Textbooks: Buying and Selling

The Government Accountability Office (gao.gov), which defines itself as the “investigative arm of Congress,” announced in a July 2005 report that a first-year college student in a four-year or two-year university spends $898 and $886 a year respectively on textbooks and supplies. There is no doubt that costs will continue to rise. Some helpful tips and advice are listed below to help you make smart decisions when buying and selling textbooks.

Options for Buying Textbooks

• Buy from the college bookstore. One advantage to buying textbooks from a college bookstore is the convenience. There is no concern about a book not being received in the mail in time for the first class. Also, you are nearly guaranteed to have access to the exact book that a professor requires, including the correct edition of the text and any supplemental supplies such as CD-ROMS that are included with the book. College bookstores traditionally offer used textbooks as well as new; the used versions are available on a first-come, first-served basis. College bookstores, however, often have some of the highest prices for textbooks. The crush of people in the store at the beginning of the term can also put people on edge.
  
  
• Buy online. The Internet has countless online stores where textbooks can be bought and sold. Some of the more familiar names include Amazon.com, Half.com, and barnesandnoble.com. Websites such as bigwords.com and allbookstores.com provide book prices from multiple booksellers. Comparison shopping textbooks online gives students the chance to find a great deal. There are some drawbacks, however, to buying books online. Books can be shipped from anywhere in the world. If you choose a low-priced book and it ships from India, the wait time to receive the book may be substantial and the book may not arrive before classes begin. There is also the chance that the ordered book is the wrong edition or it is missing the accompanying CD-ROM or other materials.
  
  The best way to find the book you’re looking for online is via a book’s ISBN. This is the International Standard Book Number and every single book has a different number. A textbook with multiple editions will have a unique ISBN for each edition. An ISBN can usually be found above the barcode on the back cover of a book or on the Copyright information page under the Library of Congress information.
  
  
• Buy the International Version. Many American textbooks have an edition that is sold in the United States and an edition that is sold internationally. The American version is a hard-covered book with glossy pages and color illustrations. The international version is usually a soft-covered book with thinner pages and black and white print only. The international version of a textbook may also have a thick border on it stating that it is an international version. The international versions of textbooks are often much cheaper than their American counterparts. Reports from American students on the web state that the paper quality is poorer in international editions but that there is no difference in page numbering and the practice problems are identical to the American textbook.
  
  An international edition textbook is considered a “grey market” item. Investopedia.com defines a grey market as, “A market where a product is bought and sold outside of the manufacturer's authorized trading channels”. It is legal to buy the international edition of a book; however, you will probably be unable to sell the book back to a college bookstore. Some online retailers will buy international textbooks. Abebooks.com is one online bookseller that buys and sells international textbooks. Please note: international textbooks may have a different ISBN than the American version. When looking for an international version, it is best to search for a book by author and title. Thanks to Biblio.com for the tip!
  
  
• Rent Your Textbooks. It is also possible to rent textbooks. Books can be rented for a semester, quarter, or summer session. There is a fee to rent books; the rental price increases with the length of time books are kept. It is also possible, from certain providers, to buy a textbook you have rented if you decide you’d like to keep it. Campusbookrentals.com, chegg.com, and whyrentbooks.com are all online retailers that rent textbooks. Whyrentbooks.com also gives users the chance to rent out their old textbooks for profit. Please see their web site for more details. Also, campusgrotto.com deserves credit for bringing the author’s attention to textbook rental.
  
  
• Buy textbooks from local students. The cheapest way to buy a textbook may be to buy it from another student. For example, let’s say Jane and Robert are both freshmen at Ivy College. Jane took Composition 101 during the fall quarter. Robert is taking the same class during winter quarter. Robert knows that Jane took Composition 101 in the fall and that he will require the same textbook she used. Robert can ask Jane to sell him her Composition 101 textbook, offering her slightly more money than she would receive if she sold the book back to the bookstore. Jane comes out ahead in the deal and Robert pays far less for his Composition 101 textbook than he would at the bookstore.
  
