Energy Price Cap announcement: Watch Martin Lewis explain what it means for your electricity and gas bills this winter
MSE News: Amazon launches textbook trade-in: is it any good?

1.7K Posts



This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:
"Online retailer Amazon has launched a textbook trade-in scheme this week, yet you may be able to beat its prices ..."
"Online retailer Amazon has launched a textbook trade-in scheme this week, yet you may be able to beat its prices ..."
0
This discussion has been closed.
Latest MSE News and Guides
Replies
If it's a recent textbook and info. relates to the current syllabus, then you would get more from selling to a friend, selling on eBay, gumtree etc. Additionally, you'd get cash as opposed to an Amazon gift card.
If you're not bothered about the money then I think a couple of the subject-specific societies at my uni used to do 'book amnesties' where you could trade in your old textbooks and swap them for those you might need the next year, which works quite well for the relatively obscure stuff. Alternatively if you have any relatives/neighbours/younger friends who are doing a similar course you can offload stuff on them - I did that with a particularly large poetry anthology which I gave to my cousin.
definetly! at my uni theres a book sale every year and I got £65 for my first year books and am planning to do the same this year. I looked up the trade in price on amazon for a book I had this year that I paid £35 for and they were offering £3 trade for it! :eek: I could get around £20 for it at the book sale!
Reading whatever books I want to the rescue!:money::beer[/B
WannabeBarrister, WannabeWife, Wannabe Campaign Girl Wannabe MSE Girl #wannnabeALLmyFamilygirl
#notbackyetIamfightingfortherighttobeMSEandFREE
Selling books second hand can work out really well! and earn more than trading in.
Soon found big snag. Students would take a look at next year's reading lists. They would then offer us those deleted from the list and leave those still current with the Students' Union Book Exchange! So ours wouldn't sell!
So, if your textbooks have gone out of use, then anything you can get from Amazon is a bonus. Otherwise use the SU or, if you want the money up front, find a reputable book dealer.
(There's a sad little footnote to this. Ages ago I was asked to look at the stock of an academic bookshop which was moving. I was taken to the basement store which was packed with book-lined shelves and told I could buy any I wanted for one (old) penny each. Yes, they had fallen victim to the practise of changing texts from year to year. Needless to say I didn't buy any.)