<p>What's your preferred method? </p>
<p>I prefer to buy them used to save the most money. However, I found out what calculus book I'll be using this fall and found a pdf version of it just by googling the name haha. Now I get to save 120 bucks. </p>
<p>I also like buying because you can always sell it back, and that money comes in handy for cab, food, etc as opposed to going into my account and taking out money.</p>
<p>I prefer to buy them for a site like Amazon for cheap and sell them back to the school when the courses are over.</p>
<p>But, I typically do end up renting at least one per semester if it’s something like a math book that’s expensive no matter where I buy it from, so renting just ends up being cheaper.</p>
<p>I buy from Amazon and trade back to Amazon i… I’ve found after 7 semesters this to be the cheapest and most flexible option (can keep books you want).</p>
<p>Combination. I buy the books I know I’ll need for sequence classes (Chem, Biology, Physics…) and rent the books I need for classes like philosophy or religion. I managed to buy my book for spanish last semester from Chegg for a whopping 7 bucks. It was 80 used from the bookstore/half.com.</p>
<p>Deja vu?
this thread pops up like once a month. The answer is obvious. There is no “preferred” method - no methods to choose from. You either buy textbooks or you don’t. Renting books is tantamount to being robbed in broad daylight.</p>
<p>There is a preference. Just because you think renting textbooks is equivalent to being “robbed” doesnt make it fact. Some PREFER buying books, others PREFER renting, and others PREFER a combo of the two.</p>
<p>I prefer renting. I have done the math, and even if I bought used and sold the books back, I still save money by renting. Especially because my school only gives you 10-25% when you sell books back.</p>
<p>^That is why you don’t sell back to the school, you buy and sell online and you can save a bit…which ends up being cheaper then renting. Plus if you buy then you can sell or rent it to friends…you can make quite a bit if you think it through,</p>