With three kids in college my book-buying bill thru out the year seems to increase with each quarter or semester of classes. So, teaching my students that there were alternative ways to buying books other then new has been a goal and process that lead me to discover 6 ways to save when purchasing college textbooks.
Book Rental: Renting textbooks avoid the risk of your books becoming worthless by the end of the quarter or semester. You will save 50% on average of a new book and it will often include free shipping. There are several Book rental companies to choose from www.campusbookrentals.com, www.chegg.com,
www.barnesandnobles, and www.ecampus.com and many others you can do a quick online Internet search for more options
Buy Used: Students can now find used books to purchase beyond their local campus bookstore. There are many online opportunities to purchase used books such as www.half.com , www.amazoncom , www.cheaptextbooks.org , www.used–college–textbooks.info and www.alibris.com/books/textbooks .
Download: With the popularity of e-readers students can now purchase and download many of their required books or portions of the books they are in need of reading. One company I discovered that offers downloadable portions of textbooks is www.Couresmart.com ,
Free Books: There are many virtual libraries that offer free reference material and literature at no cost to the student. Typically these are older pieces with expired copyrights. But it is worth a try. Places such as www.ipl.org (The Internet Public Library) www.Bartleyby.com and www.gutenberg.org , all offer free online books for college students.
Compare Prices: Before you buy be sure to compare prices. You should seldom have to pay full retail price. Use www.comparetextbook.com as a helpful site to compare prices,
Share and Swap: Have your students check with fellow students who have already taken the upcoming class or will be taking it at the same time and see if they are willing to share in the book buying expense or if they no longer in need of their book and may be willing to trade for another book they are in need of. Many colleges are offering book-swapping events.
Have you discovered a way to save money when buying College textbooks?