20 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ADVICE
JUNE 29 - JULY 5, 2005
ADVICE
Ask Mr. College Answer Person
Each week Mr. College Answer Person offers his wisdom and advice to those looking for "the inside word" on the college experience. He seeks your actual questions, so put on your thinking cap and then send an e-mail to mistercollege@kansan.com. In the interim, the editors will provide the questions.
Dear Mr. College Answer Person, I have heard of people buying and selling their textbooks on the Internet, is this a good idea?
While our local bookstores do offer you a convenient place to buy and sell books, there are places in cyberspace where you can get a better deal.
For buying books, the most efficient way to find the lowest price is by using Web sites who do the searching for you. The most accurate way to search for your book is by ISBN number. You can go to one of the three local textbook stores to find the ISBN number you need, and then plug that number into the
Net when you get home.
The prices of online book retailers are often cheaper than those of the local bookstores because the e-seller incurs little overhead cost.
Textbook manager of Jayhawk Bookstore Bill Madl said the biggest concern when using online retailers was buying the correct book.
Another drawback to online book-buying is that shipping can take more than a week. If you are in a situation where your books
will not arrive before class starts,
you can always go to the book-
store and buy a temporary book.
The Internet is also a useful tool when the local bookstore will not buy your book back. The best time to try is during the textbook rush at the start of each semester.
If you have a credit card and bank account, both Half.com and Amazon.com allow you to set up a personal seller's account. With this, you can set your prices and wait until a buyer comes along.
If your book sells, these sites charge you a 15 percent commission fee, but the buyer pays shipping costs.
There is also a local alternative to using the bookstores. The Student Book Exchange, sponsored by Student Senate, facilitates book deals between KU students. Go to www.ku.edu/~book to browse its selection or list your books.
Best, Mr. College Answer Person
Y
B
C
P
N
S
Y
T
O