Buying Books for College
By Brent Chiodo
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Why you need to know
this
How to find which books
you need
Techniques for getting
the best deal
Selling books back at
the best price
Tips & Tricks
Why you need to know this
I don’t need to tell you this: textbooks are
expensive. The book publishers have many
ploys to ensure the biggest profit possible.
From changing editions every few years, to
including CDs and/or requiring access keys
for online services, everything is done to
victimize the college student.
Do you have to fall pray to these practices? The
answer is a resounding “No.” I am going to
share with you some of the tips I’ve learned
about buying and selling college textbooks.
Step 1: Finding out which books
are assigned
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The first step is finding out which textbooks are
assigned for each one of your courses. You can
get this information by going to:
http://onondagacc.bncollege.com/
Go to the “Buy Your Textbooks On-Line Today!”
box, and enter all your courses (term, subject,
course number, and section number)
Once finished, click “View Textbook List”
This is what I see for the current semester…
Step 1: Finding out which books
are assigned
Books – lots of them. In
fact,
in
books.
$844.05
But I’m not going to pay
that…
Step 2: Eliminate the books you
do not need
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As a rule a thumb, anything marked “Required”
should be purchased
“Recommended” books should be carefully
reviewed before purchasing
This semester, I will not be pre-ordering any
“Recommended” books, but will wait until the
classes begin to see if really need them
After eliminating unneeded books, my total is
down to $730.30
Step 3: Determine low market
price for each book
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Before buying anything, you should determine
what each book generally sells for (the book
store sells at MSRP, so it is not a good
indication of low market price)
To do this, copy the ISBN number for each book
from the bookstore readout:
Step 3: Determine low market
price for each book
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Once you have the ISBN, go to websites like:
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http://amazon.com/
http://half.com/
http://ebay.com
Paste the ISBN into each website’s search box
and see what the prices are!
Amazon.com generally deals with brand new
books, while Ebay.com will list both new and
used and the majority of books on Half.com are
used. These websites will give you an indication
of the current market value
Step 4: Techniques for getting the
best deal
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For me, I needed to find deals on four books:
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University Physics ($241.45, MSRP)
Multivariable Calculus ($170.00, MSRP)
Elementary Linear Algebra (197.35, MSRP)
Out of Many ($121.50, MSRP)
These are the questions I asked myself:
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Should I buy new?
Should I buy used?
Should I buy an international edition?
Should I buy an older edition?
Step 4: Techniques for getting the
best deal
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First on my buying agenda was University
Physics ($241.45, MSRP). These were the
prices:
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New on Amazon: $160
Used on Half: $136
International Edition on Ebay: $65
Previous Edition on Half: $19
I knew that homework would be done via
Mastering Physics online, so an older edition
would work out fine. This may not always be the
case with all books and courses
Step 4: Techniques for getting the
best deal
Step 4: Techniques for getting the
best deal
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Next up was Elementary Linear Algebra
($197.37, MSRP). These were the prices:
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New on Amazon: $150
Used on Half: $110
International Edition on Ebay: $48
Previous Edition on Half: None available
Even though the seller was located in Malaysia,
the book was on my doorstep in three days
Step 4: Techniques for getting the
best deal
Step 4: Techniques for getting the
best deal
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Next up was Multivariable Calculus ($170.00,
MSRP). These were the prices:
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New on Amazon: $126
Used on Half: $120
International Edition on Ebay: $62
Previous Edition on Half: $47
Even though the previous edition was cheaper,
the difference wasn’t big enough to warrant
buying it over the International Edition
Step 4: Techniques for getting the
best deal
Step 4: Techniques for getting the
best deal
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Last, was Out of Many ($121.50, MSRP). These
were the prices:
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New on Amazon: $100
Used on Half: $61
International Edition on Ebay: None Available
Previous Edition on Half: None Available
US Edition on Ebay: $50.00
This may be pricey for a history book, but
looking at what I paid for it and what they are
going for on Half, I may turn a profit on this one!
Step 4: Techniques for getting the
best deal
Step 5: Assessing the damage
Now, let’s review how much I spent (and saved):
Bookstore price:
$844.05
- $114 (unneeded books)
- $222 (older edition physics book)
- $149 (inter. edition linear algebra book)
- $113 (inter. edition multivariable calculus book)
- $71 (used history book)
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What I paid:
$175 (saved 79.2%)
Step 6: Selling your books back
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Once you have finished the semester, it is time
for the fun part: selling your books back!
Fortunately, this is far easier than buying the
books
Half.com is a great site to resell textbooks;
textbooks there fetch a good price and can sell
quickly (especially if priced aggressively)
I usually price my books at the bottom end of
the range of similar books condition-wise
If your book is being offered for a very low price
on Half, it may be worth checking the OCC
Bookstore to see how much they are paying
Step 6: Selling your books back
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Looking into the future, I will probably be able to
recoup at least $100 by selling this semester’s
books back
That will put my total out-of-pocket expenses for
books this semester down to around $75 (there
have been semesters where I have actually
made money on books)
Additional tips on buying and
selling textbooks
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Start shopping as soon as possible
Always buy books based on cost differential
(purchase price vs. estimated sale price)
International editions may be cheap, but also
can be hard to sell
If a book lists a required CD, make sure it is
really required
Book publishers usually change editions every
3-4 years (keep this in mind when buying with
the hopes of reselling at a high price)
Additional tips on buying and
selling textbooks
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Rent-a-textbook services may be all the rage
now, but remember that every dime spent here
is a dime lost (no chance at resale)
Access Keys can often be purchased
separately, e.g. Mastering Physics
“When in doubt, try without.” If you are debating
whether to buy a book, wait until the course
starts to see if you really need it (this is
especially true if the book is expensive/new)
Sell during times of low supply and/or high
demand, and buy during times of high supply
and/or low demand
The End
(of the presentation)
The Beginning
(of saving money)