{"id":147,"date":"2008-11-20T20:17:46","date_gmt":"2008-11-21T00:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/?page_id=147"},"modified":"2017-05-16T14:29:57","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T18:29:57","slug":"the-total-value-of-a-textbook","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/the-total-value-of-a-textbook\/","title":{"rendered":"The Total Value of a Textbook"},"content":{"rendered":"

In some of our last posts on eBooks<\/a> we explored the idea of total value (TV). But, what is it really and do students really care? We have all been in the situation of spending $150 for a book and at the end of the semester selling it back for $20. It kind of seems like a slap in the face to me. That slap gets even worse when someone else in your class goes to the same buyback station and gets $50 for the book. So how does this work? How can I get the most value for my books and what is the total value I am receiving? Over the next few weeks we will explore these ideas and try to provide you with ways to increase the total value you can get from your textbooks.<\/p>\n

Total value is the cost of the book minus the amount you got by selling the book back at the end of the semester. The real cash you get is your \u201creal\u201d value but to determine how to apply it at the beginning of the semester you have to consider \u201cperceived\u201d value. This is making a calculated guess as to how much you will get back for the book at the end of the semester. Ultimately, it\u2019s a gamble.<\/p>\n

Guaranteed buyback \u2013 one way to determine what the future value of your textbook would be to shop at locations that offer an upfront buyback price. Some campus bookstores have begun this practice, as well as websites like Textbooks.com and Chegg.com. You simply buy the book from them and they will guarantee an end of semester buyback price. Return the book and receive that predetermined amount of cash.<\/p>\n

Current Market Value \u2013 with a little research you can find out what the current market value of a textbook. This is done is two ways. First, check the current online buyback price. These quotes are only good for 10 to 30 days but it if the book currently has value the chances are that value should remain close to that level for the semester (but this is not a guarantee). Second, take a look at the current marketplace value. See how much people are selling the textbook for at sites such as Amazon.com<\/a> or Half.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once you know the perceived value you can make a more informed decision.<\/p>\n

By: Jeff Cohen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In some of our last posts on eBooks we explored the idea of total value (TV). But, what is it really and do students really care? We have all been in the situation of spending $150 for a book and at the end of the semester selling it back for $20. It kind of seems […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"amp_status":""},"yoast_head":"\nThe Total Value of a Textbook - CampusBooks Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/the-total-value-of-a-textbook\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Total Value of a Textbook - CampusBooks Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In some of our last posts on eBooks we explored the idea of total value (TV). But, what is it really and do students really care? We have all been in the situation of spending $150 for a book and at the end of the semester selling it back for $20. It kind of seems […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/the-total-value-of-a-textbook\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CampusBooks Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-16T18:29:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Campusbooks\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CampusBooks.webp\",\"width\":680,\"height\":357,\"caption\":\"Campusbooks\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"CampusBooks Blog\",\"description\":\"All the exciting insider info on the textbook world and how it affects you.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/the-total-value-of-a-textbook\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/the-total-value-of-a-textbook\/\",\"name\":\"The Total Value of a Textbook - CampusBooks Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-11-21T00:17:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-16T18:29:57+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/the-total-value-of-a-textbook\/\"]}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1820,"href":"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/147\/revisions\/1820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.campusbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}