Alternatives to selling textbooks

After the start of a semester, most students have spent hundreds of dollars on textbooks, whether they were purchased from the Parkland Bookstore or online. After classes end, there is not much use one can get out of these books other than to sell them back for some quick cash. If you happen to miss the bookstore's textbook buyback week, there are several resources both on and off campus to help you not only make some extra space, but make extra cash, as well.

If you decide to purchase your books from the Parkland Bookstore, there are a few things to make note of. First off, new and used books can and will only be sold back to the Bookstore during finals week of each semester. Be sure to bring your student ID or driver's license with you, as it is required for proper buyback. However, if you happen to miss the buyback week, the bookstore does have an agreement with a wholesaler, which allows you to sell back your books online at any time.

"(The wholesalers) are also here to purchase books that Parkland is not in need of during posted buyback hours. The Bookstore pays up to 50% of the original new retail price for books in re-saleable condition where needed quantity has not been met," according to the store's website. "The Wholesaler pays National Market Value for all other books when available. There are many factors involved in the buyback decision; therefore, many books cannot be bought."

Unfortunately, since the Bookstore can't buy back all books, you may have to turn to other resources, one of the biggest being the internet. You can find various sites willing to give you cash in exchange for your books. Be sure to read all of the information given about selling, there are sites that have specific terms and condition requirements listed that could turn out badly for you if have not read. www.Amazon.com and www.eBay.com are a few of the best known sites.

 Amazon.com is a very reliable source to both buy and sell textbooks. Selling your books online at Amazon is very easy and requires only a handful of clicks. On the homepage, simply click Sell on Amazon.com. From there, you are prompted to set up either a professional or individual seller account. For selling textbooks, an individual seller account would be appropriate unless you plan to start selling other items in the future, but take not as setting up a seller's account for any website will have a seller's fee accompanying them. Simply enter the book title and author, describe the book's condition and set a price. Generally, the lower the price, the quicker your item will sell.

If Amazon just is not for you, there is always eBay. From the home page, you can scroll over Sell in the top right area for a list of actions to do. eBay also provides you with a list of helpful tips and tools on how to get started. Neither of those sites tickle your fancy? Well three more sites you can always try are Craigslist.com, ecampus.com, and cash4books.net.

Sometimes though, people don't have internet access available to them or don't use services such as Paypal, which is often required to set up an online seller's account in which to transfer the customer's money to you. What can be done in situations such as these? You can always ask your friends or other classmates if they will be taking that class or know anyone that is or would be in the future and would like to buy your book off of you.

Also, there is a buy sell board, located in the Office of Student Life, where you can post that you are looking to buy or sell your book(s). Get in touch with a worker from Student Life and they will be able to help you put up a small ad. Also, if you are considering donating your textbooks to libraries, be sure to check with their donation guidelines as some libraries may not be accepting textbooks at that time.

It is refreshing to know that textbooks, one of the biggest expenses of a college student, no longer need to be a waste of money. There are multiple resources to sell the old books, even if it is an old edition that isn't being used. Textbooks no longer need to be the bane of college students everywhere; they can now be the informational resource that they should be, while living full, well read lives -- and helping out a few students along the way.