How to make money buying and selling college textbooks

It’s an unavoidable expense, but that doesn’t mean students can’t get their money. If you’re smart about how you buy your textbooks or even rent your textbooksand you make it a focus to resell your textbooks after class — you might not find yourself as hard up as you’d have thought. Some savvy students have even found ways to make profits when reselling their textbooks. Try these five ways to make money from your textbooks so you’ll have extra cash for other expenses. Most college bookstores will buy back used textbooks, especially if professors plan to use the same text next semester. Pros: Bookstores will often pay you cash within minutes. Some people feel that convenience is worth more than money. Cons: If you sell your books to a bookstore, don’t expect to turn a profit.

More Money Hacks

Do you want to start your own business buying and selling textbooks? If so, you need to know the best places to find used books at low prices and the best outlets for reselling those same textbooks at high prices so you can turn a healthy profit. You’ll also need to learn how to run a lean, efficient business that maximizes your earnings. Fortunately, everything you need to start your own textbook business is right here in this guide! Very briefly, we should mention that if you’re serious about starting a textbook buying and selling business, you should check with local, state, and federal authorities to determine how to legally file and prepare for taxes. It’s also a good idea to create a business plan. There are plenty of free business planning resources on the SBA’s website. Even if you’re starting out as a hobbyist, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with business laws, insurance requirements, and tax requirements before you launch your textbook empire. Knowing which textbooks to buy and sell is the key to success. It’s obvious you need to buy textbooks you can sell for a healthy profit margin, but there’s more to running a successful textbook business than that. You also need to know:. When you buy in-demand textbooks, you know you can resell them quickly. That means your investment won’t be tied up, and you can turn a profit fast. Plus, in-demand textbooks often have the highest profit margins if you know when to buy and sell more on that later. You’re only one person, so it’s important to invest your time into finding only the textbooks you can sell quickly and for a healthy profit. This makes your business more efficient, wastes less time, and ultimately means more dollars-per-hour. Remember that phrase — dollars-per-hour — because it will be important later. In addition, some textbooks come with access codes. If an access code has been used, it’s no longer valid — which diminishes the value of the textbook. Valid access codes on used textbooks, on the other hand, can increase their values significantly. It’s also important to consider condition. Most buyers expect used textbooks to have some wear and tear, but if a book has torn or missing pages, water damage, or a damaged cover, it’s going to be difficult to sell. So, how can you find textbooks that are in-demand, in good condition, and can turn profits? Here are some methods:.

I’d love to learn about…

In our recent post about becoming an Amazon FBA seller , it was brought to my attention how lucrative selling used books on Amazon — and elsewhere — can be. It’s also a great flexible gig for those looking to do something part-time or just on the weekends. Today we are focusing solely on that topic: how to sell used books for extra cash. And, we have two successful sellers stopping by to share their tips. Lori Schafer is an independent author who supplements her income buying and selling used books. She is a part-time seller. Lori provided the following as her motivation to become a bookseller:. They were all over the house, and I figured it made sense to start unloading some of those I had already read before I had to turn my kitchen into a library, too! I didn’t start doing it seriously, however, until I made the leap to full-time author last year. I knew I wasn’t going to be making money for a while, and I liked the idea of having a part-time gig I could do on my own schedule. Peter Valley, on the other hand, is a professional book flipper. He has written two books on the subject and is also the owner of the popular blog FBA Mastery. Like many of us, it took only one chance encounter with a used book to get Peter hooked:. The margins are addictive. A variety of paid apps allow booksellers to scan a barcode with their phone’s camera or a Bluetooth barcode scanner and get instant results as to the book’s value, sales rank, and more. So while it helps to have a knowledge of books, a new seller can defer completely to the data on their scanning app when making a buying decision. Had I made the switch to Amazon, for example, I would have been starting with no rating and no reputation. I did look into it, though, because creating and managing listings on Amazon is much easier than on eBay, where it’s quite time-consuming. But when I examined the Amazon fee schedule, I discovered that their fees were much, much higher, at least if you’re not a high-volume seller. Most used books are not worth very much money, and, in many cases, to be competitive on Amazon I would have had to reduce my profit margins to pennies.

Best Places to Sell Used Textbooks Online

College is a big business, and hiw of the biggest expenses in this business——next to tuition, room, and board, is college textbooks. Nothing hits your party pocketbook like a trip to the campus bookstore.

Reselling books may recoup some of your investment, but not all. Just follow this lesson to lessen the cost of hoe education. To create this article, 93 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.

Together, they cited 7 references. This article has also been viewedtimes. Categories: Featured Articles Purchasing Textbooks. Log in Facebook Loading Google Loading Civic Loading No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to buting wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Home Categories Arts xelling Entertainment. Article Edit. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Author Info Updated: January 15, Learn more Register for your classes as early as possible.

Start researching courses as soon as makd can, and solidify your schedule early. Go to the bookstore just to browse. Leave the wallet at home, but bring a pen and paper. Look for your classes and the new tto required books. Ask the bookstore employees to assist you if needed. If your classes’ book requirements are not in yet, inquire as to when they will be and come back on that date. Try to find the books in the library.

Check the catalogs of your school library and the local public library. If they do not have the current edition, it is likely that they may have previous editions, with most of the same information collegee below on previous editions. Check sslling library reserve. If a book is on reserve, the professor has provided the library with one or a few copies of the book annd students to borrow for several hours at a time provided they do not leave the library.

