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Selling back textbooks online

flapjackflapjack Registered User regular
edited January 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
So, I've finally officially graduated, and I have some old texts I wanted to get rid of. However, my campus bookstore was offering basically shit nothing for them, especially compared to the potential of selling them back to some online sites. For example, textbooks.com will buy back the books, and it looks like pay for shipping. That seems like a pretty sweet deal to me, but does anyone have any experience with this process? I've bought books from textbooks.com before, but never sold back to them.

Thanks in advance!

flapjack on

Posts

  • WezoinWezoin Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Try Amazon Marketplace, Kijiji, or Craigslist. I have no experience with textbooks.com but chances are you'll be able to get a better deal for them selling them yourself instead of giving them a cut, if you can find a buyer.

    Wezoin on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I sell books on half.com - it's user to user, so it seems like the best deal for both parties (no middleman), and when you put up something for sale it gives you the statistics on the range of prices that have been set for that item, so you get a good idea of how to price yours.

    KalTorak on
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited January 2010
    This content has been removed.

  • EggyToastEggyToast Jersey CityRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I have sold books mostly on Amazon because the marketplace is very big, so it's usually very quick to sell anything that you put up (if there's any demand). Half.com takes less of a cut but you might end up dropping your price to below Amazon's price anyway.

    If textbooks.com offers you 80% of what Amazon's used prices are, then they're probably fine as well, especially as you could get rid of a bunch all at once. Amazon or half.com will probably net you more moolah, though.

    EggyToast on
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  • UnknownUnknown
    edited January 2010
    This content has been removed.

  • Acebgd12Acebgd12 Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Check out AbeBooks as well-for many of the textbooks I've resold, they've given me better prices than the other sites have.

    Acebgd12 on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    mcdermott wrote: »
    KalTorak wrote: »
    I sell books on half.com - it's user to user, so it seems like the best deal for both parties (no middleman), and when you put up something for sale it gives you the statistics on the range of prices that have been set for that item, so you get a good idea of how to price yours.

    I'm confused, because in my experience half.com does act as a middleman...they just take a very reasonable cut. I think it's something like 10%, though it varies by price range.

    Oh, and they reimburse you for shipping (forwarding on most or all of the shipping they charge the buyer) but make sure you look up what you'll actually get, so you can adjust your listing accordingly. On some heavy items (like textbooks) it doesn't cover the entire shipping bill.

    But yes, I've sold textbooks, movies, and games on half.com and had no issues.

    I guess they do take a cut; I was thinking in comparison to selling it to a business who then tries to sell it to someone else - the Gamestop model.

    KalTorak on
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