10 ways to save on college textbooks
Attention college students: Count your pennies when hitting the bookstore
10 tips to keep money in your wallet |
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The price tags on those books can be astonishing – and they’re always climbing. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that college textbook prices increased at twice the rate of inflation between 1986 and 2004.
Is there any way to avoid this crippling expense? Actually, there are several. The following tips can give you some ideas for beating the system this semester.
1. Beat the crowds. Your on-campus bookstore is your simplest and fastest route for finding the books you need, but it also can be the most expensive. That said, you may be able to save a little bit of money by arriving at the store as early as possible – the minute you get your list of required books – so you can snatch up used copies.
2. Use ISBN numbers to comparison shop. While at the on-campus bookstore, write down ISBN numbers and prices for both new and used books, and then use that information to shop around online. Check prices on the Web sites of Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, eBay, Varsity Books, efollet.com and iChapters.com. A comparison shopping site such as BestBookBuys.com also can be helpful.
3. Be open to new forms of reading and studying. At several of the sites mentioned in tip number 2, you’ll be given the option of choosing from print, digital or audio forms of the textbooks you need. eBooks cost significantly less money, and in many cases you can highlight areas and make notes in the margins as you read your books online. Another option: iChapters.com allows you to buy single book chapters for as little as $1.99.
4. Check out CourseSmart. Five textbook publishers – Pearson, John Wiley & Sons Inc., Cengage Learning, McGraw-Hill Education and Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishing Group – have teamed up to make thousands of textbooks available in eBook format via CourseSmart.com. This site is continuing to add book titles all the time, and it’s worth a visit.
5. Rent a book. Much like online movie-rental services, Chegg.com allows you to rent textbooks rather than buy them. The savings can be substantial, so long as you’re careful to return your books on time. If you keep them even one day after your rental due date, you’ll be hit with a $25 late fee. Keep them one week past the due date and your rental will be converted to a purchase. Another option: Check to see whether your college or university offers a textbook rental service to help students save money.
6. Free downloads are your friends. Many classics of literature and a wide array of other books can be downloaded for free at Web sites such as Project Gutenberg.
7. Form a book-sharing confederation. Do you know or can you meet other students who share your major? If so, you could create a band of brothers (and sisters) who share, buy and sell books with each other at fair prices.
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8. The library doesn’t charge a dime. Many colleges set aside copies of textbooks at the library, where they can be used for free. Your city or county library may even have copies of certain textbooks. Just be aware that this approach can backfire on you if the books you’re seeking aren’t available when you need them.
9. Older editions are always worth a look. If a new edition has just been released for one of the textbooks on your list, compare it carefully with the last edition. The changes may be so minor that you really won’t need to pay top dollar for the newer version.
10. Sell your books with care. The on-campus bookstore will give you a mere fraction of what you paid for your books once you’re done with them, so sell within the network of students you helped establish, or do so online through sites such as eBay, Amazon.com or eCampus.com.
Sources and resources:
- U.S. Government Accountability Office (PDF)
- Bankrate.com
- American Association of State Colleges and Universities
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
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