Be careful before class, tests, or major homework assignments, because reserve copies are often checked out at critical times; however, with proper planning you textboiks have no problem. Alternatively, buy or borrow a previous edition for the chapter how to make money buying and selling college textbooks, and use the reserve copy only for the homework problems.

If the text isn’t available on reserve, e-mail the professor and ask if she’d be willing to put a gow on reserve. Search for books on the Internet. In the search box of your favorite search engine, enter only the ISBN number, without the dashes that separate the digits.

Verify you have the correct book using the other information you wrote. Many online booksellers now sell books shipping-free, which can increase the attractiveness of an online buy. Shop around online. Most likely just about any price you find online will be cheaper than the bookstore, but check as many sites as possible to find the cheapest possible abd. Check out online auction marketplaces. Keep checking into the early semester——some how to make money buying and selling college textbooks change courses and can’t wait to sell the books so that they can buy different ones.

You might grab a bargain this way, especially ,oney the student is dropping college altogether. Consider renting. Some sites will rent you textbooks for a fraction of the cost of purchasing. Shipping is often free for either the receive or return, depending on the service you use.

Buy bundles. Bundled books save you money by allowing you to buy your books in one shrink-wrapped package, often at a discount. Textboo,s out local bookstores. You may be able to find a good deal locally, especially once you factor in shipping charges. Consider used books. Used books are almost always cheaper than new ones, and if you can, find a used version online in good condition it may be a good bet. You may also be able to get used books at your campus bookstore, especially if you shop early or pre-order.

Compare prices to find the best deal. Also used books may have the previous students notes in them which is a plus sellinng you won’t have to make. A book that has been heavily highlighted can be very difficult to read, especially as it distracts you from finding the important points for. Compare textbook prices online. There are many book price comparison sites, such as textbookspyder.

Inquire about earlier editions. If the current edition’s mske price is still too much, use the book name to find an earlier edition: enter the book title in the search box and remove any references to what edition it is. You’ll find that the cheapest used version of the newest txtbooks generally sells for three to five times the price of a previous edition.

Before buying, be aware that page numbers, chapter order, and homework problems will almost certainly be different, and content may vary as. However, often there are only minor differences between the two, and the homework problems are the only thing that may give you trouble see above about library reserve, or below about sharing.

Other than that, you will rarely have a problem, particularly for core texts on basic subjects. If in doubt, however, ask the professor or TA about using an earlier edition before you buy; you don’t want to have to pay for a book twice. Particularly for your core courses, try to take the same classes as your roommates or friends, and vollege a book. You’ll learn better if you study together. Alternatively, get an old edition see above and borrow from a friend only minimally to access the homework problems.

That way there is no doubt as to when you’ll have access to it. Scour your campus. Some colleges have student groups that sell used textbooks for older students or that otherwise facilitate buying and selling of books. Ask amke friends, look at flyers around campus, and watch the student paper for deals.

Resell your books. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Already answered Not a question Bad question Other. Tips Different professors teaching the same course often use buting books. Find out which professor requires the least expensive books and sign up for sellng or her course. Always include shipping costs in your calculations. You may be collefe to save money on shipping by purchasing several books from one merchant. Some students feel the need to hang on to a book after a course in case it might be needed later.

The chances of this are often quite low in many fields and even if you do need the text, you can always borrow it for that particular need. Remember too that updates will happen once you’re working and can afford to buy them or your workplace buys. In some cases, accessing new copies should be the only way to keep abreast of information once you’re working professionally.

There are times when some professors will list books textbookz their class that they admittedly have no intention of using. If you have not purchased books for a class early on, go ahead and wait until you’ve been to class once or twice and found out if any books will not be used.

You’ll have to balance the risk of getting a bad deal vs. Don’t forget about international editions. They’re generally exactly the same as their American counterparts, except they often come only in paperback, and the too may feel a bit different. The best time to buy is between semesters, when people hkw are trying to get yextbooks of their old books, but before people are buying new ones.

It’s usually between 2 t 4 weeks before classes start. If you track sale prices over time, you can see the dip, then a radical increase. Buy when the price is low, but you still have at t 2 weeks for shipping before school.

If you want to sell, try selling the first week of school, or the week before when everyone is running around like madmen. Consider electronic versions of textbooks from sites like iChapters or Safari. Online books can’t be resold but they often sell for as little as fifty percent of a new book’s price.

Classic literature no longer under copyright, can be downloaded for free at sites like Bartleby and Project Gutenberg. If you are taking a literature course, consider buying individual books instead of the anthology.

Earn $45/Hour! Dollar Tree Has No Clue How Much I Sell Their $1 Books For! (100% LEGAL)

Our number one goal at DollarSprout is to help readers improve their financial lives, and we regularly partner with companies that share that same vision. Some of the links in this post may be from our partners. I was extremely cost-conscious when I applied to college. I knew the cost of tuition and the price of on-campus housing would be expensive. With so many different sites that sell books online, you want to find the ones that offer the best prices. BookScouter is an aggregate site. You type in the ISBN number and rather than getting one fixed price, you get a range of prices from more than 30 different buy-back sites. BookScouter is a good place to see what your options are before choosing where to sell your used textbooks. Decluttr makes textbook buyback easy. If the items are not in the condition you described them, you may be paid. Bookbyte works similarly to other sites where you can sell your old books online. You must mail the books within seven calendar days for the offer to be valid. Run out of Oregon, Cash4Books works like other websites where you can sell used books. Payments are made via PayPal or check.