Schools over - stuck with 18 books

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I passed my boards (yahoooooo!) sort of have a job lined up

I do plan on going back for my bachelors, starting in fall of 2011

Cant decide which ones I should hold on to.

Any advice would be much appreciated

I am selling all of mine! I am moving out of state and do not want to pack & lug around books that will be obsolete soon. If I need a reference I will use the internet or the books at work. Most of them are worth so little now after only 2 years, I am not making much off of selling them.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

Some stuff may be obsolete, but I kept nearly all of mine. Some for individual subjects I gave away but the med/surg textbook, pharmacology, most of my main subject notes, psychology and pathophysiology. You can try selling some online at most university (college) bookshops, that way you can get some of the money back. But I have to say they all come in handy when you just need to refresh your memory or quickly look something up (most things are online now of course), but I like to check the notes I made in uni or in my books. But a lot of info isn't going to date much, ie: anatomy doesn't change for instance, unless we evolve into something else. I didn't keep any chemistry/physics books.

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I bought most of my books in "like new" condition from Amazon sellers (at a good discount), and then kept them pristine. Each semester, I sold almost "all" of the previous semester's books.

I went the "long" route in nursing getting a generic Associate's Degree, then an Associate's in Nursing, then a Bachelor's in Nursing and then a MSN to be an advanced practice (family practice) specialty. Thus, I have "lots" of experience "selling" textbooks. I've saved thousands of dollars and never missed all the books I've sold. I highly recommend recycling the books. I saved an Anatomy book as well as a few others. I continue to buy "new" books as my occupation warrants new items that I feel I could use in practice. I usually noted in the comments field when selling my books that they were "gently used by a nursing student". I think many buyers would like to help another student get through school. I chose Amazon as my "marketplace". I did sell my Fitzgerald Review CD set on Ebay (I purchased it for $420 from Fitzgerald & sold it on ebay without the workbook for $325).

If you sell on Amazon, you do need to be sure someone can ship the book out (usually by media mail so shipping is reasonable) quickly (their guidelines state how many days you have to ship your orders out). Also, when shipping media mail, anything weighing over 11 oz. cannot be left in your mailbox, etc. - so it may mean a trip to the post office). Many of my friends that mother's, sister's or brother's that helped them with this. Overall, it is a super easy process and all my books for the whole semester always sold within a day or two of listing. Best wishes.

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

I tend to buy old editions to begin with so it's not like I'm stuck with expensive books. I sold my patho and OB books. Still have med-surg, peds, pharm and psych. I also picked up some other books to supplement what my textbooks didn't teach me (like a lab test guide, a pictorial clinical guide, etc.) Problem is I have kids who scribble in my books and now they're not saleable...

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I tried to sell a Histology and an Anatomy book that was recommended but not required. I used the Histo book for one test, the Anatomy one wasn't used, was in a plastic cover the entire time, had no markings or tears. Abebooks emailed me that it wasn't in good enough condition to sell, I got $8 for one of the books and they kept the other one. They were both in better condition than any used books I ever bought. I was a little surprised. I wish I had just kept both of them.

Is Amazon a better way to sell back books?

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Whoaa........I usually got back 1/2-2/3 of the original book price once commissions were paid (I usually bought my books new ahead of the semester from Amazon or one of their resellers). There were books I actually made money on. My books were all in meticulous shape.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I had a third book I tried to sell, it was in perfect shape. They wouldn't buy it back because it was loose leaf. I bought it that way from them. Love the prices at Abebooks, don't love the buyback. There aren't too many books I will sell back from now until I graduate. :) If I do, I will try Amazon.

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I have been selling mine at half.com.

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