Though recently I bought a used textbook online and it had the name of a library imprinted on the pages and some numbered labels on the spine, with some poorly-ripped labels on the back, leading me to believe it was stolen from a library. But the library is all the way in another state, and I don’t feel like doing anything about it, especially since I (well, actually my parents) already paid for it and it’s from so far away. So yeah, be cautious when buying used stuff.
In addition to the topic of used stuff, another topic of this daily flash is bubble wrap. Bubble wrap is pretty awesome, especially when you figure out a way to conveniently pop multiple bubbles at the same time, like putting the bubble wrap sheet underneath the wheels of a swivel chair and moving the chair back and forth. Though that isn’t as fun as popping them manually.
Here is a game from Chibitami that involves popping bubbles. You can click on the empty space to push the bubbles into other bubbles and then pop them for chain reactions. I don’t really know why I’m mentioning this game, but it just came into my mind when thinking about bubble wrap just now. It was posted in May so it’s not really new, but I played it some number of few weeks ago and it was quite nifty. And that is all.
Used stuff is awesome!
On second thought, my Tales of Symphonia game doesn’t work after I bought it used. That’s a pisser.
Please don’t tear pages out from your local library. That is all.
The saddest moment is when you realize that you already popped all of the bubbles ;_;
Oh, and one piece of advice about college textbooks. But used if you can. You never know what what useful stuff might be in the pages from the previous person.
If there’s one thing college taught me, it that you shouldn’t buy the books the professor assigns until he assigns something out of them.
On the first day of matrix algebra, the very first thing the prof said was, “You’ve all got your books?” About half the class raised their hands. “Good. We’re never going to use them. They’re completely worthless.” And indeed, they were. He never assigned anything out of it–reading or problem sets.
Anyway, just something to keep in mind.
Huhn? The first reason ‘phones character gives doesn’t really apply to college books. College books become “used” generally because there’s no point in keeping a college text once the class is done, a sentiment also applicable to AP books (even moreso, I’d say). But I suppose if it’s just a “feeling” as opposed to the actual circumstance surrounding the purchased item… then sure, it’s really up the individual at that point.
As for the second reason… yeah, I guess. I don’t particularly feel a need for a sense of ownership for something I’m likely going to sell as used once again or give to a friend who’s going to take the class.
My PS2 and Wii is used. And almost half of my games and CD’s are used too. Never been a problem for me until now.
Also buying used stuff not actually bad, especially if you can get special edition ones for the price of normal ones, hence selling out the extra to support yourself in this recesscion(?) time.
Since I’m still young, I haven’t really bought anything used except for video games, mostly. For the most part, they’re actually pretty okay, especially since it’s not as easy to damage a DS game than a game for a system that uses disks. For the most part the biggest concern about used games is the fact that most of them don’t come with their manuals, which is kind of annoying for more complicated games like Metroid Prime.
If you buy a used book, though, it’s not as great as a new book because it’s all messied up and whatnot. My Algebra II textbook from last year had these weird coffee stains on it or something, which was more annoying than you’d think because it caused the pages to stick together.
Man, this flash reminds me of the time I bought a used spell card for a very cheap price off online, and I thought, “awwww SWEET!”
…but when I tried to used it the attack just went around the enemy…
What’s really sucked was that when I tried to return the spell card, they didn’t want it back; clearly stating that they put on their disclaimer, “N⑨ REFUNDS!”
What a rip…it looked awesome on Mikovideo…
———-
On another side-note, to answer your question Kirby (like a couple of posts back), I saw this for sale at Anime Expo: http://www.walfas.org/blog/wp-content/events/scarlet_moon_ball/create_folder.jpg
It was full in stock and it just suddenly went out of stock right out of the blue after I came back a couple of hours later~ ;_;
I don’t really buy used stuff. Probably the only thing I would buy is a used game.
