So with about four more weeks left in the semester, it’s time to start thinking about those textbooks again. Not necessarily to study from, but where is the best place to sell them, while trying to lose as little money as possible.
Here’s what I found:
University Co-op, photo courtesy of University Co-op
- Plan Z: The University Co-op is always there. You can check the prices of your books online, before making the trek down Guadalupe to sell them back. There are also several locations you can visit to buy and sell your textbooks. Down Dean Keeton/26th you can visit the other Co-op.
- Beat the Bookstore: Located in Dobie Mall’s basement, just outside of “campus.” Beat the bookstore buys books back (whoa, too much alliteration there), and it tries to give you more for your book than the above location.
- Ecampus/Amazon/half.com: Name you price. You sell books to other students through the lovely internet. List your book on the site, punch in your asking price, and designate how much for shipping. People will contact you, and you only have to walk to the post office. This is also a great way to buy books.
Keep Austin Cheap 
I once sold a Biology textbook I bought at the coop to Beat the Bookstore for exactly how much I bought it for! They are pretty good with buybacks that way. The coop would never have done that.
This is awesome! I was just looking at all the books I need to get rid of…do you know if you need to have a reciept.
I really do have a lot of textbooks that the CO-op wouldn’t take back. I will definitely try Beat the Bookstore .
Jill, you don’t need a receipt, you basically walk downstairs and show them your book.
Beat the Bookstore generally offers a couple of dollars more than the Co-op, but every extra helps. Go before finals so they can give you the most money, before everyone else starts selling their books.
Beat the Bookstore is a good deal. I used to just call them with and the Coop w/ the ISBN numbers to my books to see which store would give me more cash and then go to that one to sell.