I was talking to my neighbor Hulda the other day about the crazy high prices colleges are charging for textbooks, when she told me her daughter RENTED her books last year and saved some serious cash doing so. I thought that sounded genius–I actually didn’t even know renting books was a thing. I started looking around so we would know all of our options when The Girl heads off, and here’s the breakdown:
Buying textbooks new is basically like throwing good money away. There is no reason unless it is the first year of the requested edition or it is a book you will need to reference for several semesters. Buy used if possible. Amazon has an entire section devoted to new, used, and rentable textbooks. {Go HERE for more information}. The beauty of finding books online is that it connects you with college students all over the country–and odds are, you will be able to find used options.
Basically everything I found said to avoid the actual school bookstore at all costs. They jack the prices up {new or used} to offensive levels and most larger college towns will have privately owned “used textbook” stores that will swing you much deeper discounts. The only time you may have to actually grace the school’s bookstore with your presence is if the professor has put together a printed package required for the course.
If you go with the buy option, make sure to do some research on the buy back price. Some buy back prices make the book worth buying instead of renting. For example, if the book is $50, but the store will buy it back at the end of the semester for $25, then buying it, instead of renting it for $30 is the better option. See how I just did crazy math there? A little research up front is totally the way to get the most from your money.
If your student decides to rent books, make sure they know exactly what they are getting into. How long is the rental period {i.e. will they get to keep the book until the end of the semester}? What is the policy on highlighting? What constitutes a “damaged” book? Make sure you factor in shipping when it comes to rentals too. Most of the time you can get free shipping to you, but you have to pay for shipping back. Some of those textbooks weigh a ton, so shipping might not be worth it. Once all of those questions are satisfied, compare the cost vs. buying. It is still very possible you will come out ahead with a book rental situation.
Finally, for literature classes with several novel requirements, consider the library {you won’t be the only one to come up with the idea, so the public library might be your best bet versus the school library}. That way, you can check out the book, read it, write about it, and then turn it in and move on. Zero financial liability means more money in your pocket.
College is expensive, I say, save where ever you can!
~Mavis
Marie says
Back in the day, while living in the frosh dorm,we would sell
our books to each other! Already highlighted with all of the
nuggets for learning the basics for the required course. Saved
those steep reselling fees & everyone needs to take English 101!
Kathy says
My son always buys used if he can and sells back at the end of the year if he can. This year, a used psych book will cost him $200! Thank goodness his financial aid covers books. He also knows people who took same course who just may have what he needs…keeping figers crossed on that one!
Paula says
Hello
I am a returning student after a simi long break (20 years). I have 2 semesters left, and have been renting my text books for the past 4 semesters. I love it. I usually have a bill for books (full time) for under 250.00. I once paid over that for a first ed. for a Genetics class. I have rented from several companies but prefer 2 companies. I have never had a damage charge. My school rents but their rental (damage) policy is a little more stringent. In the end, rentals cost less than buying used. I have never sold a book back and came close to making half of the cost. 🙁 Just thought I would chime in. 🙂
Paula
Stacey says
Renting is a great way to cut down on textbook costs, but there are other factors to consider, also. Now and then, you might want to keep the book. I have several of my books that I chose to keep for one reason or another. I was ready to rent once, then realized the return date was before the class ended. Nope, I plan to learn the most I can and don’t want to rush through to get the book back on time.
Be careful about buying used books, too. I do whenever I can, but I feel nervous every time, also. Buying from the bookstore may cost more, but if you accidentally get the wrong book (I did this once), you might get a full refund, but probably not from Amazon. Right now I live on the opposite side of the country from my college, so buying from the bookstore makes more sense. If I were to buy a used book that turned out to be the wrong one, the bookstore is too far away for me to run into and get the right one so I can get my homework in for the first week.
win says
The Girl might want to wait until her first class before getting any textbooks. A prof is required to list one but she should ask if it is absolutely necessary or will it be used as a supplement to class notes. Sometimes profs will put the textbook in the library on reserve. Check out older editions as well. Older editions are often the same with minor differences, chapters pushed around and maybe different problems at the end. However, the information is generally as good as the new one!
Tangela says
We got my daughter’s books from the college bookstore. They had a renting option there that I didn’t think was a bad deal. To buy used it was going to be about $42 but to rent, it was only $6. She is only taking two classes that each required only one book, so I got out for $20! That.Was.Awesome!!!
