With over a dozen textbook rental sites and another 20+ sites selling used textbook my recommendation is to use a price comparison tool to show the cheapest used, rental, ebook and international version price. When in college I hated the time needed to search all the sites so I built a quick search tool which became the website http://www.Cheap-Textbooks.com  Makes it much easier to compare all the sources and make a decision. We now also offer a site just for textbook rentals at http://www.Cheap-Textbook-Rentals.com

So what are my tips on buying used textbooks?

* Use a price comparison tool and find the cheapest used price. Next use a tool like our buyback quote tool to see what you will likely get when you sell it back. This is the net used price.

* Compare the net used price to rental prices, ebook prices  and international version pricing. There is no sell back for rental and ebooks so this is the cost to compare to the net used price. You can not sell international version back to bookstores (they can not sell them) so you will have to guess at their resale value.

Make sure shipping costs are included in your calculations. Shipping can range from free to the ridicules. I saw a textbook on eBay for $.99 but they were charging $30 shipping!

If you do rent here are some extra considerations:
1) Most important – don’t lose your book. If you loose your book you will find yourself paying both the rental and the replacement cost.
2) Don’t return rented textbooks late – if they can not re-rent it the rental company losses big time and there late fees can get very expensive. They also usually have a cutoff date where the book becomes yours and you must pay the purchase price.
3) Keep the original shipping boxes. Most rental companies what them returned in the same boxes.
4) Compare prices – with over a dozen big name sites offering rentals be sure to compare the prices and shipping. A price comparison tool like http://www.Cheap-Textbooks.com makes this job easier.
5) Read the terms and conditions – don’t just check the box that says you read it, actually read IT! This is a 4 month contract that covers what you can and CAN NOT do with the book. Remember, if you rent a textbook it is their book, not yours.

Tips for buying used college textbooks http://ow.ly/2pKg5

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