July is a very big month for a textbook company. Anyone familiar with the way schools are alloted money knows that July 1 is the biggest day of the year. Most schools start their budget years on July1 and this is when they receive money to start buying textbooks. Often, we will have schools call us early in the spring and ask us to hold books until they have money in July. Unfortunately, we usually can't put books on hold for that long. Recently we had a customer inquire as to where their books were. Well, after some research on my part I discovered that the school called us in April to hold books until July. They never gave us an official request or a P.O. number. Of course we no longer had the books to supply them. Unfortunately, this happens quite often and it's sad for both parties involved. We've changed several of our operating procedures to prevent this from happening more.
Our company had also recently come under new management. We are now part of the Southeastern Print Industries umbrella. And no, there will be no genetic experimentation that creates zombie dogs and superhuman females named Mila. That is a different Umbrella. We have a new office and a new warehouse location. Moving to a new warehouse was no easy task, but we accomplished it. We also have some new employees working in our office. It has been a good transition.
About Us:
Southeastern Textbooks is a used textbook provider based in Atlanta Georgia. We provide quality used books, grades k-12 all subjects and all publishers. We cater to schools and home schools looking to provide their students with quality used textbooks. We have been in business for about 12 years and we can provide much more personalized customer service than some of our large national competitors. We do not have thousands of employees that are going to call your school and bug you everyday. We are not going to fill up your e-mail or fax in box with useless fliers every week. We take the time to get to know our customers and developed customer service interactions based on their needs. We only send you the information you need and requested. We will never waste your time because we know that you are a busy person. You have an important job. Providing textbooks for all those students can be difficult and we only want to help you in that process.
www.southeasterntextbooks.com
866-872-6657
fax: 866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
Friday, July 27, 2007
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Books and Website designs
We are now knee deep into our year. Our representatives are busy calling schools and building customer relationships. It is important for used textbook companies to contact the correct person in the school district or school. In the spring is when many companies start calling schools to contact the correct person. Usually, schools don't start ordering books until sometime in the summer so it is important to make sure they know the companies name before they start looking for books. This year we have invested a lot in our website and online marketing. We would love to branch out into sales through our website and we are trying raise people's awareness of the website. We would also love to provide books to homeschooling parents as an alternative to sites like Amazon and E-Bay. For anyone out there that knows about website design and marketing, this has been a difficult process. In reality, the type of service we provide is really not an "Internet" type of service. It can be, but it is really about talking to schools, finding out what their needs are and providing what they need. We like to create good relationships with our customers that go beyond impersonal online interactions. But, many people use the Internet to find companies like ours, so it's important for our information to be out there.
About Us:
Southeastern Textbooks is a used textbook provider based in Atlanta Georgia. We provide quality used books, grades k-12 all subjects and all publishers. We cater to schools and home schools looking to provide their students with quality used textbooks. We have been in business for about 12 years and we can provide much more personalized customer service than some of our large national competitors. We do not have thousands of employees that are going to call your school and bug you everyday. We are not going to fill up your e-mail or fax in box with useless fliers every week. We take the time to get to know our customers and developed customer service interactions based on their needs. We only send you the information you need and requested. We will never waste your time because we know that you are a busy person. You have an important job. Providing textbooks for all those students can be difficult and we only want to help you in that process.
www.southeasterntextbooks.com
866-872-6657
fax: 866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
About Us:
Southeastern Textbooks is a used textbook provider based in Atlanta Georgia. We provide quality used books, grades k-12 all subjects and all publishers. We cater to schools and home schools looking to provide their students with quality used textbooks. We have been in business for about 12 years and we can provide much more personalized customer service than some of our large national competitors. We do not have thousands of employees that are going to call your school and bug you everyday. We are not going to fill up your e-mail or fax in box with useless fliers every week. We take the time to get to know our customers and developed customer service interactions based on their needs. We only send you the information you need and requested. We will never waste your time because we know that you are a busy person. You have an important job. Providing textbooks for all those students can be difficult and we only want to help you in that process.
