Saving Money on Textbooks

It's that time of the year again where college freshmen are getting ready to start what hopes to be a great journey. As most of you know, college isn't cheap so saving money where you can is very important. A major area area where money can be saved is in the cost of textbooks. Based on my experience, buying a new set of textbooks every year is just a complete waste. The content of a new book isn't any better than a used book. "But I don't like reading pages that have been highlighted and written over!". I don't either and not all used books are in that bad of a shape where you can't read the text. I always tried to buy used books when I can and only buying new when I couldn't find a used book at the book store. I regret not taking advantage of online textbook retailers as there are a lot of options out there now.

If you're looking to save some money, I've provided a useful link below I found via Lifehacker.

The Complete Guide to Saving Money on Textbooks [Lifehacker]

We Compare Books Review

Following an earlier post on textbook search engines, is a review of a site called We Compare Books. The home page is very simple with a search bar that gets straight to the point. A simple search under "Chemistry" brings me to a list of books though of course using the advanced search function would probably help narrow things down. Once you found the book you want, the site kicks into gear and gives you the best price available. Now if you're curious about the other vendor's prices, that information is also available. The priced link takes you directly to the seller making the purchasing experience fast. What is also neat about this site is that it provides a blog that posts articles such as how to not buy books but still have access to them or what an ISBN really is. This makes We Compare Books a unique site by combining a textbook search engine and an informative blog.

Text Book Price Comparison

As a follow up to the recent guide towards saving money on text books, is a review of three text book price comparison sites. All three act as search engines that help find the best price for specific text book titles. For my review, I have used "Principle of Economics" with a list price of $193.95 and will only be searching for new books.

BigWords

www.bigwords.com

This site showed me the best price compared to the other two websites. It provides a description of the text book and what edition it is. The cheapest book they listed was a new international version at $37.91. When you select the book to purchase it automatically redirects you to the site offering the book making shopping for books online easier.

Cheap College Textbooks

www.cheapesttextbooks.com

This site provides much more detail information compared to that of both BigWords and BooksPrice such as shipping price, any available coupon codes, and any restrictions. What the site couldn't do was produce the best price compared to BigWords. The lowest price for "Principles of Economics" was $120.00. Like BigWords, the site redirects you directly the seller.

BooksPrice

www.booksprice.com

Like Cheap College Textbooks, this site provides plenty of information such as shipping costs in addition to a larger list of book vendors. What makes this site different is that it allows you to filter your searches for only new books or different price ranges. Like BigWords, it found the same book listed at $37.91 and directed you to seller of the book. I liked the layout of this site much better than the other two and would pick this site to at least compare prices of textbooks.

Text Books

Text books are a necessary part of college life and it can become quite expensive very quickly but it doesn't have to be. Saving money on books is an easy process as there is no reason to have to pay full prices for what publisher's think they are worth. Below are some ideas on how to save some money.

Campus Bookstore

Most bookstores always carry used books sold back by students at the end of the year. This is the easiest way to get books at a discounted price without too much effort. The drawbacks of course are that they are a limited quantity and at times the quality of a used book can be questionable at best. What's great about purchasing used books from your college book store is that the book store is responsible for putting out the correct text books you need before the class starts. This allows you to purchase your books well in advance before school starts and save some money as well. Get to the bookstore before school starts as these books will end up flying off the shelves first.

Off Campus Bookstores

Another great source of discounted text books are the local off campus bookstores. Typically these bookstores sell their books at or less than the used book prices of your campus book store. Similar to your campus bookstore, supplies are limited with sometimes questionable quality but allows you an alternative place to find the book you need. The major drawback of going to an off campus bookstore is that they supply many versions of the text book you need so buy beware! Make sure to come prepared with your class's syllabus to ensure you get the right book. Also, certain off campus bookstores may not have a return policy.

Amazon / Online

Online vendors such as Amazon will allow you to save a significant amount of money on text books even when the book is brand new. Major discounts can be found when purchasing used books though you are running the risk of getting a text book that has been completely highlighted. Another option online is to purchase the international version of your text book which is exactly the same but heavily discounted. What makes the international version so cheap is quality of the paper and it being a paper back. If you don't mind a lower quality version of a new book then, by means purchase the international version. Amazon also provides free shipping for certain books as well which makes purchasing a book online a major plus. The only drawback of purchasing a text book online is the time it takes to ship to you. If you are well aware of the textbooks your class requires, you can easily order it well in advance before school starts. To me this is a very preferable way of purchasing books behind student book exchanges.

Student Book Exchanges

Certain schools create a market exchange for students where they are allowed to sell their books at whatever prices they want. Typically students will sell their books well below the used bookstore price to ensure that they are quickly bought up. If you are looking for big discounts without waiting for shipment then look no further. However you must be willing to wait in a long line well before the exchange opens as books tend to go by very quickly.

Library

What's better than discounted books? How about free books? Libraries will typically have your textbook on reference and you can check it out for several hours during the day. Unfortunately that only allows you only a couple hours a day while being stuck at the library. But at least think of all the money you'll save!

If you have another ways you save money through text books please comment below.