The Benefits of used Textbooks

One of the most significant surprises of college can be the cost of the necessary textbooks for the classes you're taking. But good news! You don't have to spend a fortune on textbooks for your college classes. Almost any of the books you need to buy can be found used for much less. However, there are a few other benefits besides the initial cost, such as:

Similar Resale Value: One of the most accessible sources of extra money during college is selling back your textbooks at the end of the semester or course. The downside with a textbook purchased new is that while you may pay 200 dollars or more for the book at purchase when they repurchase it from you, the book may lose as much as 75% of its value. So getting 50 dollars back on a 200 dollar investment is a terrible return. However, buying a used textbook for 50 dollars and receiving 50 dollars at the end of the semester breaks even and helps out.

More Options:  Used books will have more availability in the market and thus for subjects that don't change very often such as Maths, Physics, and other hard sciences may have the same information in a text form as much ten years ago or more. However, before buying an older edition, try to coordinate with your instructor about what they will cover in the course and if the newer edition will be necessary. You may also find international or teachers' editions of the text, which usually are not available for students.

Notes:  One of the best ways to read and understand information is to engage with the page's text, write notes in the margins, and highlight important passages. These extra notes can give you a leg up if someone who has taken the class before makes extra notes that you may not have thought of or give you a deeper insight into the course material. 

 There you have three reasons to buy used textbooks, do you buy new editions or used ones? Are there any benefits that I missed? Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know.