YAY BUBBLE WRAPS!!! :D
.pdf’s are free
I know a guy who borrows books from libraries, and then copies the pages at a printing place
Whee, bubbles
*shakes fist* darn you marisa, stealing mah pages >:O
As a repeat patron of the Half Price Books and CD Exchange stores (and sometimes the used games bin at Game Stop), I will readily sing the praises of used items, at least ones at stores that check the quality of the items in question.
As for used textbooks, they can be a really good bargain. I never bought textbooks for class until I got the syllabus, so I didn’t have to suffer getting books I didn’t need. However, all too often, the required texts weren’t available used, either because the teacher was using a different text, or because a new edition of the previous year’s text had come out. This situation also made it far less viable to sell textbooks at the end of the school year. We no longer needed them, but if they weren’t being used again, neither did the bookstore…
And thats when the idea pops to mind: over 500 pages make over 500 paper airplanes…
You could play some war games with your friends! Yaaaay!
Buying used stuff is like breathing arround here XD
Though, most of the books I ever needed ,like Algebra or some book of a guy called Harold Koontz about management, were bought by my father and my brother, cause he needed too, then things like videogames, phones, media player, more videogames, videogame consoles, stuff for my Frankenstein-like PC, all of them where a bargain by our clandestine connections XDDDDDDDDD
lol up there is correct.
On some occasions, buying the book is good for reference material but is unnecessary for the class itself. Further, with the digitalization of textbooks (slowly but surely), some books can possibly be bought online or…”bought” online as a .pdf for a bit cheaper. If you’re unused to reading digitalized material, I’d advise against that.
If you’ve got the cash and are an avid learner, I suggest you buy the books though. Used especially. Newest editions of books are only really required for Math courses where the teacher has that edition because the publishers shuffle the problems around.
But even more important than the books is going to class. No matter how much you think you know the material that’s coming up, missing a lecture is a solid negative. Professors don’t often take attendance, but learning in class is useful since you can ask the professor to clarify points you find confusing.
Enjoy the university life. But take it seriously. A wasted year, even a wasted semester, is hard to makeup.
Buy used texts whenever possible. It’ll save you a bit of money, and if you’re lucky and the next sememter’s class uses the same text, you can resell the book and not have to pay too much. My university’s student government runs a used book store, and they sell the texts at a reduced price, and if the book is still in use, you can resell through them for only a 15% commission of what you paid for it (if you’re sly and can peel off their pricing sticker, they’ll give you back 15% off the cover, which is usually what they sold it to you in the first place).
My Econ 101 text is still in the dang shrinkwrap and my Business 101/102 text has not had a word read out of it yet. :(
The worst was one of my stats courses where the prof decided to have his course notes (which only cost about $20) professionally published, which ended up costing over $100, and the materially wasn’t any different.
I bought my DS used. It was 3 times cheaper than buying it new. And it wasn’t really That used, the guy got it from some friend and he never used it, and really, there wasn’t any scratches on the touch screen.
Also, the books in high school were really expensive (about as expensive as my used DS), but I’ve been lucky that my brother went to the same school and used the same books, so I’m used those too.
Dunno about uni though, my brother never bought or used any textbooks.
Using utensils to help pop bubble wrap is cheating. It’s like watching a movie on fast forward and trying to get the same enjoyment out of it.
@Sensei Hanzo: Although watching a rewinding movie is very, very amusing. Ever see someone falling UP?
It would be funny if you bought a used wordsearch/crossword book and it had been completely filled out xD
@Akiraita: My grandma’s old VCR had backwards play function (not fast rewind; at normal play speed, just backwards). I’ve watched The Mask like that. It was pretty amusing.
I once had a text book with a relayed scribbled message through 6 different students and semesters. Of course i responded to the previous messenger and left my own question so the next guy can answer it when i sell this book back to the school after im done with it.
..and at this point i realized our school hasn’t updated the content of our learning material for over 3 years… orz
Used stuff will create the largest war in the history of forever
http://buttersafe.com/2008/11/11/thrift-shopping/
The ownership issue doesn’t apply to me because when I buy something, it becomes mine, end of story. That it has history before that just makes the item more interesting. As for something being wrong with it, that’s why I always check used stuff before I buy it.