What Is Trove?
Trove is a community marketplace for book thrifters and collectors. The core idea is simple: when you're standing in a thrift store aisle holding a book, Trove tells you instantly whether anyone in the community wants it — and what they'll pay.
On the other side, collectors add books to their grail wishlist and get notified the moment a thrifter finds one. The app handles discovery, communication, and payment links in one place, so deals happen fast.
Trove is organized around two roles that most members play interchangeably:
- Thrifters — people who visit thrift stores, scan books, and sell finds to the community
- Collectors — people building wishlists of specific books or editions they're hunting
Most Trove members are both. You might sell three books on a Saturday and spend the next week hunting a specific edition for your own shelf.
Creating Your Account
Download Trove from the App Store or Google Play. When you open the app for the first time, you'll be prompted to create an account:
- Enter your email address and choose a password, or sign in with Apple or Google.
- Verify your email (check your inbox for a confirmation link).
- Choose a username — this is how other members will identify you. It's public and appears on your listings, messages, and ratings. Keep it concise and memorable.
- Accept the community guidelines. Trove is a community built on trust; a few baseline rules keep it that way.
Tip: Your username can't be changed after 30 days, so take a moment to pick something you'll be happy with. Many members use a book-related handle or their real first name plus a number.
Setting Up Your Profile
Your profile is the first thing a potential buyer or seller sees before they decide whether to message you. A complete profile builds trust and leads to faster deals.
Venmo and PayPal Handles
Trove doesn't process payments directly — instead, it generates deep links to Venmo and PayPal so money moves through those apps. To make this work, add your handles in Settings → Profile → Payment Info:
- Venmo: Your @handle (e.g.,
@jana-k). Found in the Venmo app under your profile. - PayPal: Your PayPal.me username or the email address tied to your PayPal account.
You don't need to add both — even one payment method is enough to transact. But having both gives buyers flexibility and signals you're serious about selling.
Profile Photo and Bio
Add a profile photo (even a casual one helps). A short bio — "Boston-based collector hunting 1960s sci-fi paperbacks" — tells the community who you are at a glance and often makes people more likely to message you.
Your First Search
Tap the magnifying glass icon to search. You can search by:
- Title or author — e.g., "Blood Meridian" or "Cormac McCarthy"
- ISBN — enter any 10- or 13-digit ISBN to pull up a specific edition
- Barcode scanner — point your camera at a barcode to look up instantly
- Cover scanner — photograph the cover to identify a book without a barcode
Search results show you the book's editions, current shelf listings (books for sale), active grail entries (people who want it), and any nearby sightings reported by community members.
Adding Your First Grail
A grail is a book you're hunting. When you add something to your grail list, you're telling the community: "I want this, and here's what I'll pay."
- Find the book using search (title, author, or ISBN).
- If you want a specific edition, tap Browse Editions and select the printing you want. Otherwise, you can grail any edition of the title.
- Tap Add to Grail List.
- Set your max price — the most you're willing to pay. This is shown to thrifters when they scan the book, so be honest. You can edit it any time.
- Add optional notes for the seller — "Good+ condition or better only," "Dust jacket required," etc.
- Tap Save.
Your grail entry is now live. Any thrifter who scans that book will see your username, the max price you've listed, and your notes.
Note: Your grail list is public by default, but you can set individual entries to private in Settings → Privacy. Private grails still generate notifications when a match is found — they just don't appear in community lookups.
What Happens When a Match Is Found
When a thrifter finds a book on your grail list and posts it to their shelf (or even just scans it), you'll receive a push notification immediately:
"mrbooks listed Blood Meridian in Good+ condition for $14. You had this on your grail list."
Tap the notification to open the listing, see the condition notes and photos, and tap Message Seller to start a conversation. From there, you can negotiate, agree on a price, and send payment — all without leaving the app.
If the book sells to someone else before you respond, the listing is marked Sold and you'll see a prompt to keep it on your grail list for the next time one surfaces.
Tip: Enable push notifications for Trove. Match alerts are time-sensitive — a desirable book can attract multiple messages in minutes. Members who respond quickly win more deals.
Trove Pro — For Power Collectors
The free version of Trove gives you full access to scanning, listing, messaging, and the grail list. Trove Pro is a subscription for members who want more:
- Advanced filters on the shelf browser — filter by condition, price range, edition, location, and seller rating simultaneously
- Unlimited cover scans — free accounts have a monthly limit on cover photo identification; Pro is unlimited
- Priority notifications — your grail match alerts are delivered before free-tier users, giving you a head start on responding
- Grail list insights — see how many thrifters have scanned books on your list in the past 30 days, and at which stores
- Expanded sightings map — see sightings reported up to 100 miles away, versus 25 miles for free users
To subscribe, go to Settings → Trove Pro. Subscriptions are managed through the App Store or Google Play and can be cancelled any time.