Bigwords.com: buy books for low prices, sell them for a mint? After reading Alexander Klausner’s article on Monday I had to see for myself. So, I went to the site, and looked into a few books.
On the buying end of things, yes there were some incredible prices. I typed in the ISBN numbers of a few books, and then clicked the compare prices button.
The books that came up at first looked promising, but then I started to read the fine print. The books being listed at the lowest prices were not the books I had entered. They were old editions, international editions, old international editions or severely damaged copies.
That’s fine if you can use the old edition, or if you don’t want to sell the books after using them. When I finally arrived at copies of the correct edition in acceptable condition the price difference between the site and local merchants was negligible. When you factor in shipping, the cost was basically the same. No fireworks here.
In terms of buyback, some companies represented by Bigwords.com did offer seemingly high prices. The only disappointment was the best prices were for store credit only. Most of the non-store credit prices were along the lines of the better local textbook merchants. These companies, just like local stores, can refuse books based on condition. It would be terrible to receive an e-mail saying that the price offered for your books had been halved because of condition issues. And then, one would have to decide whether to pay to ship the materials back, or accept the lower amount. Hassle.
It seems Klausner should have done a little more research. Local merchants have the students’ best interests in mind, it’s how they feed their families. They offer books and buyback all year, and there is no mystery or fine print. So, support your local economy. Come in and get a book today, no waiting, or get that cash for your used books without the wait.
Editor's note: This letter refers to this article.
