Hunting for cheap textbook sources
John Grillo
Issue date: 1/21/10 Section: Student Life
It's the time of year when students are buying books from university stores at exorbitant prices that only increase debt. Many students complain about the ridiculous mark-ups on books, but few offer alternatives on how to get around the campus bookstore prices.
When looking up the book for my International Business class, the only information the campus bookstore gave was the name of the book, the abbreviated publisher, the author, the edition, and the price for either the new or used version of the book, making finding it elsewhere difficult.
There are ways around the bookstore and the farther you go, the more money you are likely to save. The most important thing is to find the International Standard Book Number, ISBN, a 10 or 13 digit number that denotes a specific volume anywhere on earth.
When you have the information, start searching for the book. The Internet is an easy way to get textbooks for cheap. The problems are knowing where to look and what sources are reputable. As we explore, we'll use the bookstore as a base. My International Business textbook was $196.80 there.
Amazon.com is a fantastic wholesale site. It gives a picture, ISBN numbers, sorts prices, and separates new and used versions. On amazon.com, my International Business textbook was $125.99. Other websites include bigwords.com, powells.com, alibris.com, half.com, textbooks.com and collegetextbooks.com. There are a lot more, so look around!
There are websites that will rent textbooks at reasonable prices. Chegg.com is the best because they also plant a tree every time a book is rented. Two other sites worth noting are campusbookrentals.com and bookrenter.com. The price savings are enormous. My International Business textbook was $74.22 to rent the book for the whole semester.
Find an international version of the textbook. The information between the "domestic" and "international" editions is usually exactly the same. Most bookstores will refuse to buy the book back or give you pennies on the dollar, but if it is a book you want to keep, then it won't matter. I bought my International Business text this way and paid only $45.
Free options are few but can often be the easiest. Arrange a book swap on campus that will save people lots of money or co-buy the book with a classmate. Go to both Pacific's library and the local library and see if they have the book. If they do, you can check it out and renew it and never have to pay for it in the first place.
Where you buy your textbooks depends on how much effort you are willing to put forth in the search. Good luck on your hunt.
When looking up the book for my International Business class, the only information the campus bookstore gave was the name of the book, the abbreviated publisher, the author, the edition, and the price for either the new or used version of the book, making finding it elsewhere difficult.
There are ways around the bookstore and the farther you go, the more money you are likely to save. The most important thing is to find the International Standard Book Number, ISBN, a 10 or 13 digit number that denotes a specific volume anywhere on earth.
When you have the information, start searching for the book. The Internet is an easy way to get textbooks for cheap. The problems are knowing where to look and what sources are reputable. As we explore, we'll use the bookstore as a base. My International Business textbook was $196.80 there.
Amazon.com is a fantastic wholesale site. It gives a picture, ISBN numbers, sorts prices, and separates new and used versions. On amazon.com, my International Business textbook was $125.99. Other websites include bigwords.com, powells.com, alibris.com, half.com, textbooks.com and collegetextbooks.com. There are a lot more, so look around!
There are websites that will rent textbooks at reasonable prices. Chegg.com is the best because they also plant a tree every time a book is rented. Two other sites worth noting are campusbookrentals.com and bookrenter.com. The price savings are enormous. My International Business textbook was $74.22 to rent the book for the whole semester.
Find an international version of the textbook. The information between the "domestic" and "international" editions is usually exactly the same. Most bookstores will refuse to buy the book back or give you pennies on the dollar, but if it is a book you want to keep, then it won't matter. I bought my International Business text this way and paid only $45.
Free options are few but can often be the easiest. Arrange a book swap on campus that will save people lots of money or co-buy the book with a classmate. Go to both Pacific's library and the local library and see if they have the book. If they do, you can check it out and renew it and never have to pay for it in the first place.
Where you buy your textbooks depends on how much effort you are willing to put forth in the search. Good luck on your hunt.
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