|
Buying and Selling Textbooks by Richard Gonzalez
Some recommendations on buying modern textbooks. I do it all the time but, there is a trick to it that you may want to share with your readers. You can make a lot of money from
textbooks because they can be bought for a couple of dollars and sold for 30-70 dollars.
- Make sure that the text is in at least good condition. A lot of times, highlighting is no big deal as long as you let
the buyer know.
- Textbooks are worth a little more if they come with a cd-rom, usually at the back of the book. Most students don't care if it's there because most never use it. Again, let the buyer know if
it's missing.
- Always, always, ALWAYS, let the buyer know if the text is missing anything. Be very honest with condition. It's okay to say things like: Small tear on last page, highlights in pencil, first 18
pages with notes and the rest mint.
- Sell on Half.com or, if need be sell texts on eBay. I've been on Half for several years and I love it. I like eBay for most things but texts seem to sell for less on eBay.
- Okay, here is the MOST important thing about buying texts at thrift stores. Ready? Never, EVER buy a text that is less than 2 years old counting back from the current year. Today it's 2006 so now I won't
buy a text older than 2004. Also, don't buy texts that have been published by the publisher AND the college. Sometimes, professors can add chapters or or other personal work to a text, then the publisher will
print on demand.
- Professors often get free texts from publishers that they don't want or need. Some prof's are more than willing to sell them to you very, very cheaply because they usually just want
them out of the way. This is a very nice way for college students to make a few extra bucks.
- If you do buy the texts from prof's they will likely be marked "professional copy" or "not for
resale" or some such wording. It's no big deal but since honesty is best when selling online, just make VERY sure that the buyer knows what's stamped on the cover. I've sold a lot of texts with those words on
the cover since most students don't really care what's on the cover anyway.
- Students are also very willing to sell you their texts very cheaply /after/ the normal book buyback has ended. I have even had
students just give me their texts rather than try to resell them. The ones that do that are normally on scholarship and didn't pay for them in the first place.
Richard Gonzalez
|
