Amazon.com Textbook Buyback Program
I noticed that Amazon.com has started up their own Textbook Buyback Program
Just type in your ISBN numbers into the BigWords.com comparison engine and see what they’ll offer you. Amazon seems to have the same buyback system, where you print out a pre-paid mailing label, send it back, and get paid. The main differences are that they offer free UPS shipping (some places only offer USPS Media Mail), and they only pay you back in Amazon.com gift certificates and not cash.
Oh, and you can also sell back video games and movies. I see that they will actually offer me $1.50 for my copy of Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo! Suckers…
Find more in Frugal Living | 5/14/10, 12:56am | Trackback
May 14th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Or you can just simply sell your book directly to another person on amazon and I’m guessing get more money (and real cash). It’s not really that hard to sell on Amazon and there is no listing fee or limited period like on ebay.
May 14th, 2010 at 7:15 am
Thanks, Jonathan! Just got rid of five textbooks and am waiting for Amazon to send me a credit for $83.02. Not bad for about fifteen minutes of work researching trade-in value, packing it up, and taking it to the post office.
May 14th, 2010 at 7:45 am
I did the Amazon buy-back for my textbooks this week because it was super easy, no time involved, and they seemed to offer a higher price than what I could get on Half.com/eBay. It was double or triple what Textbooks.com would offer me for my books. I usually buy my books through Amazon anyway for school, so the credit will go to good use.
The only drawback is that one book I sent in was too damaged and they won’t give me anything for it. Part of the terms says they won’t mail back a damaged book, but part says they will return incorrect items, so I’m not sure if I get the book back or not. It’s still in decent shape so I can probably still sell it online directly.
May 15th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number, so when you say “ISBN number,” well, I’ll leave it at that.
Also, I’m a little leery about their terms where they keep your book if it’s too badly damaged or the wrong item. Where do you draw the line between good and acceptable? And I could see it being very easy to send in the wrong item, what with all the different used book re-sellers slapping on their very own UPC stickers.
June 26th, 2010 at 8:12 am
I’m curious, Laura, if you ever got your book back. I have highlighted in a couple books and don’t know how much is too much. I don’t mind sending for them to check but don’t want to just lose the book totally if they reject it.
August 2nd, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Hey, you might consider RentScouter.com – I have been using them to figure out if buying or renting my next textbook is cheaper, and they help me find the best price when selling a book, CD, DVD, or even video game – Amazon included.