A: John Wakefield, TAA President: "The best way to obtain an annotated instructor's edition is to write the publisher on letterhead from an institution, explaining your reason for wanting the book. If a person wants it for homeschooling or self-study, the publisher will be reluctant to send it, but if it is needed for teaching a class that may use the book, and the letter writer is the instructor, they accommodate such requests because they are clearly legitimate and related to sales. In short, do not seek to buy resold instructor's editions!

The "secondary" or used book market is very difficult to police for what was sent to you from an Amazon Marketplace vendor — a complimentary examination copy — because there is no legal constraint on most teachers/professors selling these free books originally sent by publishers to increase sales. If the textbooks were originally sent to a state agency, or a teacher acting on behalf of a state agency (e.g. a high school textbook selection committee member), the matter is different, and you are correct: The resale may be illegal. If you know this to be the case, you should contact your state department of education. In Alabama, these copies must be donated to a school, library, or other governmental agency when the textbook committee member is done with them.

Most complimentary copies in the secondary market for college books are there legally. Your best bet to recover your money is through the seller, who has to live with your feedback rating on their resale. Maybe a low rating will serve two purposes — to discourage false advertising and resale of special editions that should be obtained directly from the publisher."

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