What are some of the best ways to save money on textbooks? Is Amazon the best place to get the lowest price for textbooks? How are the prices at the bookstore on campus?
There’s no one right answer to this, it will depend on your situation and preferences. Some considerations:
1:The campus BN bookstore is usually the most expensive option, my son rarely used it, generally for “can only find it there” books.
2:Texas Aggieland Bookstore is a usually cheaper local option but they can run out sometimes.
3:Decide if you want to rent or buy, and if you decide buy, whether you will re-sell afterwards. Multiple options to rent on the net and multiple options to buy, new or used.
4:Some people keep books from their major.
5:Amazon can be cheap and prime helps with fast shipping. Be careful there with International Editions of books, they are cheaper but not identical maybe. Watch the ISBN #.
6:Format can make a difference, sometimes loose leaf will save a bunch of money.
7: Of course there are online versions and downloads, sometimes free, or free from professor’s website. Often cheaper than print.
8:Many classes have codes for electronic access to homework or additional materials. These codes are sometimes packaged with used books sometimes not.
9:Many people wait for the first day of class to see if the prof uses the book that is listed!
10:Craigslist for College Station and ebay are also options.
My son has done just about all of these.
Probably more that I’ve forgotten. Research and personal preferences matter a lot for this one.
I first check amazon to rent or buy used. Typically I can rent a book for around $40 which is awesome but will sometimes buy is used if its not too expensive and if it’s an important class. If amazon doesn’t have it, I’ll check chegg or ebay. Last resort is bookstore, I’ve only ever had to buy 2 books there since they were exclusives.
Also check Craigslist and fellow classmates that have already taken the class.
Just for reference too, last semester I took 6 engr classes and the retail cost to buy all the required books I needed brand new was right under $2400. I rented, and bough some used for cheap and ended up only spending $600, one was an exclusive I had to buy at the bookstore (transpo engr new edition) and another was also a new steel design manual I had to buy new but the professor gave us a promo code to make it much cheaper.
Normally I only spend around $200-$400 bejng thrifty but this past semester just required a lot of expensive design books.
Sometimes students email the professor in advance to find out what the textbook will be so they can get a head start on locating a used book for the cheapest price. Sometimes profs will let students use an earlier edition of the book but that should be made clear in advance since homework assignments might specify certain page numbers that apply to a particular edition. Even Kindle versions can be a problem due to uncertainty in page numbers. Sometimes students try to sell their old books on college facebook pages.
I read somewhere that the professors expect students to have books on the first day. Where can the students find out what books will be required before classes start?
They book should be listed on the syllabus but sometimes the professor will wait to tell you in class if you can use an older edition and it wont be listed in the syllabus because technically they should tell all the students to buy the new one.
Also maybe only 1-2 people actually bring the book to the first day of class, as long as you get the book within a week you should be good.
@ilovemath987, thank you!
It can also be difficult to get a syllabus. Some profs post them right before or after classes start.
One more thing to check is the Amazon textbook buyback value. Sometimes it was cheaper to buy the book and then sell it back to Amazon, then it was to rent. I always had good luck with the textbook buyback when doing this. You have to keep the book in good shape though. While loose leaf editions save money initially, you can’t get anything for them afterward(unless you sell them to an individual). I spent a good amount of time getting books for my kids. Usually rental was the best deal, but not in every case. Watch out for the “online access card” issue also. I hate those stupid access cards!