10 Tips: Save on college textbooks

As a grad student, I learned years ago to purchase my books on the internet. Amazon is great and they have very cheap used books. The drawback is minimal with the wait time for shipping the only real problem. Another strategy is to approach a fellow student and buy a share of his book or simply charm him/her into loaning their textbook. The charm angle works on certain professors indeed if they are cool and willing to help they may just loan their textbook. My sister made it through a grad class without a book and received the required 3.00 for the class however I never quizzed her on how it was done.

Combining 1 and 2 saved me $100 in book prices for the upcoming fall semester. I was able to find a used version of everything I needed through Amazon alone. Each book was purchased through their Amazon Marketplace service (this is where users buy from each other and Amazon just acts as the middle man).

You have to be snappy though. I checked out prices one day, and the next day some of the used copies were gone. I had to spend a few dollars more to get the next copies available.

I'm not sure how other stores such as Barnes & Noble compare, but what's nice about Amazon is that their Amazon Marketplace lists are sorted by price in increasing order. Therefore, the cheapest copies are always at the top of the list.

One possible downside about the Amazon Marketplace books is that shipping is fixed at $4 per book. This is even if you get several books from the same seller. This could be a good thing too, however, as some sellers overcharge on shipping (e.g. eBay).

You have to give yourself some time with this because you can't count on all shippers to ship on time. I'm actually still waiting on one for to arrive, and it just may be that the seller will continue being non-responsive. I've actually had that happen before, so don't wait until the last minute!

I've been screwed buying books from individuals online. Getting books weeks after I purchased them and wrong editions so buyer beware. Sometimes the hidden costs of trying to save a few dollars doesn't make cents. haha. Anyway, used editions at local bookstores always worked best for me. Also, find out from students that had professors in the same class- sometimes they don't even use the books that they make you buy. The most important thing to remember is that in order for them to work you actually have to read them. Good Luck!

College textbooks are insanely expensive. My freshman year alone, textbooks cost me about $1700 (more than 3 months rent). Did I use all of these textbooks? Of course not. At the end of the year, I sold back my textbooks for a grand total of... wait for it... $105 dollars (not even enough to buy another textbook!). Most of the textbooks had been updated, so no one wanted my older versions. My alternative was to purchase a Cybook eBooks reader (www.booksonboard.com has a good price) and use it to upload ebooks and ebook textbooks. I prefer the Cybook because the non-proprietary format allows me to buy eBooks from a variety of sources... I'm not limited to Amazon's store, and I have been able to find almost all of my textbooks online. Plus the Cybook is 6 ounces, so it's much lighter and easier to carry than a textbook. This has saved me a lot of money (and space) so far. The initial cost (around $370) is high, but I've saved several hundreds of dollars each semester on textbooks, so it's well worth it. I will continue to buy textbooks in eBook format, and I encourage everyone else to do so as well.

Well since its rare I ever read a whole textbook I buy what I need at www.iChapters.com. They have decent prices on textbooks but also sell ebooks and ebooks by the chapter. That's my 2 cents...

I recommend using a tool like BigWords.com to shop all of the major online bookstores at once. You simply add to your bookbag every book you need for the semester, and BigWords' Uber-BOT will compare every possible combination of online retailers that you can buy books from -- like Amazon, Textbooks.com, etc. -- and recommend the least expensive combination of purchases. If you'd prefer to buy them all from one online retailer, the tool will tell you which one has every book you need at the lowest combined price. It also takes into account special deals like free shipping to ensure that you get the lowest bottom line deal. One caveat -- order your online books early. Some online bookstores send your books via media mail, which can require up to three weeks for delivery. If you're proactive, though, you can save a ton of dough.

Ah, I gotta tell you about the website I use. cheapesttextbooks.com you put in all the isbn numbers of all the textbooks you need and it will give you a list of websites for each of the book to do comparisons with. Some could be amazon, some could be other web sites.

An example: one text I need for school (which starts next monday 8-25) is Accounting f/gov isbn 9780073268927, at school the used price is $131, the new price is $174, I bought it new for $115 through Amazon.com. Big savings. Some sites will offer free sh/handling. But even paying s/h its less than the college book store.

I am careful to read the customer reply/comments and usually only do purchases with those with good reputations. Another personal requirement is that I try to purchase from those dealers within my state (California). It's a personal thing. Anyway, I have been lucky so far with my purchases and advise anyone I can. When I inform my college instructors they get really excited about it and pass on the word too. (unofficially of course, they can't look to get in trouble with their schools college book store)

You do have to be careful though, usually the new texts are the ones that have the computer code automatically with purchase to access the special info the publisher has to help the student durning class. With a used book the code is no longer useful and you still have to pay a fee to the publisher for one. (these websites can be very good learning tools)

Same is true for any CD's or computers disks that come with a text. A lot of publishers give those with the new texts that don't get passed on the to 'used' book purchaser.

I was delighted to see the recommendation to check what textbooks are available at your college library. But keep in mind that, like you, college libraries do not have limitless budgets. Many times we must choose to purchase other course supporting materials rather than the textbooks. Textbooks are normally regarded as the student's responsibility while we attempt to purchase other materials that support the classes. These materials may include DVDs or videos, computer software, audio resources, electronic resources, and other books. Sometimes faculty donate the previous edition of a textbook to the library when they no longer need it.

DO check with us to see if we have your textbook (in print or electronically) but remember that we must provide resources and support to ALL of our students, even with our shrinking budgets.

I use the site swaptree.com to get my textbooks for free. Its amazing. I just listed the book from last semester and whamo.....i was able to trade it for the chem book i needed for this semester.

Check it out. www.swaptree.com

That is why I created www.StudentBookTrades.com. An easy way to find college textbooks that other students have already completed courses for. Students are automatically matched with each other to trade textbooks for classes they have completed. Trade, Swap, sell, or buy college textbooks from other students. Search the book database, contact the student at your home campus, city, state, or nationwide about the book and save money.