Textbook prices seem to keep soaring, up to four times the rate of inflation.
A college professor, I do my best to choose the best textbooks for each of my classes. But sometimes the cost of the book will make me choose a second (or even third) best, if the book is outrageously priced.
And as a parent of two in college, I gasp — and sometimes even groan — at the cost of my sons’ books, especially for those books I know they will not want or need to keep.
I’ve recently learned about Amazon.com‘s guaranteed Book Buyback program, and I am sharing that information with all my students. For the Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics textbook (for my PR Applications class), a student can purchase a used copy of the book for less than $40, and sell it back to Amazon and receive a $38.09 Amazon giftcard. That makes the net price of the book $1.40. You can’t even get a cup of coffee most places for $1.40.
The savings aren’t quite as dramatic for some of my other classes, but it’s still a smart option to investigate.
Hope this helps,
(NOTE: All Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links for the International Listening Association.)
