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(just for fun) Settle my marital dispute: should I return my old school books?

What should I do with my college books?

  • Return all old books - it's money!

    Votes: 1 8.3%
  • Keep your favorites - return the ones you use the least.

    Votes: 3 25.0%
  • Keep them all - it's money well spent!

    Votes: 8 66.7%
  • Find an alternative: put some of the money to buying cheaper books.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other idea or solution

    Votes: 1 8.3%
  • Ixnay

    Votes: 1 8.3%

  • Total voters
    12

Aunt Spiker

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My husband found out the other day that I have never returned old school books (college books) - you know how much these puppies cost, too - so he's actually a little steamed that I've kept them.

I don't just *keep* them on a shelf, though, I *do* read them - I refer to them in debates, and I've read chapters and facts from these books for post-class personal learning purely out of curiosity. They don't go to waste - none of them.

So - he's wanting me to return them. Now, I bought them used, some of them are a few years old, but he thought that even if I get just $15.00 for each book back that'll be money-saved.

So - click in with your thoughts!

Remember: I want to keep them - I read them. . . .he wants me to sell them back.

(Ixnay means no opinion, btw).
 
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Sell them them to new students.
 
If they're a few years old, the paper alone is worth more than you'll receive for selling them back to the bookstore. Nobody uses the same textbooks for that long.
 
If they're a few years old, the paper alone is worth more than you'll receive for selling them back to the bookstore. Nobody uses the same textbooks for that long.

You're right - at some point they become obsolete . . . so what do people do with them? Give them for donation? I wonder if I can buy *really* old books - 3, 4 years old? Sell back after the semester - buy some older books on the same subject for much less.
 
why is it his concern that you have kept the texts to your coursework?
 
If you really need to money, well, sell them. Otherwise keep them since you get use out of them
 
throw them at him while proclaiming "i am the queen of the obsolete book, all shall look upon me and despair" and then calmly add that you'll keep them.
 
You might have better luck, or get more money selling them online. some schools might still use a particular textbook and those students will go looking for used ones instead of paying the outrageous prices for the new texts. And sometimes students will purposefully buy a text that is an edition behind since a good bulk of the text remains the same.
 
My husband found out the other day that I have never returned old school books (college books) - you know how much these puppies cost, too - so he's actually a little steamed that I've kept them.

I don't just *keep* them on a shelf, though, I *do* read them - I refer to them in debates, and I've read chapters and facts from these books for post-class personal learning purely out of curiosity. They don't go to waste - none of them.

So - he's wanting me to return them. Now, I bought them used, some of them are a few years old, but he thought that even if I get just $15.00 for each book back that'll be money-saved.

So - click in with your thoughts!

Remember: I want to keep them - I read them. . . .he wants me to sell them back.

(Ixnay means no opinion, btw).

they are your books, if you want them, keep them.
 
I'm sure you can find the information you use for debates online, right? I say sell them. Of course, I love getting rid of stuff, so ....
 
I say keep them, but I'm a book hound. I loves my books.
 
I found an old book today at a thrift shop - from 1895. (Annual of the Medical Sciences) You bet I'm reading it :)

I returned some more recent books that I don't peruse often. . . put some money in the bank - wasn't very painful at all :)
 
why is it his concern that you have kept the texts to your coursework?

It's purely a money issue and it's not really serious. He told me I could keep them if I really want to and I really use them. . . but I shouldn't complain about not having money to spend. LOL

What I realized by talking with the manager at the return-store is that they'll buy it no matter the condition - as long as it's usable (all the pages, isn't falling apart) - and they pay for it depending on the demand, not necessarily the age of the book itself.

So books for core classes - like entry levels of math, science, are in constant use at this one school. . . the school is less concerned with 'new and updated' as they are making things reasonably affordable for the students - which is great, not all Universities/Professors have this as a focus.

Overall, though, it's a lot of money - at least $1,000 each year on books (2 semesters). . . I save up every month and still things do get tight.
 
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why is it his concern that you have kept the texts to your coursework?

That was kind of my question. My next one was...didn't you need money at the time to pay for celebratory end of semester partying? Why didn't you sell them for beer money when you needed it?

Actually, I jest. I kept all my textbooks, too, for the classes within my majors. I sold all the others that I thought I would never look at again.
 
That sounds reasonable - just letting go of ones I won't be referring to.
I have several math books that I haven't had to crack open in years - just sitting there. . .someone else could have used them, I'm sure.
 
If they're a few years old, the paper alone is worth more than you'll receive for selling them back to the bookstore. Nobody uses the same textbooks for that long.

This is exactly right. When I was in college, even if the books were only a semester old, the bookstore would usually only pay you around 10-15% when they bought them back (only made that mistake once, after that it was ebay all the way). I'm betting that the store wouldn't even take them if they're more than a year or two old.
 
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