www.southeasterntextbooks.com
866-872-6657
fax: 866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
Monday, April 30, 2007
About Us
Southeastern Textbooks is a used textbook provider based in Atlanta Georgia. We provide quality used books, grades k-12 all subjects and all publishers. We cater to schools and home schools looking to provide their students with quality used textbooks. We have been in business for about 12 years and we can provide much more personalized customer service than some of our large national competitors. We do not have thousands of employees that are going to call your school and bug you everyday. We are not going to fill up your e-mail or fax in box with useless fliers every week. We take the time to get to know our customers and developed customer service interactions based on their needs. We only send you the information you need and requested. We will never waste your time because we know that you are a busy person. You have an important job. Providing textbooks for all those students can be difficult and we only want to help you in that process.
www.southeasterntextbooks.com
866-872-6657
fax: 866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
www.southeasterntextbooks.com
866-872-6657
fax: 866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
Monday, April 23, 2007
State or National Editions
Often, when buying used textbooks online books are described as a North Carolina edition, or a Texas edition. Many people avoid buying these, not knowing how the book may differ from the national edition. A state edition book was created by the publishers to cater to specific states. It is also a way for them to control the resale of such books. A state edition is exactly the same as a national edition with one exception. There is a small section in the front of a state edition book that applies the concepts in the book to the local area. For example, if it is a biology book the section in the front may talk about the biology of the local animals of that particular state. Many school systems require schools to use state editions of specific books. The states you tend to see this happening the most with are North Carolina, New York, Texas and California. Once the schools stop using these books it is hard to resell them because schools in other states don't want a state edition that is not their own.
Buying these books is no different than buying a national edition. If you don't mind the extra section in the front, the rest of the book is exactly the same. You may even learn something from the extra material. Publishers say there is a major difference to avoid resale that they do not profit from. Don't be afraid to buy state editions!
www.southeasterntextbooks.com
866-872-6657
fax: 866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
Buying these books is no different than buying a national edition. If you don't mind the extra section in the front, the rest of the book is exactly the same. You may even learn something from the extra material. Publishers say there is a major difference to avoid resale that they do not profit from. Don't be afraid to buy state editions!
www.southeasterntextbooks.com
866-872-6657
fax: 866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Buying Used Online
Hopefully many people are familiar with buying items online through websites such as Half.com, Amazon and E-Bay. Used book sales are a huge part of this trend. All of these sites, and others offer used books from private sellers at a fraction of what you would pay at the bookstore for a new book. Many school systems in this country are requiring their students to locate and purchase their own books, not to mention the thousands of home schooled children in the U.S. Buying used books online is often the only way for these families to get the materials their children need. This is evident by the large increase in our online sales at the beginning of the school year. We also sell quite a few at the beginning of the spring semester as well.
For those of you who are not familiar with buying used online, here is a brief overview. First, make sure you have the title, author's name, date published, publisher and the ISBN of the book you are looking for. The ISBN is a set of numbers, usually ten digits long, that identifies that specific edition of that specific book. It's kind of like a social security number for a book. It is located on the back of the book above the bar code, and on the back of the title page. For example the ISBN number for Prentice Hall Biology 2002 is 013050730x. If there were 10,000 Prentice Hall Biology books printed in 2002, they would all have that same ISBN. The next edition printed in 2003 would have a different ISBN. Teacher's editions and state editions also have different ISBNs. It is much easier to search for a book with the ISBN number. If you try just searching Prentice Hall Biology on Amazon you would get three+ pages of matching books. If you do not have the book's ISBN, make sure you have the author's name and the year the book was published. Often one book by the same author is printed several times in several editions. Make sure the year is correct so your student or child doesn't run into problems where his page numbers don't quite match up or the math problems are a little different.
It's better to Google search for websites to buy used books, rather than Google the actual book. If you do this, your top hits will probably be for the publishing company. Once you have chosen a site to buy from, it's a simple process to find the book. Most websites have a basic book search engine where you can enter the title or ISBN. If you have the ISBN you will almost always be directed to the correct book. If you do not have the ISBN, sreach by Title and author then go through the list and find the correct year. Once you have found the correct book, you can then look through the sellers and choose the quality of book you would like to purchase. Book qualities on most websites are New, Like New, Very Good, Good and Acceptable. Once you have found the quality you like at a price you are willing to pay, check the feedback of the person who is selling the book. Sites like Amazon, E-bay and Half.com use feedback as a way to rate sellers and buyers and to make sure they are abiding by the websites standards. Make sure they don't have a lot of negative feedback. Also keep an eye out for feedback that involves issues with shipping or refunds. You don't want to order a book from a seller that is slow with shipping or refunds. Most websites have a standard amount of time in which a seller has to ship an item.
