I need to preface this guide by explaining

that this was written primarily for an Australian audience so keep in mind that

we’re on the bottom half of the world & we have our seasons & school

vacations at different times to everyone in the northern hemisphere. We have our

major school vacation in December/January - keep this in mind when reading - it

will apply to different months in your country.

Start of the school year means costly text books, stationery, uniforms,

school fees and a whole lot more. With many parents having 2 or 3 children at

secondary school at the same time, it can be a financial nightmare. However, you

can make it a lot easier on yourself . While sometimes schools and booksellers

have second-hand book sales, the quality of the books is often not too flash and

a substantial amount is still paid for these books. I slash dollars off my kids’

booklists every year by searching and buying through eBay.

The best time to start searching for your children’s school textbooks is

around November. Why? Senior students are finishing off exams and text books are

often finished with. Then as the younger students wind down, their old textbooks

start appearing on eBay, usually in mid-December. Some Maths & Science books

will cost you close to $50 new but you can pick up a few bargains over the

summer holidays as parents begin selling books their children have finished

with. Why don’t they keep them for younger siblings? Often textbooks are updated

every couple of years so by the time the younger one needs the book, it’s the

wrong edition. So if you’re in the selling game, don’t hold on to those books

for too long otherwise you’ll be stuck with an obsolete book! Sell it early and

re-coup some of your textbook spending!

Novels are a different story, however and because the text doesn’t change,

the book is still current. the cover might be different but - so what? Is it

worth paying full price for that? Some second-hand texts are nearly in pristine

condition while others, more worn, come with handy annotations in margins! Some

schools teach the same texts at the same year level for years on end,

particularly if the school is fairly traditional and sticks to some of the

classics. There’s usually an abundance of these around and even with postage

factored in, you can easily make a huge saving. A new novel, which will cost

around $20 can be picked up for maybe $2-3 plus $1-$2.50 for postage (ALWAYS

check postage costs carefully and factor them into the cost equation).

You have to be patient! If you bid desperately, you won’t make much of a

saving. Do daily searches. I use the “My Favourite Searches” function for all

text books so it just takes one click to find what I’m looking for.

Stationery works a little differently to textbooks - generally, you’ll find

items cheaper in regular shops during “Back to School” sales. But… when you

see those dreaded graphics calculators on the maths booklist and nearly pass out

when you see the near $200 price tag alongside it, think eBay! I bought mine,

brand new with postage, for exactly half that price about a year and a half

back. Items like these have to be watched during “non-peak” times - that is, not

at the end of the school year or start of a new one! Fewer people are buying

calculators in the middle of the school year so you’ll have less competition

bidding against you.

Remember there are many other school-related purchases you can make on eBay

too, ranging from leather school shoes and other uniform items to terrific desks

for your children to work on at home. You can buy many of your school needs

without even leaving your home. It just takes a little thought and some online

searching.

Good luck!