Textbook Condition Guide

If you have ever bought a textbook online, then you probably noted the small description that was given of the shape it was in. This same grading system is used when you are selling books back. Whether it be at the school store (which is a bad idea) or through an online site (best idea) the buyer is going to want a description first, and to preserve your integrity, you need to know how to do that.

This selling back of textbooks has really made a difference in the wallets of college kids all across the country. Sites like sell textbooks for cash will find the buyers and best price for you simply by you entering the bar code off of the back of the book. The is the best solution yet to trying the hedge the high cost of college textbooks.

One of the things that you will have to provide is a general description of the condition of the book. This is easy once you get the lingo down:

• As New: Unless you bought the textbook brand new and then never went to class, the ones you have to sell will not fit into this category. As new, or like new, means that the book doesn’t have a mark on it, and even the binding is perfect. This can only happen when the book was never read.

• Fine: Sometimes they will abbreviate this as F or FN. This is like an as new book except that it has been opened and the pages looked at. The only flaws will be an un-crispness to the pages and maybe a mark on the binding.
  Very Good: VG has signs of being read, but no ripped pages. If you mark this as the condition of the book, make sure that you note what few defects it has.

• Good: You may see this as G, and it is the most likely category for the majority of your textbooks. It’s worn, but no pages are torn out. Again, what problems it does have should be described to the buyer when making the finalizing the transaction for them to buy back your used textbooks.

• Fair: All the important pages are there, but the end papers might be missing. The cover and binding may show wear and tear as well.

• Poor: A book that has seen better days. The pages might be stained, and important reference material missing from inside.

• Binding copy: This is the bare bones version of a textbook, where the pages are in perfect shape but the binding is missing or loose.

• Reading copy: The text is all there, and legible, but there is absolutely nothing else to the book.

No matter what the condition, you should always be honest when offering a textbook to a buyer. They won’t pay you until they get the book anyway, so there is no sense in being dishonest about its condition. It is also customary to note if the book was an ex-library or book club edition if you know that information.

Sell textbooks back for cash is by far the best method yet of saving money on your college textbook expenses. Try it out for yourself by running one of your barcodes through their search engine and see just how much you can get for it than if you tried to sell it back to your school.