It’s back to school time and that means one thing for college students: buying text books. Where you choose to make your purchases will have a huge impact on how much you spend. Here’s how to save some green.
First off, AVOID your campus bookstore. Only go there if you want to THROW AWAY your money. Prices will be ridiculously high! Avoid this like the plague.
Instead, we’re going to look online for some sweet deals. There are dozens of online bookstores. Most of them, if not all, should be cheaper than your campus bookstore.
To show the price differences, I’ll be using a personal finance book I need for fall quarter. It’s simply called “Personal Finance” with an ISBN of 9780073382326. Directly below is how much my college is charging:
$180? $140? NO THANKS!
Next, I head to Amazon and search for that ISBN. Below is what I get:
I still think even the used prices are a bit high, so it’s on to eBay:
Evidently, this is the international version, even though the content is the same. This version is also a hardback, just like what my campus is selling. But maybe a paperback version is available…Back to Amazon:
Now I’ve found a paperback version of the same book for a fraction of the campus bookstore price. I look over what the seller has to say about the book’s condition and decide to purchase. Easy huh?
Personal preference will of course play a part in how you buy your books. I don’t mind having used books, as long as they aren’t missing pages or extremely worn out. You can also look into renting your books from a place like Chegg. I’m not a big fan of renting books, but I may check it out one of these days.
The main thing to remember is DO NOT GO TO YOUR CAMPUS BOOKSTORE.
