<p>Tips for buying used textbooks 
to all money savers out there:</p>
<p>When looking for 2ndhand textbooks, spare some time and look at the bulletin boards across the campus. There are always students selling their books by posting an ad on the board. Buying books from a private party can save you a lot, especially if the book costs over a hundred bucks USED!!! Often students sell their books straight to other students to cut their losses. And these books can cost like 30% less than what you’ll have to pay at the school’s bookstore. Another plus, unlike the stores, buying privately means no tax.</p>
<p>Of course, this advice works vice versa, when youre selling, its better to sell them yourself. Sell them to the bookstore, and you’ll get like 25-30% from the book’s worth. It’s worth it, there are more customers interested in those books than you might think. Naturally upper courses textbooks are tougher to sell, so set a deadline yourself for these. If the books still dont sell by then, sell it to the bookstore.</p>
<p>Basically this is how it works, when the book cost $100 new, you’ll get about $30-35 when you sell it to the bookstore. The store then label those books as “used” and sell them back for around $65-70. Sell them yourself and you can get like $40-55 depending on the book’s condition. The bookstore on the other hand doesnt really care about the book’s condition (unless its really beaten up) and will give you the same ridiculous sum.</p>
<p>If youre too lazy, or think its not worth the effort, well just come as early as you can to the bookstore. That way you can get books that are literally like new for the same ammount of cash as those beat-up ones. They all cost the same, so its best to be early and pick the gems before someone else does.</p>
<p>Btw, buying the books online from, say, ebay or amazon isnt a good idea. Yes their prices may seem tempting at 1st, but once you count in the shipping cost (unless they charge 0 for shipping) and the time you have to wait for those books, often its not worth it. Worse yet, if the book isnt in good condition (or different from what the seller described) you get a refund MINUS shipping.</p>
<p>WARNING: this is very very important. If youre buying from a private party, its best to go to the bookstore 1st and see if they sell the same book. It rarely happens but sometimes the class suddenly require a new totally different textbook and the used ones are simply thrown away. If thats the case, youre out of luck, gotta buy new no matter what unless you can find the book cheaper elsewhere.</p>