How to Convince Undergrads in Your Program to Buy Your Textbooks

By Ian Acosta on May 13, 2017

The end of the semester is rapidly approaching which means it is time to clean out your apartment, study for exams, and get rid of old textbooks.

Speaking of those old textbooks, why not try and get some money for them? You could post them to Craigslist or sell them on Amazon or Uloop for some money, but they might take some time to sell. You could just give them away, but then again you have loans to pay. So, what to do?

Sell them to your program’s undergrads. They need books at discount prices and you need to recoup some money. What is the best way to go about doing so? Here are some tips to help convince the underclassmen to buy your books and not anyone else’s.

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Be persuasive

Some people skills go a long way. Obviously, do not swindle other classmates in your program because that will get around and hurt your reputation. At the same time, provide a competitive rate that is still lower than what the bookstore sells used books. You are going to have to take some type of a hit monetarily but some money back is better than no money.

Throw in some added incentives to get the undergraduates in your program to buy from you. By this, I mean notes, offers to tutor, or even past homework. Sweeten the deal and people will buy your books in no time.

Talk with professors

In many classes, professors post a link to a website from the bookstore or a third-party to buy the required books for the class, but why do that? If you are lucky, some professors will get in touch with former classmates to arrange a textbook exchange. Professors know the game. They know students do not want to buy full price textbooks and shell out boatloads of money when there are numerous other expenses that come along with college.

If you are having a tough time selling your books in a conventional manner, get in touch with some of your old professors to see if they can help you arrange a deal. More often than not, professors will be very receptive to the idea and do anything they can to help.

Post on campus group related sites

There are numerous Facebook groups related to college. For example, some that I am a part of are “Textbook Exchange,” “Ticket Exchange,” “UIUC Economics,” “UIUC Statistics,” and others of the sort. Post your books on every site you possibly can to get the word out that you are selling your books.

Be sure to list the price, where they can pick them up, and always say that you are willing to negotiate. Especially if you go to a bigger school, there will be someone who can undermine your price. Post on your major’s Facebook page, post on your dorm page, post on your student work page, post everywhere. You owe it to yourself to publicize as much as possible.

Post in your major’s department

In some colleges, they will typically have a newsletter or tutoring opportunities available for all students in the department. This is your chance to get in touch with the head of the department newsletter, tutor, or just someone in your department to get the word out for people who are selling their books. Not only will this benefit you, it will benefit others looking to pass on their books for certain classes in your program.

Get in touch with a department specific advisor to see if he or she can relay your information to the students they meet. Your own major is a great resource to use so be sure to not forget about it when trying to get rid of your books. Lastly, even posting paper flyers (with proper permission) in your major’s department building or even around campus is an old-fashioned albeit good way to get the word out.

Hold up signs in the quad

The best way to convince anyone of anything is to be outgoing. What better way to do that than by holding up signs that you are selling books while standing on your campus quad? Take it a step further and set up a stand where you can have people come up to you and buy whatever books you have on sale.

Create funny signs geared toward your major to attract people to see what you are all about. People always appreciate a laugh, even when it is buying books for a college class.

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