Competitive exam preparation doesn’t follow the neat rhythm of school academics. There’s no single booklist handed out in April. No definitive set of materials that covers everything you’ll need for two years. Instead, students accumulate resources gradually, testing what works, discarding what doesn’t, and returning for more as their preparation deepens.
This creates a distinct buying pattern, one that’s noticeably different from how families purchase school textbooks.
Students buying competitive exam books on BookMandee returned to make additional purchases 1.6 times more often than those buying regular academic textbooks.
The comparison is based on user activity over eight months (2024), tracking buyers who listed books for JEE, NEET, UPSC, CAT, and other competitive exams versus those who purchased CBSE, ICSE, or state board school books. Repeat demand here means a user who chatted with multiple sellers to buy their old books within the same preparation cycle, typically within three to six months of their first transaction.
What accounts for this difference, and what does it reveal about how exam preparation actually works on the ground?
Preparation is iterative, not linear
School textbooks are mostly static. A Class 10 student needs specific NCERT books, perhaps a guide or two, and that’s the year sorted. Competitive exam preparation doesn’t work that way.
A JEE aspirant might start with basic concept books in Class 11, add topic-wise practice sets a few months later, pick up previous years’ question papers as the exam approaches, and then grab last-minute revision modules in the final weeks. Each stage demands different materials, and students often don’t know what they’ll need next until they’ve worked through what they have.
This staged buying shows up clearly in transaction patterns. A student who bought an RD Sharma for mathematics in June might return in September for a Cengage series on calculus, then again in December for a set of mock test papers. The preparation journey itself generates demand at multiple touchpoints.
School textbook buyers, by contrast, tend to make one bulk purchase at the start of the academic year and rarely return unless they’re buying for a younger sibling or replacing a lost book.
Recommendations drive discovery
Coaching institutes, online forums, and peer groups constantly circulate advice on which books to use for which topics. A student might hear in a coaching class that a particular author’s organic chemistry book is clearer than the one they’re currently using. Or, they’ll see a topper’s recommended reading list on a Telegram group and decide to try a few titles.
This social layer of recommendation creates ongoing discovery. Students aren’t just buying what they planned to buy. They’re buying what they’ve recently learned about, and that learning happens throughout their preparation, not just at the beginning.
The data bears this out. Buyers of competitive exam books were significantly more likely to purchase titles from different publishers or authors in their second or third transaction, suggesting they were experimenting rather than just replenishing. School textbook buyers, when they returned, almost always bought similar or related titles, usually for a different class or sibling.
Secondhand makes experimentation affordable
Competitive exam books are expensive. A single HC Verma can cost ₹600-₹800 new. A full set of Arihant or MTG publications for JEE easily crosses ₹5,000. When students are trying out multiple resources to see what suits their learning style, buying everything new isn’t sustainable for most families.
Secondhand pricing changes the equation. A ₹700 book available for ₹300-₹400 becomes a reasonable experiment. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, the financial loss is manageable, and the book can often be resold again without much depreciation.
This affordability lowers the barrier to trying new materials, which in turn increases the likelihood of repeat purchases. Students aren’t locked into their first set of books because the sunk cost feels too high. They can pivot, add, or swap resources as their preparation evolves.
Interestingly, buyers in the ₹200-₹500 price range (typically used books) showed the highest repeat purchase rates. Those buying at higher price points, whether new or premium used copies, were less likely to return for additional titles, possibly because they were already investing heavily and being more selective upfront.
NEET and JEE dominate, but patterns differ
Not all competitive exams generate the same repeat behaviour. JEE aspirants showed the highest repeat purchase rate, followed closely by NEET students. UPSC and CAT buyers, while active, returned less frequently.
The difference likely comes down to preparation timelines and material structure. JEE and NEET preparation typically spans two years (Classes 11 and 12), with students progressively adding resources as they move from foundational concepts to advanced problem-solving. The long runway creates natural opportunities for repeat purchases.