  
• Borrow and loan textbooks. The ideal way to get textbooks is to get them for free. This is where dorm mates, roommates, friends, and upperclassmen can all come in handy. Many colleges require certain classes to be taken in order to graduate. Oftentimes these classes will use the same textbook for multiple quarters or semesters. One way to get books on the cheap is for students to borrow and loan books between themselves. When no one else wants the book, the original owner can then try to sell the book or they may choose to keep it. One drawback to borrowing and lending textbooks is that a student may borrow a textbook they later wish they had bought and kept for themselves. A student should decide if the book they need could be a valuable reference later on. If so, the student may want to buy the book instead of borrow it.
  
  
• Borrow your textbook from the library. Some professors will place a copy of the course textbook on reserve at the library so that students may have access to it. These reserved items may not be removed from the library, and they usually have a two-hour viewing limit, after which the book must be returned to the desk so that other students can use it. The library may also have a copy of the textbook available for check out. If the college library does not have the textbook, see if another library does and if you can borrow it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Your reference desk librarian will be able to help you with this.

Selling Your Textbooks

• Sell your book to the bookstore during buyback time. The quickest and easiest way to sell your textbooks is to do so via the local bookstore. New editions and popular titles can receive up to 50% of the purchase price of the book. Be warned, however, unpopular titles or a book that has a new edition coming out will be offered little or no money. Buyers won’t buy books unless they know they can sell them. Don’t be afraid to say no! If the bookstore offers you a low price for your textbook, it is perfectly acceptable to say “no, thank you” and leave with your book.


• Sell your books online. The most profitable way to sell textbooks appears to be selling them online. There are several options for doing this. You can attempt to sell your books yourself through a site like eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook. Multiple websites also offer to buy books directly from students and to pay the shipping. A quick look with any search engine will provide a lengthy list of such companies.


• Sell your books to other students. Offer students a better price than they’ll find in the bookstore and a higher price than you can receive at book buyback and everyone ends up a winner!


• Keep your textbooks. This is not the most popular option, but it’s one that deserves careful consideration. Take a longer view than the twenty dollars you want for your textbook. Is the book one that pertains to your major? A pre-med student, for example, would be wise to keep his or her Anatomy and Physiology book. Is the book a useful reference tool? If you are taking Calculus II, keeping the Calculus I book is probably a good idea. Take an even longer view. Pretend that you are working in your field of study after you graduate; is the textbook one you can go to and privately refresh your memory with so that you are at the top of your game? That instant source of information (and your boss’s opinion of you) is worth more than the twenty dollars at buyback, it’s priceless.
  
  Certain textbooks are classics in their field. They are universally known and may be referred to by a nickname (“The Camel Book”) or by the author’s last name “McMurray”). The author of this article (who studied science) is reminded of a day in her college career that highlights this idea. The professor was about to read aloud from the textbook and he announced, with mock gravity, “A reading from the good book…” When a professor makes a joke about a textbook being equal to the Bible (and he isn’t the author of the book), that’s a good indication that you should hang onto that textbook!
  
  As a student progresses in their studies he or she will become more aware of who the movers and shakers are and what books are “important”. Keep these resources; they are valuable reference materials. Before selling any book a student should ask him or herself, “Am I going to regret this when I get out of school? Will I wish I had kept this book when I’m working in my field”? If the answer if yes, keep the book. If the answer is truly no, hopefully these suggestions will help you to get top dollar for your textbook. Good luck!

Spending so much time online looking for a bargain textbook can put your computer at risk for a spyware infection or a virus. Don’t forget to protect yourself and your computer! Oversight Technology offers several useful programs for students. Back-Up Pro can create back-up copies of all of your school projects, including theses and dissertations. These copies can be stored remotely (in an email account for example) so that your research is safe even if your computer is stolen. Use Oversight’s Houdini program to hide your private files from your roommates. The System Sentinel anti-spyware program protects your computer from adware, spyware, Trojans, viruses, and other malicious programs.

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