Cheap Textbooks: 6 Ways to Save Money on Your College Textbooks

Buying college textbooks is a pain. If you go the usual method of heading to the school bookstore you face the prospect of long periods of waiting in line, the supply of the book you need running out completely, and worst of all the outrageous prices that they are being sold for. Let's face it there is little that can quite dampen the start of your semester more than being faced with a bill for your textbooks that is several hundred dollars. Fear not my fellow students there are creative ways to get the textbooks that you need and not pay through the nose to obtain them. In fact by following these tips I usually pay under $100 a semester for my books and sometimes even less. If you are tired of paying exorbitant amounts of money for your education check out these helpful hints on getting college textbooks for cheap.

Buy Used

Obviously the first way to get a discount on your textbooks for college is to buy a used copy of the book you need. This can be done locally or online and yes even at the school store if you get there early enough. Shop around at local bookstores and make calls to see if they have what you need in stock. The great thing about used bookstores is that you can often trade in other books and get value towards the new ones that you need to purchase.

Buy Old Editions

The dirty little secret in the textbook business seems to be that most editions are almost identical and offer very little substantive increases in the amount of information or how updated the information is. The difference between the previous edition and the latest textbook to hit the market in terms of price is often quite dramatic. I'm not suggesting you go for the first edition if it was published 30 years ago to save money but a few years old really isn't all that bad and can often be bought for under $10.

Shop Exclusively Online

A great thing about the internet marketplace is that there are so many sellers the prices get pushed way down due to competition. If you watch the prices of used books on a site like Amazon you will often see dramatic changes in the prices of books because one seller came in and undercut the competition which sometimes triggers the automatic re-pricing of that book by the larger book retailers. While that is bad for their business it can be a great thing for you because you just got that book on the cheap just due to market fluctuations.

Rent

Renting textbooks can sometimes be more expensive than buying the older edition or even a newer used edition online but you'll usually get a fair price if you go this route. Renting a book is a good idea if you know that you will never need it beyond just this semester but if it is an important text to your major you might want to avoid simply renting the textbook.

Get the Book for Free Online

Pure textbooks can be hard to find for free online although they can sometimes be available on sites like Scribd for free. This section is more useful for English classes or History classes that require you to read the classics. While these books generally aren't expensive free is always the best price. Sites like Project Gutenberg and Google Scholar can be immensely helpful for finding the public domain work that you are in need of and save you a trip to the bookstore as well as some money.

Sell Your Old Books

A great way to free up some money for your new textbooks is to get rid of your old ones. Now if your school's bookstore is like mine they will often offer you trade in value for your book that is downright insulting. A smart thing to do is to sign up for a seller's account on Amazon and get a price that is fair value in the market while helping someone else to save a bunch of money. Simply post your book and the buyers will come then all you have to do is ship it out to the address they provide. Also, Amazon now has a program in which you can sell your books directly back to them for gift card credit which is helpful when your textbook doesn't have much resale value.

Finding ways to buy your college textbooks for cheap can take a bit of work and creativity but if you do so you are looking at thousands of dollars in savings over the course of your education. Don't fall prey to overpaying for something that you will in all likelihood use for a semester and then discard, there are plenty of other things I know you would rather buy with that money. Being cheap can be a good thing especially when it comes to buying textbooks.