locked when you submit the batch to us. Until you submit, every price you see is indicative and can change, because our prices update over time and a rescan gets the current rate.

The two 7-day windows

• Scan to submit. Each book has 7 days from the day you scanned it to be part of a batch you submit. A book not submitted within 7 days of its scan goes void and needs a fresh scan at the current offer. Taking a book out of an unsubmitted batch just puts it back on live pricing; re-add it later and it takes the current rate, and it may no longer qualify.
• Submit to drop off. Submitting locks every price in the batch, and those locked prices are valid for 7 days. Get the books to us within 7 days of submitting.

If you mail a batch

Mailing is fine. What matters is the carrier, not the postbox: tracking has to show the carrier accepted the package within 7 days of when you submitted. Meet that and you are paid the locked price for every book that passes inspection. Later than that, the books need to be rescanned and requoted, which can raise, lower, or void the offer.

After you drop off

We inspect the batch. Books that pass are paid at their locked prices, and you get an itemized invoice recording what we accepted and the amount. Payment goes to your e-Transfer email, normally within 3 working days and at most 7. Books that do not pass inspection stay yours: take them back on your next drop-off, or ask us to donate or recycle them.

Practical habit: scan, batch, and submit as you go, then drop off within the week.

Ask us for approval before buying any book quoted above $100.

You are an independent reseller, so you handle your own taxes. We do not withhold tax or issue employment slips. We keep records of what we buy from you and pay you, and you get an itemized invoice for every purchase.

If you are GST-registered, you must tell us and give us your GST number during onboarding, before you submit any batches, and let us know if your status changes. This catches more people than you would think: if you drive for a ride-share or delivery app such as Uber or Lyft, you are already GST-registered, and that registration covers your book sales to us too.

When you are registered, GST is added on top of your locked prices. A batch with $100 of locked prices pays you $105, the invoice shows the $5 GST against your number, and you remit it with your GST return. Registered or not, you take home the same amount for the same books. There is no BC PST on books.

You can scan with the camera built into the app at any time, no equipment needed. If you would rather use a dedicated Bluetooth barcode scanner, you may request a loaner for a free two-week starter loan. Loaners are optional and limited, so requesting one does not guarantee you will get one.

• If you are selected for a loaner, you pick it up at our Surrey office, where we do a quick ID check for security while our equipment is on loan to you.
• Scanners must be returned within 14 days of our request or your account closure, whichever is sooner.
• After the starter period, or if you are not selected for a loaner, you can keep scanning with your phone's camera, or buy your own Bluetooth scanner: our recommended model is on the scout resources page. Loaner scanners are always returned, not bought.
• Returned units go to the next new scout. Normal wear and honest failures are on us. A unit that is lost, damaged beyond wear, or not returned costs the replacement price, capped in your Scanner Loan Agreement, and can be deducted from book payments owed.

Setup and troubleshooting for the scanner live in your dashboard resources. If you are stuck, bring the unit to your next drop-off and we will sort it there.

You can close your scout account at any time, from the Close account tab in your dashboard. Here is exactly what happens, step by step. It is the same wind-down set out in your Scout Agreement.

1. You request closure. Tell us in the dashboard, with a reason if you want. That starts the wind-down.
2. Your access ends. We deactivate your account. You keep read access to the dashboard so you can still see your final payout and records.
3. Final payout of accepted batches. We still pay you for every batch we already accepted, at the locked prices, to your e-Transfer email.
4. Deliver outstanding books. Submitted batches can still be delivered until the earlier of their original deadline and 7 days after you close. After that, those quotes lapse.
5. Return your scanner. If you have a loaner, it must be returned within 14 days of our request or your account closure, whichever is sooner, per your Scanner Loan Agreement. Its replacement terms apply if you do not.
6. We handle your data. We keep the records the law requires (purchase and tax records) and delete the rest within the time the law allows. The details are in our privacy policy.

We buy books that match their scan and are in honest resale condition. Normal used-book wear is fine; water damage, mold, heavy marking, missing pages, a broken binding, and counterfeit copies are not. The full list of what we accept and what we decline is on the condition standards page in your dashboard resources, and the standard that applies to a book is the one in effect when you scanned it.

If a book is borderline, message us before you buy rather than after. See Contact and support below for how to reach us.

The quickest way to reach us is through your dashboard, or by email at [email protected]. That is also where formal notices go, rather than to any individual person.

The scout program is currently limited to the Vancouver, BC area. If you are not sure whether something is covered here, ask; we would rather answer a question than have you guess.