How to buy cheap books and half price books
College is a big business, and one of the biggest expenses in this business next to tuition, room, and board, is college textbooks. Nothing hits your party pocketbook like a trip to the campus bookstore. Reselling used books may recoup some of your investment, but not all. Don’t take out the extra loans. Just follow this lesson to lessen the cost of your education.
1. Register for your classes as early as possible. Start researching courses as soon as you can, and solidify your schedule early. If you have to change classes at the last minute, it’ll be hard to escape high textbook prices.
2. Find out what textbooks you’ll need for your classes. Go to the bookstore just to browse. Leave the wallet at home, but bring a pen and paper. Look for your classes and the new semester's required college books. Ask the bookstore employees to assist you if needed. If your college textbook requirements are not in yet, inquire as to when they will be and come back on that date. You may also be able to get this textbooks information off the bookstore website or your classes web pages.
3. Write down the following information for each college book:
- the name and volume/edition of the college book
- the name of the author
- the college book International Standard Book Number (ISBN), found on or near the barcode on the back of book
- the college textbooks price.
4. Try to find the college books in the library. Check the catalogues of your school library and the local public library. If you can’t find a book there, try to obtain the book via inter-library loan. Depending on the library’s borrowing policies, you may be able to check out books for the whole semester or at least for as long as you’ll need them. You’ll want to get on this early, though, because supplies will be limited. If they do not have the current edition college books, it is likely that they may have previous editions, with most of the same information (see below on previous editions).
5. Check your library reserve. If a book is on reserve, the professor has provided the library with one or a few copies of the book for students to borrow for several hours at a time provided they do not leave the library. Be careful before class, tests, or major homework assignments, because reserve copies are often checked out at critical times; however, with proper planning you will have no problem.
Alternatively, buy or borrow a previous edition for the chapter content, and use the reserve copy only for the homework problems. If the textbooks isn't available on reserve, e-mail the professor and ask if she'd be willing to put a copy on reserve.
6. Online book shopping - If you can’t get a book at the library, or if you’ll need to be able to keep a book or write in it, look for better prices online. Usually all you’ll need is the book’s ISBN. In the search box of your favourite search engine, enter only the ISBN number, without the dashes that separate the digits.
You should come up with several exact matches; in the unlikely event that you don’t, try searching by title. Verify you have the correct book using the other information you wrote down. Many online bookstore now sell books shipping-free, which can increase the attractiveness of an buy books online.
Online book shopping. Most likely just about any price you find books online will be cheaper than the bookstore, but check as many sites as possible to find the cheapest books.
Check out online auction marketplaces. While you won’t be able to find as many cheapest books at auctions, you may be able to find screaming deals.
Keep checking into the early semester––some people change courses and can't wait to sell the old books so that they can buy different textbooks they need. You might grab a bargain this way, especially where the student is dropping college altogether.
7. Consider renting textbooks. Some sites will rent you textbooks for a fraction of the cost of purchasing them. Shipping is often free for either the receive or return, depending on the service you use.
8. Buy textbooks bundles. Bundled college books save you money by allowing you to buy your books in one shrink-wrapped package, often at a discount.
9. Check out local bookstores. You may be able to find a good deal locally, especially once you factor in shipping charges. Even if you can’t quite match buy books online price locally, you’ll be able to see the book before you purchase and you’ll get the satisfaction of helping local merchants.
10. Consider used books. Used books are almost always cheaper than new ones, and if you can, find a used version online in good condition it may be a good bet. You may also be able to get used books at your campus bookstore, especially if you shop early or pre-order. Compare prices to find the best deal. Also used books may have the previous students notes in them which is a plus because you won't have to make them.
Check for highlighting or ask about it where the used books sold online. A book that has been heavily highlighted can be very difficult to read, especially as it distracts you from finding the important points for yourself.
11. Compare textbook prices online. There are many book price comparison sites, such as textbookspyder.com, bigwords.com, and campusbooks.com that allow you to compare prices at multiple bookstores with a single search. Buy books online help you save the time and energy plus transport fee, let you comfortable sit in the home do all the necessary to get the book.
12. Inquire about textbooks earlier editions. If the current edition's used price is still too much, use the book name to find an earlier edition: enter the book title in the search box and remove any references to what edition it is. You'll find that the cheapest used version of the newest edition generally sells for three to five times the price of a previous edition.
Before buying, be aware that page numbers, chapter order, and homework problems will almost certainly be different, and content may vary as well. However, often there are only minor differences between the two, and the homework problems are the only thing that may give you trouble (see above about library reserve, or below about sharing). Other than that, you will rarely have a problem, particularly for core texts on basic subjects. If in doubt, however, ask the professor or TA about using an earlier edition before you buy; you don't want to have to pay for a book twice.
13. Share college books. Particularly for your core courses, try to take the same classes as your roommates or friends, and share the college books. You'll learn better if you study together anyway. Alternatively, get an old edition (see above) and borrow from a friend only minimally to access the homework problems.
With sharing, another approach to allow individual study is to roster the days you have the textbooks in question. That way there is no doubt as to when you'll have access to it.
14. Scour your campus. Some colleges have student groups that sell used textbooks for older students or that otherwise facilitate buying and selling of used books. Ask your friends, look at flyers around campus, and watch the student paper for used textbooks deals.
15. Resell your old books. If you don’t foresee that you’ll need the old books after the semester ends, try to resell it as soon as possible. Find out what your campus bookstore and local booksellers will pay, and consider putting up flyers around campus and/or selling it online. If your book is in high demand, you may be able to sell old books online within a day, and at a much higher price than you’ll get at the bookstore.
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