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Topic: 15,12, 10 % off on Half.com... great for textbooks!

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Pacrat avatar
Subject: 15,12, 10 % off on Half.com... great for textbooks!
Date Posted: 1/5/2013 6:02 PM ET
Member Since: 6/25/2009
Posts: 218
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http://www.retailmenot.com/view/half.ebay.com

Indogirl avatar
Date Posted: 1/7/2013 8:57 PM ET
Member Since: 10/25/2007
Posts: 1,253
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Darn. I already ordered all my textbooks. Thanks for sharing though!

Pacrat avatar
Date Posted: 1/8/2013 7:44 PM ET
Member Since: 6/25/2009
Posts: 218
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Oh :( well maybe around this time next year they may have another deal similiar to this one :)

frazzledspice avatar
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Date Posted: 1/13/2013 10:27 AM ET
Member Since: 1/5/2006
Posts: 8,850
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I wouldn't sell my textbooks at Half.com  I sold one of my daughter's.  A company bought it.  They then "alleged" that it had water damage and wanted their money back.

I really thought I was being scammed.  That book was clean--no marks, really good condition.  If I had sold it in person the buyer probably would have been thrilled.

I haven't done much with Half.com--maybe sold 50 books or audio books over the years.  I only have about 125 stars on my 100% rating...they probably thought, "She's small time, we can get away with stiffing her."

But of course I gave them the money back.  I won't sell textbooks by mail anymore--it's one thing to refund on a book that cost us two bucks (not that I was ever asked to), and another on a textbook that cost us $40 or $50.



Last Edited on: 1/13/13 10:28 AM ET - Total times edited: 2
IlliniAlum83 avatar
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Date Posted: 3/23/2013 7:02 PM ET
Member Since: 4/28/2009
Posts: 21,582
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I always get a better offer from Amazon when I sell books back. AND most textbooks I buy online I can find cheaper elsewhere than half.com

Generic Profile avatar
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Subject: Textbook advice
Date Posted: 7/18/2016 4:15 PM ET
Member Since: 10/24/2007
Posts: 54
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It's been a while since I've been in college... however, these tips saved me hundreds of dollars when I was going.

1.  Don't buy the book, especially any literature course.  Borrow it from a library (city or school).  in prerequisite courses, the professor usually lectures on the chapters.  Just make sure to follow along.

2.  Rent your textbook by the weekend from one of the 'frat boys'.  I even had them loan it free for explaining to them what I'd read.

3. Borrow from the professor or assistant.  This works best if the professor knows you as a good student or is a professor in your major.

4.  Have I mentioned that you'll get a syllabus and a whopping big percent of the course grade is either participation or a large project (requiring more than just the textbook)?  Consider it mentioned and just skip buying the text and research the subject matter (Google, other books)

5.  If you must buy a book (i.e. math where you work problems in the chapter), then see if it is in the school library.  But wait a week or two to see if the problems are even turned in and graded.

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Date Posted: 2/23/2017 3:03 PM ET
Member Since: 5/10/2005
Posts: 2,878
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I will reiterate the DO NOT sell on half.com.  I sold there for years and years and then I had two people claiming problems with the books within 3 months.   Half.com did a "very careful investigation" (which did not include talking to me or even telling me it was going on) and requiring me to pay them to have the books shipped back on top of a full refund.

There was NO tear in the cover of the one when it was returned.

The other did have a smoke smell--which was described clearly, and isn't anywhere in the conditions (or wasn't then), so it didn't impact the condition choice.  It was one of the companies.

Beyond the insulting "we investigated without talking to you or requiring pictures" it really pissed me off I had to refund the shipping cost that half.com charges out of my own pocket--given that half.com only pays the sellers part of that, so I was paying more to the buyer than I was paid to ship it.  If half.com is going to sneak in fees for themselves they should kick it in on a refund.

I removed all my books from half.com and haven't listed another one.

hardtack avatar
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Date Posted: 7/1/2017 11:13 PM ET
Member Since: 9/22/2010
Posts: 7,201
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No need to worry about it anymore. Half.com closed. Even before it closed I hadn't sold anything there in quite awhile. And I closed my account late last year when they announced it was going to 25% commission. Talk about greed.