This is a guest post by Alex, BargainBabe.com’s intern.
It’s time to head back to school, and that means it’s time to beat cost of textbooks. Whether you’re just starting college, or returning for your last year like me, here’s five tips on how to save on textbook expenses.
1. Buy Electronic
Check the distributor’s website and see if you can purchase an electronic copy of the textbook. They save on ink, paper, and transportation, so the cost goes down significantly. I once got a $115 economics textbook for $40. If you can bring it on your laptop to class, then you’re set.
ProTip: E-Book readers like Amazon’s Kindle might be worth the investment if you’re an English major where your “textbooks” are mostly novels. If you already own an iPhone or iPod Touch download the free apps Stanza and Readdle, which offer access to thousands of books typically assigned in English and drama courses. Even if you decide to purchase the physical books, you have an electronic backup.
Downside: If you need the book during tests, you probably won’t be allowed to use your electronic device to access the pages.
The other downside: Limited battery life. Physical books last forever and can take much more abuse than a laptop, though neither of them should be dropped in the water.
2. Check It Out
Your school’s library will often have a copy of the class textbook(s) for you to check out for free for a few hours. Ask your teacher to make it happen. This is a great alternative so long as you get to the library before any of your classmates.
Downside: you probably can’t bring the book to class since the checkout time frame is limited. Still, if you’re good at making friends you can always remedy that.
Middleside: Your time will likely be restricted (sometimes as little as an hour) so that others can check the books out from the library. I find this keeps me from procrastinating and I work well under short time constraints. Of course, I’m generally more efficient with my time whilst in the library where there are no distractions.
3. Buy Used
This is usually an easy task. Many campuses have used textbook stores. Just be sure to flip through the book before you buy it and make sure it’s all there and still readable. Sometimes you can find one that’s already helpfully highlighted.
Pro-Tip: Check and see if the book has been highlighted or noted throughout its entirety. If only the first couple chapters have notes and such, then they probably got distracted by those Tuesday night parties. If they’re still going strong by the end, then they were likely a good student and their markings are going to help instead of just distract you.
4. Rent
Renting your books appears to save roughly the same amount of money as buying a used book and selling it after the course is over. However, by renting you can do everything straight from your computer, and you don’t have to worry about trying to sell your books back.
Downside: The books aren’t really yours. You can’t mark them up significantly, and of course you have to pay for any lost, stolen, or significantly damaged books.
Peculiar Upside: Let’s say you’ve signed up for a course that you aren’t too sure you’re going to stick with. Renting or buying a book for that class might seem like a bad idea at first, but at Chegg.com they have a 30-day “Any Reason” return policy. So you could rent the book(s) for the class and just pay a couple dollars shipping, and then return before 30 days. If you end up keeping with the class, you have enough time to shop for the best deal, and if renting is more expensive, just return it for a full refund (they provide free return shipping which is kind of nice).
5. Beat the System
Ask your professor/lecturer if they’re going to use the same books for the following quarter/semester. If they are, then you’ll easily be able to earn some of your money back through selling to a used book store. Although even then you’re losing some money through the middle man.
Instead, try to sell directly to other students via Ebay, Craigslist, or even Facebook’s marketplace. You’ll be earning at better margins and they’ll be buying at a lower cost in all likelihood. The better the shape you’ve managed to keep the book, the better the price you’ll get.
Alternatively, there are some great book swapping sites that you can get involved with. While you’re probably only going to find novels through these online programs, it’s a great way to get them for free. Check out this post for details.
August 13th, 2009 at 7:44 am
If you have a friend that works at the library, specifically the circulation desk, you can always have them check out a book to you for a longer period of time. My college library let us renew books twice, as long as there wasn’t a waiting list.
I also frequently bought used books of Amazon.com, Half.com, and Abebooks. (There are now more sites available since I graduated.) I found these sites to be significantly cheaper than the used books offered on campus. Just make sure you know the ISBN #, so you don’t end up buying the wrong book.
Finally check to see if you can use an earlier version. I had a business law class, where the professor had just upgraded the book. The newer version cost over $200 and there were no used copies available! I asked him if we could use the previous version, and he said it should be fine. I picked the book up for about $80, and my only problem was that the page numbers were slightly different. I still received an A, despite the minor annoyance. I resold the book on Amazon for $50 after I had completed the class.