After you have done all this, you can now buy your book. This usually involves entering your information and a credit card to pay with. If you already have an account with that website, that information will already be there. Choose a shipping method, usually standard or expedited. Standard mail is usually United States Post Office (USPS) media mail and expedited is usually USPS priority mail. Many sellers choose to ship with other carriers, but most use basic USPS shipping. When you order remember: media mail can take up to 14 business days to arrive and priority up to 4. Before you order make sure you know exactly how long you have until you will need your book and choose a shipping method accordingly. Many times customers choose media mail and don't realize how long it can actually take. This also becomes an issue if you live far from the seller you are buying from. If you live in California and order from us in Georgia, you can guarantee it will take those 14 business days. Keep all this in mind when ordering.
Suggested sites: Amazon, Half.com, E-Bay, Campusbooks.com, Alibris, eCampus.com. Some of these sell both lower grades and college texts and some focus only on college texts.
Our company also sells used textbooks online. Unfortunately we can not always sell under Southeastern Textbooks, but we always let our customers know who they are ordering from.
www.southeastertextbooks.com
866-872-6657
fax: 866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
For those of you who are not familiar with buying used online, here is a brief overview. First, make sure you have the title, author's name, date published, publisher and the ISBN of the book you are looking for. The ISBN is a set of numbers, usually ten digits long, that identifies that specific edition of that specific book. It's kind of like a social security number for a book. It is located on the back of the book above the bar code, and on the back of the title page. For example the ISBN number for Prentice Hall Biology 2002 is 013050730x. If there were 10,000 Prentice Hall Biology books printed in 2002, they would all have that same ISBN. The next edition printed in 2003 would have a different ISBN. Teacher's editions and state editions also have different ISBNs. It is much easier to search for a book with the ISBN number. If you try just searching Prentice Hall Biology on Amazon you would get three+ pages of matching books. If you do not have the book's ISBN, make sure you have the author's name and the year the book was published. Often one book by the same author is printed several times in several editions. Make sure the year is correct so your student or child doesn't run into problems where his page numbers don't quite match up or the math problems are a little different.
It's better to Google search for websites to buy used books, rather than Google the actual book. If you do this, your top hits will probably be for the publishing company. Once you have chosen a site to buy from, it's a simple process to find the book. Most websites have a basic book search engine where you can enter the title or ISBN. If you have the ISBN you will almost always be directed to the correct book. If you do not have the ISBN, sreach by Title and author then go through the list and find the correct year. Once you have found the correct book, you can then look through the sellers and choose the quality of book you would like to purchase. Book qualities on most websites are New, Like New, Very Good, Good and Acceptable. Once you have found the quality you like at a price you are willing to pay, check the feedback of the person who is selling the book. Sites like Amazon, E-bay and Half.com use feedback as a way to rate sellers and buyers and to make sure they are abiding by the websites standards. Make sure they don't have a lot of negative feedback. Also keep an eye out for feedback that involves issues with shipping or refunds. You don't want to order a book from a seller that is slow with shipping or refunds. Most websites have a standard amount of time in which a seller has to ship an item.
After you have done all this, you can now buy your book. This usually involves entering your information and a credit card to pay with. If you already have an account with that website, that information will already be there. Choose a shipping method, usually standard or expedited. Standard mail is usually United States Post Office (USPS) media mail and expedited is usually USPS priority mail. Many sellers choose to ship with other carriers, but most use basic USPS shipping. When you order remember: media mail can take up to 14 business days to arrive and priority up to 4. Before you order make sure you know exactly how long you have until you will need your book and choose a shipping method accordingly. Many times customers choose media mail and don't realize how long it can actually take. This also becomes an issue if you live far from the seller you are buying from. If you live in California and order from us in Georgia, you can guarantee it will take those 14 business days. Keep all this in mind when ordering.
