With the new year comes a new study chapter! Maybe you’ve just completed your degree or finished a subject and are wondering what to do with those old textbooks.
Here are some tips on how to get the most cash for your textbooks.
Find your market
There are many different online platforms to sell your textbooks on and in most instances, you can list them across more than one location. If you plan on listing on more than one site, it’s a good idea to add the line “listed on other sites” to let the potential buyer know they need to act quickly to secure the item.
If you are willing to post the book, you increase the number of potential buyers available to you.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace reaches a wide range of buyers in your local area. It’s a great way to avoid organising postage and means the buyer can also pay in cash if you’d prefer.
Did you know there is a Facebook group called CSU textbook buy/swap/sell/exchange? Being an online group dedicated to CSU students, posts in the group can reach 11,000 other students who are members. Remember to be willing to offer postage to reach students that may be studying interstate from you.
Gumtree
It is free to list on Gumtree but you can pay a small amount for additional advertising. Gumtree also works on local markets, however buyers from outside your area can also search Australia-wide for the right item. Keep this in mind when you create your listing.
Student VIP website
Student VIP is Australia’s largest textbook market with over a million members. It is free to join and doesn’t cost anything to sell.
eBay
You may incur selling fees with eBay; however, you do reach a much larger market of people.
The dollars are in the details
Think about what you would do when searching for a particular textbook from your textbook list. You will probably search for the title, author, edition and maybe even the ISBN. If you add all these details into your description, you are much more likely to reach a potential buyer than if you have a generic term like “Nursing textbooks” or “Business books.”
Having details in the description means your item can easily be found when searching.
As a rule, try to include:
- An image of the textbook
- Title (edition):
- Author(s):
- ISBN:
- Condition: (like new, good used condition, worn, also mention if there is any highlighting or notes in the book).
- Price:
- If you are willing to post the book (and if that is included in the price or the buyer pays).
Do your research
Do a little research and look for the book you are trying to sell. Find out how much they are currently selling for brand new. Look on the platforms listed above and to see what the going rates are second-hand so you don’t overprice your items.
Communicate
Once you have listed the items, be sure to check your email or messages and respond to potential buyers promptly. If you don’t, they may find the book somewhere else and you could miss out on the sale.
Happy Selling!
