ValoreBooksBlog.com

You already visit ValoreBooks.com to get great deals on cheap college textbooks, but we want you to know we are more than just textbooks! We also offer many additional genres including bestselling novels, biographies, cook books and self help books as well as other popular genres. Even better, most of these titles can be purchased for under a dollar, many for just a penny!

In 2010, we have pledged our commitment to making education more affordable for you. We are doing this by offering heavily discounted textbooks and books, hosting a textbook scholarship and giving away textbooks to lucky students across the country. Penny books are just one example proving our commitment to our cause.  Send penny books as gifts, order them for yourself and catch up on previous bestsellers over your spring break, or check out the penny books that were made into movies.  Below is a partial list of penny books currently offered on our site.

While supplies last. Prices are subject to change at any time. Excludes shipping costs.

Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson $14.95 $0.01		Big Fish by Daniel Wallace $13.00 $0.01		Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck $14.00 $0.01
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fieldling $14.00 $0.01		The iPod Book: Doing Cool Stuff with the iPod by Scott Kelby $16.00 $0.01		Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier $14.00 $0.01
It’s Not About the Bike My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong $14.00 $0.01		Bringing Down The House by Ben Mezrich $15.00 $0.01		30 Minute Meals by Rachael Ray $14.95 $0.01
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand $15.95 $0.01		All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward $14.00 $0.01		John McCain: An American Odyssey by Robert Timberg $15.00 $0.01

We are in the process of creating an entire webpage on our site devoted to these cheap titles, so stay tuned. We’ll update the blog, our Twitter and Facebook pages once the page goes live.

Textbook rental companies charge additional fees for late returns, lost or stolen books and damaged books. You can even end up paying more money than the list price for a book that is lost or stolen during the rental period!

This is the second post in a series we are calling MythBreakers, where we dispel common myths about textbooks and other issues that plague college students. We are on a mission in 2010 to make sure that you have access to the cheapest textbooks possible in order to defer other rising education expenses. Our previous post, MythBreakes Presents: Is Renting Cheaper Than Buying? showed that students save more by buying a used textbook and selling it back at the end of the semester at ValoreBooks.com than renting it. In this post, we are revealing some of the hidden costs of renting textbooks. These costs are the additional costs you would incur if you forgot to return your book on time, it was lost or stolen, or if the rental company considers your book damaged at the end of the rental.

If your textbook is not received by the rental company by the return date, you will automatically be charged an extension fee. The extension fees range from about 25% of the rental price, all the way through 20% of the list price. The extension ranges from 7-15 days extra. For the books we tracked, the extension fee ranged from about $3.50 to $36.16, depending on the rental company and the textbook.

What happens if your book is returned after the extension period, or is lost or stolen during the semester? You will be charged a replacement fee, a hefty replacement fee at that. The cost of the replacement fee is about the list price of the book. For our research, the replacement fee ranged from $52.86- $165.80. Keep in mind that the list price is much higher than the rental price. For our research, the average list price was $128.19.

How about damaged books? A damage fee is assessed depending on the extent of the damage, and whether or not insurance was purchased on the book. Please see the expanded data below.

To be sure that you won’t be hit with any unexpected costs, purchase a used textbook from a marketplace such as ValoreBooks.com. You can own the book for much less, and never have to worry about being charged additional fees. Even better, since you own the book, you have the right to sell it! You can participate in our sell back program or register to become a marketplace seller and set your own price! If you have any questions about buying and selling at ValoreBooks.com, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Do you have any other myths you would like us to explore?

* Buy and Sell prices are based on available pricing on 1/28/2010 at 10:00 AM. All prices are subject to change at any time based on the actions of marketplace buyers and sellers. Renting prices are based on the average prices for available book rentals at 10:00 AM on 1/28/2010 from bookrenter.com, campusbookrentals.com, chegg.com and ecampus.com. Rental prices are based on the duration of one semester. All prices are subject to change at any time.

No! You can save more money by buying and selling your textbooks at ValoreBooks.com than by renting your textbooks. In a time where somber news reverberates across U.S. college campuses surrounding budget cuts, tuition hikes and decreasing aid programs, ValoreBooks.com is on a mission to offer affordable education to students. One of the main ways you can save money is by cutting the cost of your college textbooks. We are committed to saving you money by providing cheap textbooks. We also think it’s important to provide you with information that will aid you in your search for affordable textbooks.

Part of this effort is debunking the myth that renting textbooks is cheaper than buying textbooks. After a weeklong comparison of prices from ValoreBooks.com and four major textbook rental companies, the verdict is in. Buying and selling back on a marketplace such as ValoreBooks.com can save you more money than renting.

