Posted on 01/17/2010 10:08:53 PM PST by Saije
Everything that is old is new again.
In the medieval and rennaisance colleges books were usually rented.
Probably don’t work that way. Think of currency exchanges (or stock exchanges). There is a spread between the bid and the ask which is essentially how the vendor makes money. How wide the spread is depends on the market but I’d bet for this it’s probably a significant percentage of the price paid. Probably 25% at a bare minimum.
I’m sure you’re correct if the entity from whom you buy a book is a business. I’m thinking ebay.
If I buy a book on ebay from an individual in September, and then sell it to an individual in January, why would there routinely be a difference in price?
The publishers will still put our unnecessary new editions (yearly) and the professors will still change books. So the bookstore will end up holding the bag.
It will only work if the bookstore gets a number of semesters use out of the book.
Agreed - in that case you might do pretty well - with the tradeoff being less “liquidity”, less security, more work etc. etc.
However, even here if they keep changing the textbooks, they ensure that the textbook you buy in September is on it’s way to becoming obsolescent in January.
This is why I think physical textbooks are on their way out to be replaced by ebooks. Unlike a novel, which doesn’t change and you may wish to keep in your library forever, textbooks are constantly changing and have little (for most people) lasting value.
Professor - publisher - printer - bookstore - student
Professor -publisher-printer- bookstore - student
chegg.com. Rent them here.
If you could buy the edition you need for your school online and then sell it yourself on line, your cost would be near zero depending on what you initially paid and what you sell for.
Question: If one buys a used book online and then sells it the same way at the end of the semester, I would assume the net cost would be darn near zero. Or am I missing something?
Sorry for delay—home stuff and also election results :) distracted me. Regarding textbooks, it is not always that simple. Many textbook companies have taken to selling “kits” for the class which include CDs and consumables, so not always possible to buy current or complete kit on line, or sell it back.
The book stores buy back books for a fraction purchase price—I purchased books for my daughter this summer; $300 for 2 classes. Then I sold them back; one the company would not take back claiming water damage (yet the book just had a very slight wear sign on the top edge—) I think I walked away with around $100 due to water damaged book not being accepted for the “ full return price.”
i saw a commercial for this last night... i thought, “what a brilliant idea!” wish this was available when i was in school... i never turned them back in for money... i always sold mine on my own...
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