August 13th, 2009 at 10:49 am
back in college i used to go to http://www.half.com for text books!
all you need is the isbn of a particular book!
I was able to buy used, fairly used, like new or brand new books!
August 13th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Yeah, Half.com is GREAT! Hubby and I just went thru and sold our old textbooks…even though he’s been out of school for 2 years and me for one. We even got money for books that have several newer additions out.
We also bought books of half.com when we were in school. It’s good.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
There is another source for free textbooks called “Freeloadpress.com”. You can download a limited number of books for free. The downside is that the service pays for itself by selling ads in the textbooks, but if you can get past that minor distraction, it’s a good deal.
August 13th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
just rented from chegg.com this summer and it was cheaper than buying used books–but you need to do some online checking to find what is the best deal out there.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I recently finished my Bachelor’s degree, after a thirty-year hookie session! I bought used books online. But rather than go to half.com or amazon.com… I always use:
http://www.bookfinder.com
They compare amazon, half, ebay, powells, and even small used booksellers. You can find the best deals using this service.
August 13th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I normally check half.com, but I also like Best Book Buys (http://www.bestwebbuys.com/books/).
Then, I will list my book back on Half.com when I am done.
August 13th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Thanks for the timely advice and just in time as our college student leaves Sunday for Chico State.
August 13th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I’ve got a system that has positivity everybody here beat by far. Forget ebay & craigslist.
The positively lowest price for textbooks is set by the campus bookstore buyback at the end of the school term. Without exaggeration, at UCLA the bookstore sold me my new $110 math book at was buying it back at $22 and reselling used it the next quarter at $98.
Secondly, because textbook buyback is labor intensive and because the bookstore needs to know how many used books it has on hand before order more new books, all campuses have a very limited buyback window where the students taking your classes create a marketplace for you.
Lastly and most importantly, you are greatly aided by the reputation of the bookstore, who is seen as a blatant highway robber from their extreme profit margins between buying back student books and reselling them back at 3, 4, 5 times the price.
I prepare by going to the bank and getting hundreds of dollars worth of small bills. It doesn’t matter if you know you’ll be spending lots of money, people love to see cash dolled out, the more quantity of bills you have, the better.
I hung out near the bookstore on buyback week and the busiest time is lunchtime. When I see the books I want, I approach the seller and tell them I want to buy their book at a much better price than the bookstore, this surprises them and I have the advantage. I make a competitive price as quickly as possible before the seller has a chance to think up better prices and if they take too long you can pressure the seller by looking for others with the same books. Typically, the student body’s disdain for the bookstore wins cooperation towards you. Doll out the cash and count it out like a bank teller instead of handing them a pre-counted wad.
Lastly, I been asked to move along more than once by someone working for the school. These narcs are always by themselves and will stare at you, also taken by surprise by your break into the school’s book oligopoly. Prepare yourself by pretending to do what people around you are doing or eating. Holding open a bag of chips while chewing gum worked for me. If approached by a narc, avoid being confrontational or defensive. Disarm them with charm, a smile, an apology, move along and return later. The narcs are so surprised and so unsure of how to respond to what you’re doing that they approach you twice.
Why use ebay & craigslist and compete with a wide marketplace when the school’s bookstore has already created an artificially low-priced marketplace for the books that you want. The fewer competitors for your books, the lower their price. And if you believe that this is more work, do compare it to searching on the internet though a whole city for the book hoping that the individual seller spelled the book correctly. But you are a savvy buyer who understands that the harder you work, and especially if you work harder than your competing buyers, the greater the rewards. Here’s how.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:40 am
If you have an Itouch, you can also download a Kindle reader app free. Eucalyptus for the Itouch costs $9.99, but gives you access to thousands of free books in the public domain. I find both very easy to use and have read dozens of books this way.
August 17th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Congrats, Bob. That sounds like quite a feat!
August 17th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Great tips! Thanks Eileen.
August 24th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Just learned about another site to get discounted college text books: http://www.campusbooks.com/
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:54 am
You can also check out http://www.DealOz.com , DealOz compares 200 bookstore prices and free discount coupons too.Their coupons are valid and have saved over $500 on my textbooks.
September 2nd, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Excellent suggestion, Frances! Thanks for mentioning this site.
September 24th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I use bigwords.com for comparison shopping. They’ll show you prices to rent, buy new, and buy resale from lots of different sites. Fun site too (the writing is very cute).
September 27th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
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