Calling TB college students: getting more money from your texts?

[Vince S.]

So for the past couple years of my college career, I've just been selling my books back at the school bookstore. The problem is that I get very little return (got something like 50 dollars last year for books that I initially paid close to 400 for). Any better ways to sell used texts?

[ADbassman]

Some independent companies will offer more, or you could sell them yourself via craiglist, flyers, what have you. By and large, you're not gonna get jack for them.

[Mark Latimour]

You might be able to do a deal with a student 1 year below you to sell them (on a continual basis) to the student (in good condition) for a set percentage of the original price. However, you are never going to get more than the market value for them.

[Bob Clayton]

I always just try and ask around. I never sell them back to the bookstore.

[iamlowsound]

Find someone that is a year below you and sell your books to them. You can usually get about half of what the bookstore sells them for. Also, don't buy texts from the bookstore, but from half.com.

lowsound

[Fontaine]

say your a second year, you sell them to stupid first years at half price, it's what i do.

[machine gewehr]

Determine a price.
Find a lonely defensless kid.
Grab him by the throat.
Yell him:"YOU WILL BUY MY BOOKS!!!!!"
Sell.

[Ben Lesser]

I gave up on selling my books back after first year, and just decided I'd use it as an excuse to build my library.

[sarcastro83]

worst case scenario, you can use them to prop up a wobbly table.

[tplyons]

I only sell back copies to the book store that are custom made for the school.

The rest are sold online, I don't recall what the website is though.

[Armueller2001]

Buy them and sell them on half.com or amazon.com

I lose about $5-10 per book when I do it this way. I will never, ever buy a book from the bookstores at their ridiculous prices.

[::::BASSIST::::]

When I went to university you could return the books within 14 days. I photocopied the hell out of them, hole punched and put them into binders. Then returned the texts. Saved me hundreds and hundreds. Still had to pay .04 a copy, but it worked out to about $5-10 a text.

[Kyon`]

I use to always be able to find someone who was looking to buy my old text books. Just ask the kids a year under you, I'm sure they would like to save some money from what is being sold at the campus book store and you'll get more in return. You just need to make it worthwhile for them to buy, so give them more then $10's off the store price, but enough for you to make something back. Heck some kids would advertise it astextbooks with all the important stuff highlighted and notes.

[Kyon`]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

When I went to university you could return the books within 14 days. I photocopied the hell out of them, hole punched and put them into binders. Then returned the texts. Saved me hundreds and hundreds. Still had to pay .04 a copy, but it worked out to about $5-10 a text.

Wow way to beat the system.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

When I went to university you could return the books within 14 days. I photocopied the hell out of them, hole punched and put them into binders. Then returned the texts. Saved me hundreds and hundreds. Still had to pay .04 a copy, but it worked out to about $5-10 a text.

Also completely illegal.

[::::BASSIST::::]

No denying that. It was a number of years ago.

[steve21]

illegal... but win.

i've just gotten used to getting boned.