How to Get Cheap College Textbooks
Times are rough nowadays for students. With the increasing cost of colleges tuition fees, most students barely have enough to pay for textbooks. But there are ways of finding college textbooks that are reasonably cheap.
Instructions
-
-
1
Search college campus bulletin boards. Students usually post used textbooks for sale there. The prices listed are often reasonable. Go to the student lounge, student services building, counseling offices or any other place where these bulletins will be listed.
-
2
Ask around. Talk to classmates to see if they've taken and are completing classes you're planning to take for the next semester. They might have copies of the required textbook they'd be willing to sell to you. Even if you won't be able to get into that class or if you decide to drop the class, you can always resell the textbook back to the campus bookstore.
-
-
3
Check local used bookstores. Used bookstores have far cheaper copies than ones sold at the campus bookstores. This is especially true for English classes. This might not be the case for other courses, though. For instance, courses with a rigorous curriculum, such as science, history, or economics, usually have textbooks that are updated every two years or so. So an earlier edition might not be applicable for your class. But that all depends as well. Most textbook publishing houses will update textbooks by adding or conflating chapters, inserts or pictures without actually changing the content of the textbook. Regardless of what course you're taking, check with your instructor to determine whether earlier editions can still be used in class.
-
4
Check with "Amazon." Amazon's website has listings of college textbooks that are both new and used. Their prices for used listings are actually quite reasonable. The used listings also have price comparisons and state the condition the books are in.
-
5
Check with "eBay." Not only does "eBay" have listings of both new and used college textbooks, but they also have listings from affiliate online sellers that sell the same textbooks. You can compare prices with each seller and determine which bargains will fit your needs.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you plan to buy your textbooks online, make sure you do it a few weeks before class starts. Depending on the seller, delivery can take up to two weeks, so make sure you'll have the book once classes start.
If you plan to buy from "eBay," check the seller's ratings. There's no guarantee that the seller will act in good faith. If there have been a lot of complaints against the seller, it's best to check elsewhere.