PeggyK says
Thee are some books that are worth buying new. Many of the engineering books my sons used needed to be purchased new for the edition he professor was using. I liked new college books because I could make my own notes. Just because someone has highlighted and made notes, it DOES NOT mean that they are right. Differences between A and C students. Just saying. As a single mother of two engineering students I encouraged my sons to buy new books for some courses and left it up to their judgments as to what they wanted to buy new or used. I still have some of my Constitutional Foundations books from my college classes, my art books, and some of my Norton Anthologies. And in some instances their fraternities had lending libraries for classes. It’s all a matter of preference and money should NOT be the driving force. (I was a single mom so I know how it is to not have enough money to get to the end of the week sometimes.) And forget the public library. they don’t have enough copies of books to use for college classes and you can’t make notes in a pubic library book.
MarieK says
Another option not listed here is that many books can be downloaded after purchase (much cheaper) and you print the pages if you want. The Prof will have the websites available for these sources when they hand out the syllabus the first day of class. The topics will vary and you have to be sure you have the right book. Another point to consider when buying from an on-line source, often times you can buy the text that comes flat and not bound. They are three-holed punched and you put into a binder. I preferred these for my Accounting books, much easier to write notes in margin, etc.
Sandra says
I have one student in her 6th year of college (she had to take a leave of absence due to recovery from being rear-ended), and my husband is in graduate school. What we have discovered about textbooks:
– Often it can be difficult to sell the book back to the bookstore because:
a) The department or professor isn’t going to use that book anymore, or that course won’t be taught next term.
b) The publisher changed a few (usually insignificant) things in the book and puts out a new edition. (This happens frequently.)
c) The “book” is a course pack. Or self-published by the department.
d) The bookstore has already bought back all the books it projects it will need for the next term.
How to deal with this: Try to sell your book on Amazon or to an alternate bookstore near campus. Wait a term to see if the bookstore will buy your book back. Sell your book or course pack on your student intranet or Craigslist. Be first in line when book buy back opens.
– Sometimes the school indicates a book is required, but the professor never uses it.
How to deal with this: Check with students who have already taken the course, or if you discover during the add-drop that your book is not needed, return it.
– Since often an older edition of the book is nearly identical to the newest edition, email the professor to ask if the older edition is acceptable. Often it is, unless the book comes with an online access code. That also isn’t always used by the prof, so check about that as well. Older editions are much cheaper than the newest one. (If you are buying from a source other than the bookstore, be sure to confirm the edition number if you don’t want an older edition.)
– Some books, especially literature, are available very inexpensively as an ebook and/or audiobook, which is useful for those who need a larger print or have dyslexia or vision challenges.
– Budget more for books for upper-division and graduate courses. Fewer people take these classes, so the publisher charges higher prices for the books.
My worst textbook experience was for my husband’s tax research class. A portion of the tax code was required according to the school, so we bought it. The poor UPS guy…it came in two heavy boxes! And then, the instructor said it wasn’t needed because they were using an online version. Expensive to buy, and expensive to return. Of course, because the tax code changes every year, the books really lose their value quickly.
As far as keeping textbooks, after our third move, we became less in love with them and gave most of them to Goodwill.
Wendi says
Back in the day….and I mean the stone age day…I bought my books used. BUT I made sure the person I was buying from was an especially bright, academically successful student. That way all I had to do was read the highlights. BAM…saved time and money! Now that I’m 56 and a retired business owner, I can say, “it worked”. Lol
Daisy M says
Look for the international editions of the books needed. They are WAYY cheaper and the only difference is the books cover.
michelle says
While working on my Master’s degree, I split the cost of several books with my smart friends and we shared them. Also, A professor is required to list a text, but some never require you read them. Stupid? I think so too.
michelle says
Very good idea to email the professor and ask if an older addition is acceptable. Then, buy used.
michelle says
If I were to go back to school, I would get ebooks for my tablet. So light in weight and you could/ should read them anywhere!! You can look up all those words you never would, if you were to go with a traditional book! Amazing!!
Francisca says
My daughter just graduated from college. We started the first year not knowing anything different and purchased from the school book store. (Used when we could) We shortly found a website called CHEGG. You can rent the books and it saved us TONS. Walmart also sells text books online. So we would compare and go with the best deal. One this to remember is to wait until class actually starts. My daughter so many times purchased ahead of time and then had books they never used or read. Stupid huh like Michelle said.
Danielle says
CHEGG is great for homework help too. It has free help, and you can even get answers for textbook problems. If I remember even numbers are free, but you pay extra to get answers to odd numbered questions. CHEGG was a lifesaver for my physics class where the professors and the TAs refused to explain how to do the problems step by step. I was very willing to pay for the few answers I needed, if I hadn’t I NEVER would have understood the material. And CHEGG is very flexible when it came to paying.
