Addicted to Amazon

For some it’s food. For others, it’s alcohol. For still others, it’s as detrimental as crack. I’m talking about addiction. For me, (although some will argue that food is one) it is definitely fast becoming Amazon.

I can’t begin to tell you when the addiction first began, but I know that I have ordered books from them for years, and that to date, I have at least seven shipping addresses on file, three for me, and the rest for gift recipients. Then gradually, the book ordering gave way to ordering CDs (a logical step), and then I went to ordering EVERYTHING else.

Last year, I ordered well over fifty items from Amazon, ranging from the usual books to key chains, to paperweights, to my proudest accomplishment, a floor lamp. Oh, did I mention that I also ordered my son’s (it still feels weird to say that) baby furniture from Amazon?

Even after all that, I still was not ready to completely admit my addiction—until just now. Why, might you ask? Because now Amazon is offering the option to buy back textbooks. (As I write this, I am browsing my shelf to see if there are any that I want to sell back.) It doesn’t matter if you bought them from Amazon or not. It doesn’t matter if they are no longer used by your institution or instructor. If they are on Amazon’s list, you get credit! This credit goes toward your future purchases.

Here’s how it works. You log into Amazon under their buyback store and look up your textbooks by author, title, or ISBN and see if it’s eligible. If it is, there will be a list price. Once you finish, you click complete, and the site will ask you if you’d prefer a UPS label or a USPS label. You pick your choice, and the site provides you a PREPAID shipping label that includes the approximate weight of the package, along with a packing list that you include in the box (that you have to find). Take the box to the place you choose and mail it off. Within three to five days, you receive an email confirming receipt of the books and the credit that’s been applied to your account. This credit is automatically applied to your next purchase.

It’s that simple.

So, does anyone have any books you want to send to a worthy cause? (Me.)