Best place to sell old books and buy books for the upcoming semester?

[J Five]

I paid AT LEAST $850 for books this past semester and my school bookstore is offering me a measly $75 for them.  @#!* that.  Is there anywhere online that I can ship the books to for a decent amount of store credit that I can use towards future purchases (as in books for this upcoming semester)?  My assumption is that this store credit system would be more cost-efficient because the book vendor knows that you'll be using that credit at their store and will likely be willing to part with more store-credit than they would actual greenbacks. 

I know Barrister Books does something like this, but is there anything better out there? What have you guys found to be the best rate of return on used books and where can one order law books for cheapest? 

[jacy85]

I just buy and sell all my stuff on half.com; I make a good amount back on my books, and get them pretty cheap.  I usually come close to breaking even most semesters.

[J Five]

I just buy and sell all my stuff on half.com; I make a good amount back on my books, and get them pretty cheap.  I usually come close to breaking even most semesters.

Isn't half.com more of an auction type site?  I like how Barrister Books would just give me cash/credit for my books, but do you think an auction site is the better way to go?

I suppose I'll consider it.

[jacy85]

It is an auction site, but you may want to look into it as opposed to the store credit approach.  The store buying your books is may still undercut so they can make a profit.  With a site like Half.com you're directly selling your stuff.  You can always check and see if some books get more money than others on Half, and only sell the ones you think you'll make the most on.

Then again, I've never looked into Barristers or anything like that, so maybe they're very fair/generous?

[carriej]

I use Amazon Marketplace.  You can see what other people are selling the same used book for and can set your  price according.  I've also bought alot of my textbooks from them too.

[vaplaugh]

I usually use Half.com.

No listing fee.
Flat commission of 15% or less (depending on sale price).
A listing remains on the site indefinitely until sold or you take it down.
It's not an "auction" site.  People don't bid on what price to pay.  You list the book at the price you want to sell.

You could also use Amazon Marketplace.  I'm fairly certain listing is similar (free), but commissions are higher.  Last I checked, there was a 15% flat commission, plus a $0.99 per-transaction fee, plus a "closing fee" of $1.35.

I bought about half my books on Half.com this semester.  I sold almost all of my undergrad books on Half.com - you almost always get more than your school's book store.

[xferlawstudent]

The only thing, at least with half.com, is that you have to pay to ship your books before you receive any money.  At least for me, I'm so low on money at the end of the semester that I can't even part with the $100 or so to ship all the books.

I suppose you could wait until the beginning of next semester though.

[jacy85]

The only thing, at least with half.com, is that you have to pay to ship your books before you receive any money.  At least for me, I'm so low on money at the end of the semester that I can't even part with the $100 or so to ship all the books.

I suppose you could wait until the beginning of next semester though.

What shipping method do you use??  I use media mail, and usually spend only about $3 per book. The most I think I've ever spent was about $4 for an especially large case book.  You get paid shipping too, so while you do pay out of pocket, you'll get almost all of it back when you get your money from half.com.

[Rockie]

The only thing, at least with half.com, is that you have to pay to ship your books before you receive any money.  At least for me, I'm so low on money at the end of the semester that I can't even part with the $100 or so to ship all the books.

I suppose you could wait until the beginning of next semester though.

What shipping method do you use??  I use media mail, and usually spend only about $3 per book. The most I think I've ever spent was about $4 for an especially large case book.  You get paid shipping too, so while you do pay out of pocket, you'll get almost all of it back when you get your money from half.com.

I've been using half.com to sell for the first time this semester too and I always seem to pay a couple dollars more on the shipping. They'll refund you like $3 for media mail but my total seems to be a little over $5 with  paying for an envelope to ship it in. I just sent out my first priority mail for a large textbook and while the refund is like $5, it cost over $8 (and this is with a free box). You just have to figure it into your price. I've been happy with the site so far though and you definitely get back more than from the bookstore which I did all undergrad.

[craven]

I do amazon marketplace too, though sometimes you can't buy the newest editions used, and you've got to grab your ankles at the brick and mortar stores.