How to Find Cheap College Textbooks

Affording college is tough enough without worrying about the added cost of college textbooks. The key to buying college textbooks at a good price is to know where to find them. To help ease the cost of textbook purchases, check out the tips below.

Things You'll Need

• Internet
• Computer
• Course book info

Instructions

1. 

   Gather textbook information for all your classes either from your professor, syllabus, or online course detail. Make sure you have the title, ISBN number, edition, and author(s) names of each college textbook needed.

2. 

   Ask friends or other students if they know of anyone who may have used the same textbook last semester (if the professor is still using it). Offer to buy it for a lower price. Most students would love to make money on their used college textbooks and are willing to sell them pretty cheap.

3. 

   If you are unable to find your course textbooks, try searching online at discount college textbook sites. You'll need to enter the information from step one above. I've included a list of websites in the resource section of this article that offer great prices on new and used textbooks. Hint: Sometimes you find better deals if you purchase your college textbooks from more than one site.

4. 

   When all else fails, try searching for your college textbooks on eBay or it's partner site, Half.com. A lot of students sell their new and used college textbooks on these sites and will offer a discount on shipping fees if you purchase multiple textbooks from one seller.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also used the resourced websites to sell your college textbooks and make a little money back.

• Bookstores make a big profit on college textbooks so you are better off purchasing your books online if you can.

• Do not purchase any college textbook unless you are absolutely sure it is the edition you need. Please check this carefully.

• Allow yourself enough time when purchasing college textbooks on time. They don't always arrive as fast as you'd like, but are pretty good for the most part.