Last Updated December 29, 2020
  The main point of this blog post is to avoid paying the full price for your college textbooks as much as possible. There are so many ways outlined in this post that you can save money.
1. Wait until you know that you will use the book if possible
I know that it can be tempting to want to buy your textbooks for your classes as soon as they are posted. But wait until you know that you will use them if possible. Since you might use the book all the time or never even open it. For example in one of my courses on the first day the professor told us the required books were only going to be used on the final paper. I had already bought my books but I didn’t I could have waited to buy them or tried to see if a library had the books that I needed.
2. Compare the prices of textbooks before you buy themÂ
I have used Slug Books to compare the prices of textbooks from several major retailers such as Amazon, Chegg, and Barnes and Noble. You type in the book title or IBSN number then it compares the prices from retailers and includes the price of renting your books. I bought a used psychology textbook off of amazon for around 20 dollars. But if I bought it from my school’s bookstore I would have paid 180 dollars for the same textbook. By taking a few minutes to compare prices I saved myself a lot of money.
3. Buy your books used or rent whenever possible   Â
An upperclassman in college told me about Thrift Books an online used bookstore. I found a textbook that I need for one of my classes next semester on Thriftbooks. It was cheaper than getting it from Amazon or through my school’s bookstore. But that doesn’t mean you should only buy your books from Thriftbooks. You should buy your books used or rent them if it is cheaper to save money. You won’t need most of your textbooks after your class and reselling them is not always possible. If your textbooks are required to have access codes or supplemental materials make sure that they are guaranteed if buying your books used. Since many retailers have disclaimers such as Chegg and Amazon that supplemental materials are not guaranteed with used books.
4. Use rebates sites to get cashback such as Rakuten
Sometimes you might not be able to find rent or buy your textbook used. But you can still save a little money if you shop through Rakuten. To use Rakuten all you do is need to create an account and then shop through the link to the store that they provide to receive a percentage cashback. I included a link to their website so you can check it out if you are interested.
5. Borrow or share with a friend
If you have a friend that is taking the same class as you ask if you can share the cost of the textbook. I have had friends that offered to borrow their books or sell them for a better deal than the college bookstore.
6. Library
Scope out your local library to see if they have any copies of your textbook that you can borrow for free. This is especially helpful if you only need a textbook for one assignment or part of the semester.
7. Buy the ebook version
8. Get them for free online
There are websites such as Bookboon and Open-Source textbooks where you access thousands of books for free. Bookboon has free textbooks written by college professors. While Open Source Textbooks websites offer books that are licensed to be used for free. This way you aren’t pirating any college textbooks or using sketchy websites.
9. Buy them from another student
A lot of students sell their textbooks at the end of the semester often at a discounted rate because they want to get rid of them. Check on social media to see if anyone is selling their college textbooks. I encourage you to be cautious and do research when you buy your textbooks online or from another student.