UPSC preparation, while equally intensive, often involves a more stable set of core books (NCERTs, standard references) supplemented by current affairs material and test series. Once the foundational library is built, additions tend to be incremental rather than frequent.
CAT preparation is shorter, usually six to twelve months, and heavily reliant on coaching material and online resources. Physical book purchases are fewer overall, and repeat buying is less common simply because the preparation window is compressed.
Within JEE, certain subjects drove more repeat activity than others. Physics and mathematics books saw students returning frequently, often to buy different authors or practice sets. Chemistry purchases were less fragmented, with students tending to stick with one comprehensive resource rather than accumulating multiple titles.
Recommended Read: Local Listings Account for Nearly 70% of Successful Book Exchanges
City-wise behaviour: coaching hubs lead
Cities with established coaching ecosystems showed markedly higher repeat purchase rates for competitive exam books.
- Kota, though not part of the primary six-city dataset, appeared frequently in transaction records, with students there buying and reselling books at rates far exceeding the average. The transient nature of the student population (many move to Kota for 1-2 years, then leave) creates a constant churn of secondhand books.
- Hyderabad and Bangalore, both with dense concentrations of JEE and NEET coaching centers, showed strong repeat behaviour as well. Delhi NCR, despite its large student population, had slightly lower repeat rates, possibly because the market for new books is more competitive and discounts are easier to find.
- Pune stood out for UPSC material. The city has a community of civil services aspirants, and repeat purchases for UPSC books were notably higher there than in other cities, suggesting a well-established culture of book exchange within that preparation ecosystem.
Sellers benefit from this cycle too
The repeat demand pattern creates opportunity on the selling side as well. Students who bought a book for ₹350, used it for three months, and then moved on to a different resource can often resell it for ₹250-₹300, particularly if it’s a popular title in good condition. The depreciation is minimal, and sometimes nonexistent if the book is in high demand.
This means the effective cost of using a book can be as low as ₹50-₹100, assuming a successful resale. For students managing tight budgets over long preparation cycles, that’s significant. It turns books from a recurring expense into a rotating resource.
Sellers who understood this dynamic listed books proactively as soon as they finished using them, rather than waiting for the end of their preparation. Those who listed within a month of completing a topic or module saw faster sales and better prices than those who held on to books for six months or more.
What platforms should notice
The 1.6× repeat rate for competitive exam buyers suggests a fundamentally different user journey than school textbook transactions. These aren’t one-and-done purchases. They’re ongoing relationships where users return multiple times over months or even years.
That has implications for how platforms should engage. Sending a follow-up notification three months after a JEE physics book purchase, suggesting related titles or recently listed practice sets, isn’t intrusive. It’s helpful. Building wishlists or saved searches that alert users when specific titles become available does make sense for this audience in a way it might not for school textbook buyers.
There’s also value in making resale easier for this group. If students know they can quickly list a book they’ve finished with and get a decent price, they’re more likely to buy in the first place. Streamlined listing flows, suggested pricing based on recent sales of the same title, and faster local discovery all reduce friction and keep the cycle moving.
Why this matters beyond the numbers
The 1.6× figure is more than a metric. It reflects how learning actually happens for millions of students preparing for high-stakes exams in India.
It’s messy, exploratory, and non-linear. Students don’t know at the outset exactly what they’ll need. They figure it out as they go, influenced by coaching feedback, peer recommendations, trial and error, and their own evolving understanding of their strengths and gaps.
Secondhand book markets accommodate that messiness in ways that traditional retail doesn’t. They allow for experimentation, course correction, and affordable iteration. They turn preparation into a process rather than a one-time purchase event.
As competitive exam culture continues to expand, not just for JEE and NEET but for a widening array of entrance tests, professional certifications, and skill-based assessments, this pattern of repeat, exploratory buying will likely become more pronounced, not less.
The students returning 1.6 times more often aren’t outliers. They’re the norm for how exam preparation works when resources are accessible, affordable, and flexible enough to support the actual rhythm of learning.
Note: Analysis based on anonymised transaction records over a defined period. Figures rounded to reflect directional trends.
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