Are you looking for how to sell medical books and make money? If YES, here are 4 ways to sell medical books and make money.
At the end of the school term, most students start to think about what they will do with those expensive medical textbooks. Unfortunately, a good number of students will be unhappy to learn that the value of their medical textbook has depreciated massively during the term, or is not eligible for buyback.
Note that the value of a used book depends on whether or not that particular book has been assigned by a professor for the following term.
Once the bookstore has received an order from the professor for the book, the bookstore will generally buy back used copies in good condition for about 50% of the retail price. However, if the book has not been assigned on campus for the next term, the bookstore will check with wholesale companies to determine the national market value – often a much smaller percentage of the original retail price.
Have it in mind that time plays a crucial role in students getting the best prices during buyback. A late book order from an instructor can indeed negatively impact the value of a book.
In addition, the national market value for a particular book fluctuates based on the changing supply and demand for that book nationwide. Stores and wholesalers don’t buy back books once their quota is reached. But there are other reasons why your book may not be bought back.
Ideally, it is possible that your textbook is not being used anywhere next term, and since the medical field is highly specialized or customized; the publisher may be replacing the book with a new, updated edition next term; the book may be part of a required package of items that cannot be sold separately; or, your copy may not be saleable due to its poor condition.
Medical college stores offer used books as a less expensive alternative for students, more or less pricing them 25% less than new books. Since providing used books is a labor intensive process that creates additional costs for stores, paying more for them at buyback would raise the retail price of the book when it is resold.
Therefore, as the term ends, you may have to start considering selling your used medical books back to an online bookseller, or listing them for sale on an online book exchange.
4 Ways to Sell Your Medical Books
First, you have to understand there are various ways to resell your textbooks – and each has pros and cons.
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Sell Medical Textbooks to The College Bookstore
A good number of medical college bookstores will buy back used textbooks, especially if professors plan to use the same text next semester. These Bookstores will often pay you cash within minutes. Some people feel that convenience is worth more than money.
However, if you sell your books to a bookstore, don’t expect to turn a profit. Medical college bookstores need to make money reselling the books they buy from you. That encourages them to pay you as little as possible.
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Sell Medical Books Directly to Students
Note that some of your underclassmen will need to get the same textbooks you bought last semester. You can leverage this demand and sell your medical books directly to these students. This way, you can potentially make a profit by cutting out the middleman.
But finding a buyer isn’t always easy. Even students who want to save money might feel uncomfortable paying you for textbooks.
In addition, there is the possibility that students will drop some classes. When that happens, they may come to you for a refund. You don’t have to give them their money back, but it’s an awkward conversation that can make you look like the bad guy on campus.
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Sell Your Medical Textbooks Online
A good number of students buy textbooks online to save money. If you already have books, you can use those sites to sell books to other students. Note that Websites like eCampus make it easy to compare buyback prices so you don’t get ripped off.
Selling online is also quite easy. Just enter the book’s information, wait for it to sell, and collect your profits. However, shipping textbooks might be inconvenient if you don’t live near a post office. The good news is that some websites will pay your shipping expenses.
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Auction Them Online
Also, note you can use auction websites to advertise and sell your medical textbooks. If you have a popular medical textbook, you can make a tidy profit from buyers who bid against each other. Howbeit, since students who use auction sites expect to save money, they are often unwilling to pay the full value of textbooks.
Tips and Strategies to Sell Medical Books and Make Money
To successfully sell medical books, here are tips to consider;
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Do Your Research
Even if you are considering selling your medical books back at your school’s buyback days, make sure you do your due diligence before you hand over a potential gold mine. Remember to check out Amazon, Chegg, and other buyback websites before heading to your campus’ buyback events. If your school’s price is less than what you researched, take your business elsewhere.
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Ensure Every Page Is Intact
If you want to sell back your medical books, you have to make sure that every page is intact, i.e. it is in the same condition as at the time when you purchased your book. Note that this basic standard means that there are no ripped, torn, or detached pages because in this case, you will not be able to sell your medical books online.
If you have a textbook with missing pages, you can try to find someone on campus who will want to buy it at a discounted price for the next semester. You can easily evaluate if there are any missing pages in your book if you look at the side of your textbook.
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Don’t Sell Your Books Back To Your School
Speaking from experience, your medical school is the worst place to sell your textbooks. There is a probability that you will get the least amount of money from your campus’ bookstore, even if you bought the books brand new. There are a lot of reasons for this — quotas, revenue, incentives from publishers and professors — but typically, you will get maybe half of what you paid for the book. And that is a big maybe.
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Avoid Water Damage
Water damage is one popular drawback that has a serious impact on the quality of textbooks that you are trying to sell. Coffee stains or water damage tend to happen regularly when you are studying all the time.
Howbeit, if you are thinking of selling your textbooks later, try to take care of the books to avoid wrinkled pages. If your book has a musty odor, most likely it will not be accepted by any online book retailer! So, make sure you are an accurate book reader from the very start!
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Keep Condition In Mind
If you are buying medical books new, there is a good chance you will get top dollar when you sell them back. Even if you buy them used, you can still get a good amount for them, but you have to keep them in good condition.
Although it might be tempting to highlight, write in, or fold the pages of your books, don’t if you are planning to try and sell them back at the end of the semester. The better condition your medical books are in, the easier it is to get some cash back. Use sticky notes to mark things instead.
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Communicate With Other Medical Students
If you are looking to help out fellow students and make some money, try selling your medical textbooks back to actual people face-to-face. You could put up signs in your hostel or college building, or advertise on your school’s forums via social media or newspaper.
Maybe you will get a bite. It will be cheaper for them than buying from the bookstore, and you stand to make a little money from the deal, too.
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Book Binding
Note that the condition of your textbooks’ bindings matters a lot: you must ensure that they are not torn or separated from the cover of the books. Each page needs to be attached to the binding as it was originally designed. If some of the pages are detached, then textbooks with such compromised bindings will not be accepted.
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Don’t Wait Too Long To Sell Them Back
Most medical college buyback days happen the week of finals, and while it’s OK to hold off on selling yours for a little bit longer than that if you want some extra time to study, the sooner you can get rid of them, the better.
Ideally, online sources will buy back medical books up to a few years after the original purchase, depending on if the book is still in use. However, if you want to get the best deal possible, don’t wait too long to sell those books back, especially for classes that change reading materials constantly.
Conclusion
If you are smart about how you buy your medical books (or even rent your textbooks), and you make it a focus to resell your textbooks after class – you might not find yourself as hard up as you’d have thought. Some savvy students have even found ways to make profits when reselling their textbooks. Leverage this guide and make money from your medical books so you will have extra cash for other expenses.