I recently posted 3 textbooks and I'm now noticing that 2/3 of the people who were 1st on the wishlist have a lot of textbooks wishlisted...like over 50.

I know it's kind of silly, but I want my textbooks to go to someone who needs them. I bought them new and they were insanely expensive plus the cost of shipping is more than the cost of a credit. I'm worried that the people with tons of textbooks on their wishlists are just going to receive it, jack the price up, and sell it...which kind of defeats the point.

Is there any polite way to ask? Is it really just none of my business?

Hi Juniper,
I agree with you about that weird feeling.  What student can wait in line for 50 textbooks?  I suspect that if there is a waiting list for these books, they're still pretty in-demand and, as you said, worth more than just a paperback/credit in return.

Leisl's suggestion about Amazon or Half.com is a great one, but if you want something quicker, I'd also check your local college/university bookstore (if you have one nearby) to see if they'll buy back any of your texts; a lot of them don't require you to be a current student to sell books back.

Good luck! 

I always check the prices and the availibility at Half.com and Amazon as well.  I've sold several texts to fund my postage habit :).  I don't usually bother selling them if they aren't worth much, and I've posted and shipped a few.

It does sound pretty shady. 

What Liesel said.

Try to sell them. If you can't , then consider giving them away.

If you look at my wishlist you will see that most of the books are textbooks or textbook like.Of course there are a lot of different editions of the same book/ same subject different authors type thing and we don't want all of them, just the first one to become available.  It is my husband's way of keeping up with the latest advances in his field, plus rereading some old favorites. Most of the books(all of the WL ones) are read and then reposted, some he can't bear to part with and they are on his keeper shelf. We have never sold any of our books, so just having a lot of textbooks on your wishlist does not mean you are selling books. Some people just like to read textbooks. I know that sounds crazy but I love him anyway.

Juniper--

If you have reason to believe that a member is requesting books on PBS for the purpose of resale, please let the PBS Team know.  This is strictly against the rules.

Cheers,

Catt

I would imagine that the most common reason to have a lot of textbooks on your Wish List would be that you are a student.

If I was a student, I would make it my business to check into the books that are being used for the classes I am going to take next semester / next year, and WL them NOW.

Yeah, I know editions change and professors mix up their books lists, etc ... but still, I would have to think you could get pretty close getting at least some of the books you would need in the future.

Thanks for the responses everyone, I really appreciate it.

Unfortunately the bookstore won't buy them back. They've already moved on to new editions. Apparently they're still using them somewhere though. I did just go check on half.com. The books aren't worthless, but 2 of them aren't selling for much ($20 and $25) and one of them is going for $60. I might consider selling the two that I haven't accepted the request on and just saying they're in worse condition than they are to sell them cheap so someone gets a pleasant surprise. I feel kind of obligated to send out the one I've already said I would even though it is one of the accounts with a wish list. Is it easy to sell books on half.com? Do I need to enter a credit card number to create an account/have an account with paypal? I've heard really bad things about paypal and I don't want to post my debit card number online. As you can probably tell, I've never bought/sold anything online before and I'm kind of nervous about it.

That's a good point Debra. I think there are ways that these people could be legitimately wanting so many textbooks, just not very many. The thing that makes these shelves different from yours is that they have a huge variety of text books listed. Yours look like mostly all the same couple of subjects, showing that someone is just really interested in physics.

My only reason to believe that they might be selling books they receive here is the huge amount and variety of textbooks on their wishlists Elizabeth. Is that enough reason to report it to PBS? I can think of a couple scenerios where it would make sense that they wanted all those books, so I don't know if I should report it. I think I have reason to suspect they might be doing it, but not reason to believe they are. Know what I mean?

Juniper, another reason could be that they are legitimate students, and they WL books for their friends who don't have memberships. That could make one person look like they just want tons of textbooks.

I really don't have any idea about those particular members, but I can think of lots of reasons why they could just be students.

You should do what you are most comfortable with, of course.

That's true Sara. Another reason I was thinking is maybe they work at a university and like to give books to students/libraries so that not everyone has to buy one. Like I said, there are definitely legitimate reasons they could have so many books wishlisted, it just seems unlikely compared to them getting them to sell them. Maybe that's just my pessimism talking though.

<<My only reason to believe that they might be selling books they receive here is the huge amount and variety of textbooks on their wishlists Elizabeth. Is that enough reason to report it to PBS? I can think of a couple scenerios where it would make sense that they wanted all those books, so I don't know if I should report it. I think I have reason to suspect they might be doing it, but not reason to believe they are. Know what I mean?>>

Yes, I know what you mean.  Since you are concerned, you could send a note to the PBS Team to bring it to their attention.  They can investigate or whatever they feel is appropriate, and it will be noted on the account if other issues arise.  If they're not doing anything wrong, it won't hurt them, but if they are breaking the rules, it might not get noticed unless you say something :-)

Cheers,

Elizabeth

All keep in mind that a lot of members here home school their children.  If you have, as an example, three children of widely different ages, then you could end up with quite a wishlist of textbooks from a variety of subjects.

I have tons of textbooks and elementary education books on my wishlist because I teach both elementary school and college-level education classes.  I have a lending library for my college studednts so they don't have to buy some of the awesome books out there that they can't afford right now.

I sold some of my mother's grad school books on Half.com a few years back.  It's very easy!  If you have an Ebay account, you can use it with Half.com.  The feedback ties right in.  When you register as a seller, you give them your bank account information.  They deposit your money directly in there.  Paypal is not involved at all.

You get a shipping allowance on top of the price you set for your book.  For a heavy textbook, it'll cost more than the shipping allowance to send it out so factor that into the price you list it at.  When someone buys your book, they pay Half.com with their credit card.  Half sends you an email letting you know the transaction details so you can print it out and mail out the book.  Once (maybe it's twice) a month, Half will direct deposit in your bank account your money (price your book sold for plus the shipping allowance) so you'll need to have the $$ to pay postage on the book up front because you may have to wait a week or two for the deposit from Half.com.

I poked around the half website for you-- it seems like you need to give them your credit card info and telephone number to verify your identity, as well as your back account information to deposit money.

On amazon, it didn't really say whether you needed to give them credit card info in the FAQ. But they also need bank account info to deposit your earnings. Seems like their fees/commission is higher. 

But since you said the books sell for ~20 dollars, that's several times the cost of a credit. You can build a postage fun and fulfill more wishes with that money. But whatever makes you most comfortable. 

 Good luck.