With the school year at an end, you’re either graduating or gearing up for the next semester. Either way, you’ll want to sell those old textbooks so they don’t end up collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. But what’s the best way to sell your textbooks to make the most money from them? Here we’ve provided some details on how to get the best price for your textbooks, so read on to discover the most effective ways to sell.
First, Take Care of The Books
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be amazed at how many students treat their textbooks poorly and can’t get a decent return on them. Vendors want to see books that are in relatively good condition since they’ll be selling those books back to other students eventually.
Taking care of your books should be number one on your list when it comes to getting a return on the investment. Avoid spills by moving drinks away from your books, and do your best to keep the pages and especially the spine and binding intact.
Books with ripped or missing pages are usually rejected, and spine damage is almost a guarantee that your book will not be accepted. Turn pages slowly (from the top), and be careful who you loan your books to.
You can also purchase book covers to keep the outside of your books free of blemishes. Though minor blemishes usually don’t warrant a rejection from book vendors, they don’t look good, and so can reduce the value of your used book.
Try to Avoid Campus Stores
Besides the long lines, you’ll want to avoid campus bookstores simply for their low buyback offers. While stores deal in both used and new books, they are paying for brand new books and marking them up to meet the costs of running a brick and mortar location.
Another way these stores account for those costs is by reducing buyback offers. In fact, taking your book to the campus bookstore for resale will probably get you the lowest price offer out of all of your options.
Used items automatically come with a value reduction as soon as you purchase them, but used textbooks can actually retain more value than the campus stores want you to know. Opt for a private or online sale before resorting to selling the book back to your campus.
Online Vendors
Online vendors are some of the most efficient buyback tools available to you as a student. The process is usually pretty similar. You’ll provide the book’s ISBN number to the site, you’ll get a cash offer, and once you’ve accepted the offer, you’ll be provided with a printable shipping label to send your books with.
Shipping is almost always free so you won’t incur any costs while selling your textbooks online. Payments are made after the books are received and reviewed for quality. You can elect to receive your payments in a variety of ways, from PayPal to direct deposit into your bank account, to a traditional paper check.
Some of the big names in the industry are BooksRun, Decluttr, Chegg, Bookscouter, and Cash4Books. Each of these sites has a huge library of used textbooks, and Bookscouter actually helps you get the best deal possible by comparing offers from over 40 vendors on the web.
If you’re looking for efficiency and maximum profit from your old textbooks, online vendors are the way to go. There’s no cost, no lines, just cold hard cash sent to you for those old books.
Private Sales
If you’re unsure where to sell old textbooks, you can opt for a private sale. With this type of sale, you’ll be able to set your asking price, as well as negotiate your preferred meeting place with the buyer. You can post your sale to social media marketplaces to maximize exposure and ensure you find the right buyer for your book.
This is probably the most profitable way to turn around old textbooks. You can ask for a reasonable price that’s still less than a brand new book, but more than the offers you would receive from online vendors.
Helping out another student adds further value to the transaction, as you could be saving them anywhere from dozens to even hundreds of dollars in book costs. We all know what it’s like to have to buy that brand new book that costs nearly $300.
Always Compare Offers
For the best price on anything, it’s always good practice to compare several offers before making a decision. You can compare online vendors with each other and campus offers, as well as any private offers you’ve had for the books.
Price comparisons can help identify an offer you otherwise would have never known about and with limitless information available on the web, finding the best offer for your old textbooks shouldn’t be a problem.
Conclusion
Selling textbooks has never been easier with dozens of online vendors and social sharing tools available to help you get the best price. Remember to take care of your books, keeping the pages and binding intact, and always shop around for the best offers before making a decision. Opt for private or online sales as opposed to the campus store, where you’ll probably get a low-ball offer for your books. Most of all, don’t forget your books in your bag or on a shelf; the longer you wait, the less you’ll get for them.
Very helpful information. Thanks for sharing the information with us.