Advice On Saving Money On Textbooks
posted on 09/12/2009
It's September, which means that most everyone is headed back to school. If you are in college, you know the pain of shopping for your textbooks-they can be incredibly expensive and put a huge dent in your budget. Here are some tips to minimize the damage!
1] Buy used books.
This seems obvious, but it really can save you quite a bit. One of my favorite tricks is to go on eBay looking for particularly old editions of the book, which saves massive amounts of money. For example, I had a sociology course for which the prescribed textbook-the 9th edition-cost $125 new. The school bookstore had a few copies that were used, and they cost $95. I went on eBay and found the 4th edition of the book for a whopping $2.50, and it contained every reading I needed for the course. Realize that most manufacturers just slap a new cover on the same old book year after year so they can charge you over and over.
2] Head for the library.
If you live in a city with a particularly well-stocked library, there is a good chance that they will have a copy of whatever book you need. My local library has plenty of old textbooks. And the library is an excellent choice when you need a copy of a classic literature book for an English or drama course. No need to spend money for Frankenstein when you can borrow it for free! And remember, most libraries can get any book you need from other libraries through their inter-library loan service, and this is free as well!
3] Look around online.
I am ashamed to admit this, but I have used Google Books in some instances when I simply couldn't afford the book anywhere. It worked fine!
4] Ask a classmate for help.
If you find a classmate who has trouble affording books as well, perhaps you could offer to share with them. You evenly split the cost of the book, then divide the time each person gets to use it. I know several people who have done this with great success.
In any case, I wish you luck and success in the new school year!
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