Suggested sites: Amazon, Half.com, E-Bay, Campusbooks.com, Alibris, eCampus.com. Some of these sell both lower grades and college texts and some focus only on college texts.
Our company also sells used textbooks online. Unfortunately we can not always sell under Southeastern Textbooks, but we always let our customers know who they are ordering from.
www.southeastertextbooks.com
866-872-6657
fax: 866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Textbook Price Issues
Anyway, on to today's textbook information. There has been a lot of talk lately about the rising costs of textbooks, especially college textbooks. While we don't expressly carry college texts we do understand the plight of the average college student. The inflation rate of textbooks has well surpassed the national inflation rate. In an article on MSNBC.com, dated Aug. of 2005, the prices of textbooks have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation. Textbook prices have increased by 186 percent since 1986. You can read the article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8963920/
This article focuses mainly on college textbooks, but the same issues arise in texts for lower grades as well. What does this mean for your average student? It means that publishers are are adding supplemental materials such as software and online access. While these materials are great for a student, the problem lies in the extra cost that is placed on the student or school that is purchasing the books. Often times students do not take advantage of the supplemental materials when they are provided and in many cases the cd-roms that come with the books can only be used on one computer thus eliminating them for future book owners. This is a problem in schools, public schools especially, where books can be used for up to 7 years. Depending on if the school is on semesters, that can be anywhere from 7 to 14 students using any one book.
Here in lies the benefits of used textbooks. Often, a used textbook still contains the original supplemental material because the original owner didn't use it. Used textbook companies can often provide other supplementary materials such as workbooks or cd-roms that did not come with the original package. Most schools can not afford to buy new textbooks every semester (even private schools that usually have a little better funding) so the supplementary materials are lost anyway. Used books "fill in" the lost or damaged books between adoptions. A school could buy those books new, but would it be fair to students for half the class to have brand new books with the supplements and the other half have used books from previous semesters? If a school buys used, then all the students have access to the same materials. If a teacher is worried about missing out by not having the materials I would suggest contacting the publishing company to see about ordering extras. But again, this would cost money and have to be done every semester. Teachers could also go through the supplementary material and choose a few things from it to create exercises that students can do in class every semester.
The rising cost of textbooks is something almost everyone in this country will have to deal with at one point or another. This is a topic we will continue to discuss at some length.
www.southeasterntextbooks.com
866-872-6657
866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
This article focuses mainly on college textbooks, but the same issues arise in texts for lower grades as well. What does this mean for your average student? It means that publishers are are adding supplemental materials such as software and online access. While these materials are great for a student, the problem lies in the extra cost that is placed on the student or school that is purchasing the books. Often times students do not take advantage of the supplemental materials when they are provided and in many cases the cd-roms that come with the books can only be used on one computer thus eliminating them for future book owners. This is a problem in schools, public schools especially, where books can be used for up to 7 years. Depending on if the school is on semesters, that can be anywhere from 7 to 14 students using any one book.
Here in lies the benefits of used textbooks. Often, a used textbook still contains the original supplemental material because the original owner didn't use it. Used textbook companies can often provide other supplementary materials such as workbooks or cd-roms that did not come with the original package. Most schools can not afford to buy new textbooks every semester (even private schools that usually have a little better funding) so the supplementary materials are lost anyway. Used books "fill in" the lost or damaged books between adoptions. A school could buy those books new, but would it be fair to students for half the class to have brand new books with the supplements and the other half have used books from previous semesters? If a school buys used, then all the students have access to the same materials. If a teacher is worried about missing out by not having the materials I would suggest contacting the publishing company to see about ordering extras. But again, this would cost money and have to be done every semester. Teachers could also go through the supplementary material and choose a few things from it to create exercises that students can do in class every semester.
The rising cost of textbooks is something almost everyone in this country will have to deal with at one point or another. This is a topic we will continue to discuss at some length.
www.southeasterntextbooks.com
866-872-6657
866-952-6657
k12@southeasterntextbooks.com
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