Save Money on Textbooks

The month of August brings us back to school.  For college students, one of the biggest surprises can be the cost of textbooks.  I remember some books costing $40-50 or more when I was in college, and I am sure that number has risen substantially in the seven years since I graduated.  I recently heard one story of someone who went to purchase a textbook for a introductory history class and had to pay $160 for the one book.

Obviously, buying used textbooks has been a solution to combat high book prices for many years.  If you don't want to buy a used textbook, you can check online for the book.  Below, I will list four sites to check out if you are considering buying online.

First, when looking for a textbook, I always recommend searching by the ISBN.  This is a code that is unique to the individual book.  There are many textbooks that may share the same title, especially if it is a generic title like "Modern Mathematics".  Even when the author name is a match, there may be two, three, or even more editions of the book.  All of this is a lot to check when shopping.  However, if you simply get the ISBN of the book you need (you can even go to your campus bookstore to get it from the book), you can make sure that you are purchasing the correct book for your class without having to check each item carefully.

Amazon.com - Amazon is a leader in textbooks, too! Plus, their marketplace makes it easy for stores to sell used books in addition to the new books available through Amazon.

Half.com - Half.com is an Ebay-owned company that allows people to sell their used textbooks to the next year's students.

Chegg.com - Chegg.com allows you to sell your used books and to purchase used books at reduced prices. It also has a tutoring section and a internship/job search section.

Abebooks.com - Abebooks is my preferred site. While it tends to focus on older and out-of-print books, there are plenty of newer titles available, as well. Plus, if you need a book simply for research (not as a textbook for your class), the previous edition might be available here at a greatly reduced price.