From the left: Winnie, baby Jasmine, Kaya, Daphne, little Landon, and Jason.

How They Got Started

Winya LLC also known as WinyaBooks got started in Oregon in 2013 when Winnie was a stay-at-home mom to their oldest child and pregnant with their second. She wanted to earn some extra income by selling something online. She was inspired by a sister-in-law who sold jeans online. Winnie made a list full of things she could sell. One of things on the list was books. She then remembered someone she knew who started with just a few books in his apartment, started doing book buybacks, and then opened his own store. She then wrote down a bunch of questions to ask and gave him a call. He was very helpful and gladly answered all her questions and follow up questions. She then started contacting several bookstores on and off campus throughout the country. She did a lot of research! With confidence she bought several books to sell locally and online. There is always something so powerful experiencing the very first sale. It gave her hope. Through trial and error, she started to do book buybacks and sell on Amazon. Within 3 years, Jason was able to quit his job and work with Winnie full time. It was a scary time to no longer have the reassurance of having a paycheck every other week. They knew they had something with a huge potential and knew that they now had to make it work even better. Each year they focus on developing and expanding their services to better meet the students’ needs. Their tagline “It’s not about the books, it’s about the students”, isn’t just a slogan on the wall, they really mean it. Their efforts show and is appreciated as shown in the reviews they have been given.

WinyaBooks used to be called Cheaper College Books as well as books2cash. As the business continued to grow, it was decided that it was best to rebrand the whole company including changing the LLC name from Ballard Books LLC.

Winya derives from Winnie and their oldest child’s name, Kaya. When Kaya was only 7 years old back in 2017, she showed interest in the family business. She was then given around 200 books. At such a young age she was able to put them on excel for inventory all by herself as well as list them on Amazon all by herself as well. She did this whenever she wanted and was given 100% of the profit.

Currently WinyaBooks is an Amazon Prime seller, owner/creator of the app called WinyaBooks, a store owner in Provo, Utah, have multiple online partners that gives over 15 million quotes per month, and have a growing number of drop boxes conveniently located for students. This is what Jason and Winnie do full time along with their team. This is what provides for their family: food on the table, roof over their heads, dance, and ukulele classes for the kids, etc. They are so grateful for all the support they have received. They know that they would not be where they are today without the students and parents who continue to support them. They want to make sure that they continue to be reliable, honest, and have exceptional customer service!

WinyaBooks, Rescuing students one book at a time!

Donations

WinyaBooks does accept donations. You are welcome to donate books that they are not buying.

They donate books to Deseret Industries (DI) who does humanitarian relief efforts around the world. DI also help people get back on their feet by providing valuable work experience through training, on the job experience, and business partnerships to help people develop skills and confidence. They also help people with career and technical education by partnering with community colleges, applied technology centers, and other institutions.

Also, WinyaBooks has partnered with a 501(c)(3) non-profit called Village Book Builders! Together we build libraries and mentor students in countries such as Mexico, Nepal, Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Peru etc. WinyaBooks owners have been mentoring kids in Biwi, Malawi! If you have books to donate (in any level from elementary to college) to help kids in disadvantaged communities, please email: jason.ballard@villagebookbuilders.org.

About the Ballards

Jason Ballard grew up in Gaston, OR. He served a church mission for 2 years in the Philippines. While there he fell in love with the culture and people. He is fluent in Tagalog. He also loves to cook and can cook Filipino food!

Winnie Ballard was born and raised in the Philippines and move to Northern California when she was 10. She met Jason while attending BYU-Idaho. They ended up performing a Filipino dance together called Tinikling. Right after they both graduated, they went to China to teach English at an elementary school in Changzhou which is near Shanghai. Each had a total of over 900 students!

Jason and Winnie have been married since 2007. They have four kids: Kaya, Daphne, Landon and Jasmine. Kaya is a fast learner, loving, and kind. She has grown to be an amazing artist. Daphne is hilarious! She'll make you laugh without even trying. She's also very natural in ballet and loves to dance. Landon is so strong that he started to scoot on his belly during his first tummy time when he was only 2 months old! He also loves to play hide and seek and give hugs and kisses. Jasmine is the most chill baby. She’s so patient! She also looks the most Asian and is so ticklish!

Books They Buy

WinyaBooks is a family business near BYU and UVU. Their goal is to help students all over the nation. They buy, sell, and rent college books. They buy competitively as well as sell and rent cheaper than campus.

They buy books such as binder versions (loose leaf), paperback, hardcover, and spiral books from students throughout different schools. Since they sell online nationally, they may still find value in books that are no longer needed in one school because another school may still need them. To make it easier, they offer free shipping.

Books donated by locals and WinyaBooks to a new university at Lira in Northern Uganda, Africa.

WinyaBooks supported the BYU Refugee Empowerment Club by attending their fundraising event and buying some of their books. They were fundraising to support higher education for refugees. They support organizations who are making a difference in our community like One Refugee.