Student Tip: Sell Your Books Early

By now, most of you are facing the wrath of some bitter finals, but once you’re done, you’ll likely be home free — for a few months, at least (unless you have summer courses or work — but either way, it’s different than your normal school routine, that’s for sure).

As you prepare to leave school, try to sell your books through postings on dormitory walls, craigslist, Amazon, Half.com, or other sites. The first stop (focusing on selling on-campus) is the most ideal exchange of all, since you’ll run in face-to-face with your classmate who can evaluate the book and pay you cash on the spot. The other choices are good, but if you’re already shipping your books home, you’ll probably want to coordinate with whoever is receiving your possessions for shipment options. As you may or may not know, Amazon and eBay/Half work on a rating system so your timeliness is important. Therefore, if you’re not able to ship on time, you may receive negative feedback. Be sure you’re able to coordinate all the details with the buyer (if you can’t get your book on time, don’t sell it until it’s in your hands and you can go to the post office).

Craigslist is the other option for local sales. Usually, the buyer will come visit you and purchase the book similar to an on-campus exchange. If you’re in a small college town, chances are you’re still going to be coordinating with someone who is a classmate. A little note regarding Craigslist: if you’re selling items, you can list them for free, but they eventually expire — make sure to relist them again. Better yet, create an account on Craigslist so that you can store your listings especially if the books don’t sell the first time around.

If you are able to store your books and keep them for the next semester, go for it. It’s probably the best way to be sure you get them off your hands. Your classmates will also be competing against selling the books, but you have an edge if you post your listings beforehand (with informative details, such as “used with highlights and notes in the margins” or “brand new, never used”) and be sure to check back to repost your listings when your competition gets in the way.

Finally, there are also some on-campus exchange services out there — look into those as well. Some are specific to schools, so I won’t be able to give you a detailed list of which schools offer which book-swapping services, but they’re helpful to explore. Just get rid of those books. You definitely won’t need them again!