Price comparisons from ValoreBooks.com and the average rental prices from four major textbook rental companies on January 18th, 2010 show that you can save more money by buying and selling a textbook, than by renting it. The net cost of buying and selling Biology and Mastering Biology, ISBN 0321543254 on ValoreBooks.com is $37.95, while the average cost of renting the same book is $81.29, a savings of $43.34. The same goes for Calculus:Early Transcendentals, ISBN 0495011665 with a savings of $35.23 as well as Consumer Behavior , ISBN 0136015964 with a savings of $35.16. An expanded list can be found below.

* Buy and Sell prices are based on available pricing on 1/18/2010 at 11:00 AM. All prices are subject to change at any time based on the actions of marketplace buyers and sellers. Renting prices are based on the average prices for available book rentals at 11:00 AM on 1/18/2010 from bookrenter.com, campusbookrentals.com, chegg.com and ecampus.com. Rental prices are based on the duration of one semester. All prices are subject to change at any time.

You can save even more money by listing your textbook for sale on the marketplace. Here, you are able to set your own price for the book, and get paid once the item sells. You can purchase Exploring Psychology, ISBN 0716771411 in good condition for $41.87 from the ValoreBooks.com marketplace and then resell the item on the marketplace in the price range of $41.87-$63.00 when you are done using it. The net cost for the textbook could be nothing, and you could even make money on the transaction!

Since you can acquire your textbooks from several different outlets, it is important to shop around and find an option that best suits your budget.

It has been over a week since the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake has struck Haiti. Countries, companies and people around the world have rallied together offering money, donations and support as part of a world-wide disaster relief effort. Haiti’s need for aid continues. Please donate any way you can.

ValoreBooks.com is pledging our support for the victims whose lives have been affected by the disaster. We have included links to The American Red Cross International Response Fund in our current email newsletters. If you have your own blog or website, please include an American Red Cross banner so that donations can be made directly through your site. Also, The U.S. State Department and the American Red Cross are encouraging people to make a $10 donation to relief efforts by texting “Haiti” to 90999. Every little bit helps.

The team at ValoreBooks.com would like to send our thoughts and well wishes to the families of disaster victims in Haiti.

For most people, the holidays are a time to spend with loved ones, eat great food, exchange presents and agonize over a dwindling bank account. This year, ease your stress and earn more money by selling your unwanted textbooks to ValoreBooks.com. Below, is one of many holiday success stories.

Dear ValoreBooks.com,

I would like to share with you my story about how your company is allowing me to give a little more this year by buying my girlfriend the greatest present ever! Excuse me if my story is a little long winded.

I have liked Beth since second semester, freshman year Psych class when she by chance sat next to me in the 200 person lecture hall. Knowing this, you can imagine the excitement I felt when after two years of being stuck in the friend zone, Beth and I started dating. I knew that I wanted to make this holiday really special for Beth to prove how much I care about her, only I was in a bit of a predicament. I was broke as a joke.

Finding myself in the first week of December, jobless, without a clue of what to get for Beth, I began brainstorming. I could swipe some jewelry from my sister and pass it off as a meaningful gift; though, the thought of Beth donning my sister’s necklace is kind of weird; and I’m sure it would eventually surface that I stole my sister’s necklace to give to my girlfriend. I could bake her cookies! Wait, handing someone a can of burnt cookies doesn’t exactly show the love.

I began feeling discouraged, until my buddy Dave began telling me about the convenience, reliability and amount of cash he made from the ValoreBooks.com sell back program. Dave had sold his books through the ValoreBooks.com sell back program about 2 and a half weeks ago and already received his check in the mail!

After talking to Dave, I ran back to my apartment and gathered all of my textbooks, from both this semester and semesters past that were hidden away under my bed. I logged onto your website to begin the sell back process. Within 5 minutes of logging onto ValoreBooks.com, I had watched the ValoreBooks.com sell back video, entered in all of my books’ ISBN numbers, and received a considerable quote for my sell back order. I felt very confident in the process, and was even more excited that I would be making about $150 dollars from a pile of old textbooks sitting in my room! I can’t wait to receive my check in the mail!

With the cash I make from selling my books back at ValoreBooks.com, I am going to buy concert tickets for Beth’s favorite band; front row! I am thrilled that I am able to afford the perfect present for Beth and I can’t wait to see the expression on her face when she sees the tickets I have scored for her. Thank you ValoreBooks.com for making my holiday a huge success!

Thanks again,

Pete

            To have your own holiday success story like Pete’s, visit ValoreBooks.com and sell your textbooks back. Our process is simple and straightforward. First, enter the ISBN numbers of the books you wish to sell back and you will be given an instant price quote. Next, using our prepaid shipping label, package and mail your books to us for free! As soon as your books are checked in, we issue your payment via a check in the mail. Want more information before you begin? View our sell back details. Our sell back program helps you to give a little more this holiday. Get started. Cash awaits you!