Buying Used Textbooks

How to save money on college textbooks.

To really save money on your college textbooks, used textbooks are the way to go. However when buying used textbooks, there are several factors that you need to be aware of:

• Delivery Time: delivery times for used textbooks vary widely. Campus Books searches dozens of bookstores and literally thousands of sellers to find you the lowest prices on the Internet. You may be purchasing your used textbooks from a bookstore or an individual seller through an online book exchange. When purchasing used textbooks from a bookstore, be sure to check if the textbook is in stock before you buy. Look for the “ready to ship” availability on the lookbookstores.com site. If you are purchasing used textbooks from an individual seller, check the estimated ship date and request expedited shipping to make sure you get your used textbooks on time. Typically the added cost of express shipping is worth the savings you’ll get by buying used textbooks instead of new.
• Book Condition: conditions of used textbooks are generally good, although there is some variation among sellers. Typically used textbooks bought from online bookstores are in good condition, since they are inspected prior to shipping out from the bookstore warehouse. Used textbooks bought from individual sellers can vary from brand new to well-used textbooks. However, individual sellers have to come clean regarding the condition of their used textbooks in order to post online. Typically there are several degrees of used that you can choose from; your best bet when buying used textbooks from individual sellers is to buy the best quality used textbooks you can find. The savings between “new” used textbooks and “used” used textbooks isn't big enough to warrant risking the bad condition of the thoroughly used textbook.
• Seller Ratings: When buying used textbooks from individual sellers, be sure to check the seller ratings if available. With ebay for example, the seller ratings are a great way to see what other buyers have to say about their experience with that particular seller. Sellers with bad ratings get the boot, so you don’t have to worry about scandalous sellers.