KathyL says
My daughter is a sophomore this year, but I found out about http://www.slugbooks.com this summer. It compares prices from lots of different sites, such as amazon, ebay, etc and tells you how much they are offering the exact same book for. Saved us over half the price this summer for the classes she missed due to cancer this year (she’s doing great). Make sure if you buy a book with a computer module that it says that it has the code. I made the mistake of buying a used book without the code and after buying a new code I could have bought the whole set new for the price I paid.
carolyn says
My daughter will be a sophomore in college and my son will be a senior in HS (where they are required to buy their own textbooks and he has 5 AP classes this year). We mostly buy from Ebay, but also from amazon. We always buy, because amazon’s rent program isn’t in every state. We sell all books back either thru ebay or amazon (amazon-listed books sell faster) and we’ve been pretty lucky to almost break even most years.
As far as “edition”, my daughter has (as someone else recommended) asked the professor and it so far has been fine.
Danielle says
I’ve often shared books with friends, or classmates. Especially for the very large mandatory classes most colleges require. Buying from Amazon, and other Online stores is much cheaper, but let me warn you.
Sometimes the professor hasn’t completed their book list before the class starts and you HAVE to buy them from a nearby store.
Sometimes the book you ordered online takes 3 weeks or more to ship in, unless you pay for faster shipping, and even then it sometimes take a while. And of course those are the books that the professor wants to use right away.
Some professors are understanding, others not so much (even if they added extra books at the last minute) so be prepared for those moments.
There are always those professors that require an expensive book for the use of only one chapter.
I’ve also had professors require books that are out of print.
And finally, I’ve found it’s best to almost never sell back books from English classes, sell them on Amazon, give them to classmates, but when I bought the book for $40 and the bookstore will only buy it back for $2 they can bite my patootie.
Denyalle says
BIGWORDS.com was my lifesaver in college. It compared loads of websites to find me the best option in buying OR renting textbooks. Saved me lots of money. I now use the site to find me deals on books in general. I refuse to pay full price on books now.
Beks says
The best decision I ever did was start working at a textbook company in my college town of Columbia, MO. I got to rent my books (if they were in stock), and had to return them right after finals. Using this method, my costs went down exponentially my last three years of school. Also, teachers making you buy THEIR book is horrible, because in my experience, they NEVER used it. Sometimes, sharing books with a classmate you trust can work, too. My senior year, my best friend and I shared our Personal Family Finance textbook (which I’d gotten at work), and we studied together. It worked well for us, because we’re soul mate sisters, so I can’t vouch for everyone, but just make sure if you opt for this route, it’s someone you trust.
Catherine says
Most colleges require that any book required for a course be held at the library. So, if you order a book on Amazon and it hasn’t arrived yet, you can use the on-hold books at the library. You can also check out textbooks from libraries around the country through ILL, not just “literature” books. If you are very determined, you can find ways to get textbooks for free.
Also, as soon as you find out your classes, start looking into the textbook. Prices are lower right before the rush. Also, when you’re asked to use a new edition and its 4th, 5th, or higher you can usually still use the older ones just fine. Check with your prof. I’ve used the older version for studying and just borrowed a newer edition for problem sets.
Mark says
This sounds like a good idea and can be for some classes where you won’t need the text again – english, humanities, and other useless classes. In school I borrowed some books and sold some off after the term.
I’m an engineer and am constantly kicking myself for not still having some of my technical texts. There are cases where I have gone back out and bought a new text book to replace the one I borrowed or sold a few years ago.
Renting some texts is short sighted if you think you’ll ever need them again.
Katie Schneider says
Have you heard of bigwords.com?? I used it 10 years ago when I was in college (OY!) and just yesterday, trying to find a deal on a book I wanted. It’s a search site that combs all the largest bookbuying websites FOR YOU–including half.com, amazon.com, alibris, booksamillion, etc.–and puts together the best price package for the books you need. It’s super easy to use, you don’t even have to start a profile on their website. You can search by author or title (good on books where the edition doesn’t matter) or by ISBN (important when you need a certain version or translation of a book!). It has probably saved me over $1000 over the course of my college (undergrad AND grad) career.
Mavis says
Never heard of it but it sounds awesome!!
G says
I started Grad school earlier this year and thus far, I have only had to buy one book, the rest I have rented. Even then I shopped around for the cheapest price I could find. What I do nowadays is rent the Kindle version from Amazon. You can set the rental period and the price is based on said rental period. I’ve found it to be much cheaper. Then I just make sure to keep my iPad charged up. 🙂 Plus, I commute by train into the city everyday, so I have found it much easier to carry my iPad in my bag vs that of a heavy book. In instances where I have had to use the text for an open book test, it makes it a lot easier to search for something I may not be able to find from my reading. I love love love how this has made my Graduate studies far easier (and cheaper!). For purchasing books, I use AbeBooks (Amazon partner) and I have been advised by friends that teach college courses to avoid the international version at all costs because a lot of switches are made to that version of the text and you may miss out on something important from the US verison.
Mavis says
Great tips! Thanks for sharing. I’ll have to look into AbeBooks