First Class

I had my first class yesterday. It was fun going back to school. I know it’s a little nerdy but the idea of homework got me all excited. Not because I’m a masochist but because it means I’m learning something new and applying it.

Most of us went to buy our texts at break, since this is probably the only time we’ll be on campus. I grabbed a used book, which is about 75% of the new price.

Being a business class, it was interesting listening to a couple of students discussing the advantage of buying new versus old. If you buy new, you can sell it back to the store. If you buy old, you cannot. So it depends on how much you can sell it back to the store for. If the store buys it back at 50% of new price, buying new makes more sense. You save 50% in the end. Same argument goes for 40%, 30% etc. 25% buy back price is when the decision makes financial sense either way. It’s good that they thought about this and not just assume that buying used is a better deal.

However, I still bought used, because to me a savings up front is real savings. I’ve known enough people who plan on recouping costs later and never get around to it. Or the edition might change. Or I might want to write and highlight (I don’t usually). Or the buyback price may be lower than expected.

Also, just because the store won’t buy it back doesn’t mean other students won’t buy it. I still have that option should I want to take it later.

I found a good parking place too. It’s a 2 minutes walk from the building where my class is and half the price of on campus parking. This will save me about $100 over the semester. It was a good day for PF.