<p>Hey there! I was wondering if people have any cleaver or smart ways to save money on textbooks. Personally, I have 2 ideas besides things like buying used, book exchanges, online stores, off campus stores, and the other well known stuff</p>
<p>Both of my ideas are based on the ability to get a full return on books which vary between colleges. Like for me, I heard UCR has a 2 day return period which is lame haha.</p>
<p>1) Get the books you need and spend the next couple hours photocopying them. Punch holes and put it into a binder for easy carry and go use as well as toughness. Then just return the books!</p>
<p>2) Take a digital camera and set the photo quality at the highest as well as the resolution. Then just take pictures of the pages and upload them onto your laptop. Easy to carry around, nice and organized, saves space. Although it may take a bit more time depending on your speed, its basically free. </p>
<p>One thing I'd like some opinions on this is the camera. Using this method requires hundreds if not thousands of pictures per quarter. Would it wear out the camera on a normal point and shoot camera quickly? Things like the shutters on the Canon SD750 for example. Taking into account of thousands of pictures taken per quarter for 4 years along with regular pictures (Friends, family, events, occasions, etc)</p>
<p>Any other little tricks and ways to save on books please share with us! =]</p>
<h1>1 is feasible sometimes but not in agreement with copyrights law.</h1>
<h1>2.Why not use a scanner?</h1>
<p>Ideally,I think the best way to save money and trees is to resell your textbook. Unfortunately,publishers frequently update editions to make more money. You will have a hard time selling your 5th edition textbook if the incoming class needs the 6th edition. Also, used book price cannot go really low because of the release of newer edition.</p>
<p>I'd rather just spend the money and buy the book (and resell later) instead of wasting all that time copying. It's just not worth it, and I have better things to do with my time.</p>
<p>@yucca because I don't have a scanner LOL and besides as long as your not caught its all good. haha</p>
<p>@Ken285 Then why the hell are you in this thread? Not everyone can afford things like you. Reselling should never be an option because you get crap returns like yucca talked about. Spending around 2 hours for more than 500 bucks? what are you smoking? Thats MORE than worth it. Okay you have better things to do with your time, yeah right. You swear that your days are so packed that you can't find a measly couple hours to save you hundreds of dollars. Great idea. Just terrific, its brilliant! Waste of your time my ass.</p>
<p>DarkAzn58, there really was no need for the attitude, especially since I don't think you fully considered the implications of what you want to do.</p>
<p>Honestly, just buy used, borrow from a friend, check them out from the library, or whatever. It's going to take you a lot longer than 2 hours to photocopy those books. You also have to consider the cost. For a 500 page book, that's about $50 if you pay $0.10 per copy, and if you have your own copier, that right there will pretty much drain an entire ink catridge.</p>
<p>^Seriously. You'll end up spending as much on ink/copies as you would on the book in the first place.</p>
<p>Someone's bitter...just because you can afford books does NOT mean you're rich or that you have "better things to do". Copying and/or scanning is DEFINITELY a waste of time.</p>
<p>If it's 2 hours, then it's worth it. I just can't see anyone being able to scan 5 books at 500 pages each in 2 hours. On average, it'll probably take 30 seconds to scan each page. That's 2500 pages x 30 seconds = 20.8 hours. Photocopying 2500 pages @ 10 cents each will cost you $250. Assuming you're buying new texts at $100 each, you can resell them at half price, which would cost you 5 books x $50 = $250 net cost. You're not really saving any money.</p>
<p>If you just scan the pages and not print it out, you will save money. Depending on the person though, it might not be as easy to read and study off of. You can't highlight a sentence, you can't read it in between classes (unless you have your laptop with you) and most importantly, you won't have it available to you on open-book exams.</p>
<p>
[quote]
@yucca because I don't have a scanner LOL and besides as long as your not caught its all good. haha
[/quote]
Most schools offer facilities like computers and scanners. Just go to the library and ask the staff. It won't cost you any money but some time.
I have purchased a used book at 45 dollars and resold it at 50 dollars.Sometimes it's doable but not always. Buying used and reselling used can save significantly...but again,maybe you won't be able to sell it for some reason like the release of new edition.</p>