ValoreBooksBlog.com

Hello All, happy Monday! Starting in April, our founder and CEO Bobby Brannigan earned expert blogger status and is now a frequent contributer on FastCompany.com. You can check out all of Bobby’s articles here. Many of his posts discuss what it takes to launch and grow a successful business. We hope you check out his contributions so far, and let us know what you think!

The average college student spends about $900 per year on college textbooks. I’m sure you can think of plenty of other ways you would rather spend that $900. In a recent list put out by Forbes.com featuring “10 Ways You’re Getting Ripped Off,” college textbooks certainly made the list. If you are like most college students, you are eager to find ways to reduce the cost of your textbooks each semester.  Here are some tips to help you save:

1.)    Request your textbook list early: Don’t get caught in a bind where you have an assignment due tomorrow and you just found out what book you need today! Plan ahead so you have time to search for the best deal on your textbooks.

2.)    Use Google: Google and other search engines are your friend! Put them to work for you to find the cheapest price the book is offered for online. Often, textbooks are sold for up to 90% off the list price at sites such as ValoreBooks.com.

3.)    Buy Used: Don’t buy brand new textbooks if your goal is to save money. Used editions, even previous editions can work fine for your class and save you hundreds!

4.)    Sell Back: Done with the book? Well don’t just let it sit there, sell it! Often you can recover most of the books cost, or even turn a profit if you choose to sell it on an online marketplace. Another option to consider if you want cash quickly, is to sell your books through a reputable sell back program.

Finals are almost over and summer break is just around the bend!  Need some extra money or can’t possibly fit all those textbooks from this semester’s classes in your car to take home? Here are some alternatives to taking the books home to toss into the attic and collect dust.

If money is no object, and helping those in need is important to you, you can look into donating your textbooks. A good place to start is to check out your state’s website to see if they offer any textbook recycling or donation programs. Both New York and California offer a list of places to donate textbooks.  If you got the textbook as a steal but couldn’t read much of chapters 8-12, that book may be better off in retirement then being donated. Donated books should be in good condition or better.

Selling textbooks is a very popular option among college students.  At ValoreBooks.com, two options are available for selling textbooks. One is to register as a marketplace seller, where easy-to-understand prompts help you list a book to sell to fellow college students. The other option is the Sell Back Program, where you can sell the books to ValoreBooks directly. Just enter the book’s ISBN number, select your book’s condition (the most popular used book condition is “good”) and see what the current price is! You are given a quote on the spot.  Next, ship your books to the ValoreBooks.com warehouse using the free, prepaid shipping label. Once your item(s) are checked in to the warehouse, you will receive your payment in the form of a check within about 10 business days.

The sell back program is a great way for you to turn your used textbooks into cash just in time for summer vacation! Now what will you do with the extra cash?

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.