College Textbook Buyback: The Reality of Trying to Keep Money in Your Pocket

One of the many extra expenses that one will incur when they are in college is purchasing textbooks and supplies for their courses. In general, if a student is taking a full load of courses, which is considered to have more than 12 credit hours, he or she can expect to pay more than $250 for textbooks and supplies. However, this estimate can be lower or much more depending on the type of course you are taking. If you are taking a science-based course, you can easily spend $200 on that one class when you purchase the required textbook, lab book and study book. Also, if you do not purchase you books early enough you can forget getting a used textbook, because they sell out quickly. Having said that, there are some perks to buying college textbooks and a major perk is selling those books back.

Most colleges call this Textbook Buy Back. This usually begins during finals of each semester. You take in your textbooks and sell them back to the college bookstore. This sounds great and when you do this for the first time you imagine getting at least 60% of what you paid for the books. Well, the fact of the matter is that you hardly ever get 50% of the textbook purchase price back. Although this is not a good deal, you do get some money back. There are a few things to keep in mind when selling your textbook back.

Tip#1

Know What Courses are Being Offered Next Semester

This is important because if you have purchased a book during fall semester for a class that is only offered in the fall, more than likely you will have to wait until Spring Semester to sell the book back. This is because, the system is based on demand. If there is no demand for the textbook, because there will not be a course taught using that book the nest semester, then you will not be able to sell it at your bookstore.

If this is the case, you can do some research and check to see if any of the surrounding colleges for using that book the following semester. If they are, you can sell the textbook the their bookstore. When you do this, you may not get premium price, because the book did not come from their bookstore and you are not a student from that institution. However, you will get it should, if there is a need, and you will have some much needed cash.

Another, idea is to post up some book for sell ads around campuses and online. This way you can state the price and most likely get a better deal. Keep in mind, if you paid 60.00 for a used textbook, don't except to sell it for 60.00, try selling it for 40.00 or 45.00. There are a few websites that you can check out to see if you can sell your text to them online. These sites are pretty good to use and I have gotten great deals using them for purchases and sells. They are Amazon.com, bigwords.com and ecampus.com

Tip#2

The Professors Play a Role in the Process Also

Just because the class is being offered the next semester does not guarantee that you will be able to sell the textbook back. This can happen when the Professors order a new edition for the class. A con to this is that everyone will be paying full price for the textbook next semester and you will be stuck with the book. The brighter side to this is that those who purchase the new edition will be able to sell the text back during the end of their semester of study. When this happens , you will most likely have to try selling your book online or by posting ads up. Another alternative is to donate the book or keep the it. You never know when you will need to refresh your skills or use it as a reference for another class or proposal for work.

Tip#3

Do Not Stall

Once you know that your textbook will be bought back , do not hesitate to go ahead and sell it. The longer you wait the lesser the demand becomes and you may end up with no cash and an untellable book. Also expect to wait in line for a while because most of the time the buyback checkout desk only has a few people working it.

Tip#4

Know What You Need

Picture this, you know you can sell back the book, you have stood in line for over twenty minutest only to get to the end of the process to find out that you must have your college id to get you money. This has happened to many and it is so annoying because, rules are rules and the cashiers can not do you a one time favor that could jeopardize their job. There is no need to try and argue you way out of the situation. When this happens the best thing you can do for yourself and those waiting in line behind you is grab your books back and go get your student id. Once you get your id go back as soon as possible because if you wait too long you lose out on some cash.

Also, if your textbook came with any extra materials like c.d., video or audio tapes make sure you have them. In many cases, you can not sell the book back if you do not have those items. Also, if you bought a used book that was suppose to have a c.d. with it and it did not, ask the cashier for one. Usually they do. In all the textbook buy back will not get you tons of cash in your pocket but it will give you enough to go out and have a good Friday night.