College students nationwide face a common problem as one semester ends and the next approaches: How to get the most money back for textbooks and be able to afford new ones.
Over the past few years textbook costs have been rising and, along with rising tuition costs, textbooks are becoming harder and harder to budget.
“The sad fact is, every year the prices do go up,” says Paul Oliphant, who has 15 years experience managing student bookstores for Nebraska Book Company. He currently manages the East Tennessee State University Bookstore.
So how can college students get the most out of their money? Part of the answer lies in understanding buy-back practices.
Buy-back rates are set by the bookstore and used book wholesaler. At ETSU and off campus at The College Store, that is Nebraska Book Company – one of the largest wholesalers of used books.
The stores pay the best buy-back rates on books that are going to be used on campus again the next semester. But, the most the bookstore will ever offer for a book is one-half of the new book price for new books and one-half of the used price for a used book.
Since the rates are also based on current store stock, the prices may vary from store to store. The store won’t want more copies of the book on hand than it will need. If the book is not scheduled for use the following semester, the bookstore can still buy the book for its wholesale price. This can often be significantly less than what you originally paid for the book.
Professors teaching the classes decide whether a book is used again. Sometimes only the edition changes. Buying older editions may be a way to save money but talk to your professors to see if using an older edition is permissible. You won’t be able to buy these on campus, however, as Oliphant notes that the bookstore won’t stock the older editions (or buy them back).
How else can students find all their books for the best price? When it comes to the bookstore, the best way is to look for used editions whenever possible. Nebraska Book Company is committed to keeping as many used books as possible in stock. In fact, Oliphant says, “75 percent of the books sold at the off-campus location are used books.”
Another option students can employ is book swapping. Students may get their books from a friend or acquaintance they knew who had the class previously. This can be more cost-effective than getting it from the bookstore.
Campusbookswap.com, for instance, is a web site run by and for students that allows you to get in touch with others on your campus and exchange books, often at a large discount.
And what about buying textbooks online? In a time when Internet shopping is at an all-time high, can campus bookstores compete with online textbook stores? The truth is that they can.
One reason students give for shopping for their textbooks online is convenience. Some campus bookstores close at 5 p.m. and are open only five days a week. This limits when a student can purchase books. Plus, the convenience of never having to leave home or dorm room to acquire their textbooks is also appealing to some students.
Price is also a big issue in textbook shopping. Most online textbook sellers, like Walmart.com and eBay’s Half.com, promote textbooks at significant discounts off the retail price. But, be aware that shipping costs and applicable state sales taxes usually cancel out those discounts.
Take the textbook Reporting for the Media, for example. In the campus bookstore at ETSU it sells for the suggested retail price of $71.95, and there is no added sales tax. On Walmart.com, the same textbook is marked down by 8 percent to $66.19. This seems like a good deal, even with the shipping charge of $2.98 added.
But after going through the two-minute hassle of setting up a Walmart.com account, you get hit with a bombshell: state sales tax will be added. For an order placed in Tennessee, it amounts to $6.40. That makes the textbook total come to $75.57. That is $3.62 more than at the campus bookstore.
This may not seem to be much but, considering that the student can take the textbook home the same day that they purchase it at the campus bookstore and that $3.62 can practically buy a value meal at a fast food restaurant, it really is.
Students need to look at online choices and comparison shop, which takes time but will be time well spent.
The best way for students to deal with the rising cost of textbooks is to understand all of their options. The buy-back process, campus bookstores, as well as online sources – it is necessary that students take all of these into account so they make the best choices and find the best values.

Author