Save on College Textbooks
Are you tired of shelling out upwards of $500 every semester for college textbooks? It’s definitely convenient to head to the university bookstore to buy new college textbooks, but if money is tight for you and your parents this year, you should consider some alternatives that will help save money on textbooks:
- Used Textbooks
Many students like the feel of a nice, new textbook with crisp pages that don’t contain highlights or scribbles from a prior owner. If you plan to keep a textbook from an important class as reference material for years to come, by all means, purchase a new copy at full price. But if you can live with a few helpful hints in the book’s side margins, try finding used textbooks whenever possible. Used textbooks are in demand and they get sold quickly at the campus bookstore, so get in line early. If lines at the bookstore aren’t your thing, look for used textbooks online. Sites like EBay and Amazon allow users to sell used textbooks, and they can ship them directly to you at school. If the textbook weighs a ton, make sure the cost of shipping doesn’t cost you more than buying it new.
- Online Textbooks
Whether you want to purchase your textbooks new or used, it’s always a good idea to compare the prices online to the campus bookstore. Online textbooks can be very convenient, since they are shipped directly to your residence. If you are able to find the majority of your textbooks with one vendor, you might qualify for free shipping or a volume discount. See our link resources for some online textbook sites.
- Download Textbooks
There are new websites popping up all over that allow you to download textbooks for free. That’s right, free. The only catch is that you may have to provide your information or look at some advertisements in order to get your free copy. Of course, only the most popular college textbooks are offered on these sites, so if your class requires a textbook that isn’t commonly used, you’ll probably have to purchase it. See our link resources at the bottom of the page for suggested sites to download textbooks.