Pity the poor college students who have to peddle their used textbooks online to make some scratch.
OK, so many of us have been there, and done everything short of selling our blood — well, maybe we did that, too – to make ends meet in college.
Half.com, a textbook, video and electronics division of eBay, the online auction site, commissioned a recent survey in which 55 percent of college students who responded said they were either broke or just breaking even during the school year.
And while getting a job might be one way to fix this problem, more than 70 percent of student respondents said they believed jobs took away from their study time. So making money through nontraditional channels is a growing trend demonstrated by the nearly 40 percent of students who sell textbooks online, the survey concludes.
“With only 36 percent of students describing their financial status as secure, students are always looking for ways to save and earn money on the necessities,” said Mike Aufricht, vice president and general manager of Half.com.
The December survey was taken of 500 college students ages 19 to 25. About 90 percent said they sold their books online “for extra money.”
They said they could get better prices than from traditional outlets. Half.com boasts competitive prices on 30 categories of college textbooks.

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