Case study: World of Books x Longfield Community Hospice

Longfield Hospice: Turning books into care across Gloucestershire, supporting local people with life-limiting illnesses

Longfield Community Hospice provides free, compassionate care to adults with life-limiting conditions throughout Gloucestershire.

Longfield Community Hospice logo
Logo from longfield.org.uk

With 21 shops across the county, Longfield relies on public donations to fund over 85% of its services, making every item donated a vital source of income.

From Hospice at Home visits to family support, their team of nurses and healthcare assistants work 365 days a year, ensuring comfort, dignity, and care for patients at the end of life.

Maximising every donation

Faced with rising costs and increasing demand for services, Longfield needed a way to generate more value from book donations. Previously, books not suitable for sale in-store were sent to rag boxes, earning 5p per kilo. This method offered minimal return and limited capacity for growth.

£20 could pay for a nurse or carer’s uniform

£60 could pay for a Hospice at Home visit with two carers

£100 could pay for three telephone counselling sessions

By adopting Sell Your Books Pro, Longfield introduced a new revenue stream that transformed how their shops and warehouse operate. Staff and volunteers now scan donated books using the platform, instantly identifying items with resale value. This process allows them to divert high-value stock to Sell Your Books Pro while keeping suitable titles for in-store sale.

“The way we utilise Sell Your Books Pro has changed the way our shops teams operate by having another way to sell books than just to sell in the shops and online. Our 21 shops and warehouse scan books to maximise all book donations. It's helped bring a new stream of revenue to our shops and to our charity that we wouldn't have had previously.”

Martyn Shaw, E-Commerce and Systems Manager

Financial impact

Since joining the platform in August 2022, Longfield has:

£84,000 in additional income from over 5,000 trades

£18,575 raised in 2024–25 from 51 trades alone

3x more book income compared to their previous rag box model

The platform has also helped streamline payments and improve efficiency. With fast processing and direct bank transfers, Longfield receives payment within days, allowing them to reinvest quickly into their services.

Operational efficiency across 21 shops

Sell Your Books Pro has been rolled out across all 21 Longfield shops and their central warehouse. The onboarding process was simple, with training delivered via Teams and ongoing weekly support from a dedicated Customer Success Manager from Sell Your Books Pro.

The intuitive design of the platform means that both staff and volunteers can use it confidently, regardless of technical experience. This ease of use has enabled Longfield to scale their scanning operation and maximise the value of every book donation.

“I’m delighted to see the continued, year-on-year growth across key scanning metrics from revenue generation, shop engagement, to submitted trades at Longfield Hospice. With over 90% of the estate trading monthly, the process has firmly been established at shop level becoming a consistent source of additional income and means of maximising the item value. Working with such a committed and proactive team has been a pleasure with collaborative initiatives such as performance tracking, identifying growth opportunities, promotions, and shop training paying dividends in generating additional funds to support the wonderful work the charity is so passionate about.”

Ryan Oskwarek, Customer Success Manager

Stock management and space optimisation

The platform has also improved how Longfield manages stock. By scanning and sorting books more efficiently, shops can process donations faster and free up space for new stock. Items rejected by the platform are redirected to the shop floor or other resale channels, ensuring nothing goes to waste.

This flexibility has allowed Longfield to accept more donations than ever before, without compromising on quality or storage capacity.

Continuing to care

For Longfield, the additional revenue generated through Sell Your Books Pro directly supports their mission to provide free care across Gloucestershire. Every scanned book contributes to funding services that help people live well, die well, and be cared for with dignity.

“Embracing new ways of working and exploring different avenues is always the best way to go, especially in this current financial climate. Every donation has to make as much money as it possibly can. I completely recommend Sell Your Books Pro to any charity or e-commerce team. It's a great way of selling excess books and continuing to take in donations and not having to turn people away.”

Martyn Shaw, E-Commerce and Systems Manager

Corporate Member showcase

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