Comments on: How College Students Save on Textbook Costs

By: Wes

Wes — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:34:53 +0000

That is why I created http://www.StudentBookTrades.com. An easy way to find college textbooks that other students have already completed courses for. Students are automatically matched with each other to trade textbooks for classes they have completed. Trade, Swap, sell, or buy college textbooks from other students. Search the book database, contact the student at your home campus, city, state, or nationwide about the book and save money.

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By: Thursday Money Blogs Roundup: Credit Card National Bank Edition

Thursday Money Blogs Roundup: Credit Card National Bank Edition — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:21:57 +0000

[...] How College Students Save on Textbook Costs @ Queercents. [...]

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By: zen

zen — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 14:22:25 +0000

I know your pain! This is exactly why I buy used (if not from the bookstore from amazon of half.com) and I attend a cheaper community college instead of the big college.

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By: No Credit Needed » Blog Archive » Festival of Frugality

No Credit Needed » Blog Archive » Festival of Frugality — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:43:49 +0000

[...] Queercents with a post about saving money on college textbooks. [...]

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By: Mitch

Mitch — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:54:15 +0000

You may also be able to read some texts at the library via course reserves. It's worth checking. One semester most of our textbooks were out of print, but our instructor put her copies in the library. (Small class, about 10 people, so buying used would've been difficult anyway.) Also, consider selling back your used books at the end of the term, especially frequently updated lower-level texts. If you want to refer to them in the short term, they are at the library, a student lounge, or at a friend's place. Before long even the three dollar used books online will be more up to date than the one you kept, but if you sell quickly, you can make a proportion of your money back.

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By: Cap

Cap — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:43:15 +0000

had that exact same horrible Bio book a few semester ago at Golden West Community College. So expensive... but at least I used it. For those that don't mind going up to strangers and asking them questions, I generally head to the last day of class from the previous semester and simple ask people if they're willing to sell their book on the spot for cash. This requires you to know your class ahead of time, of course. If you're trying to unload your book and don't want to deal with the hassle of selling it online, you can always find the course that use the same book, and head to the first day of class and ask if anyone needs a book. I use to buy/sell on half.com a lot, but lately I'm so cheap and lazy that I just forgo getting the book (unless I absolutely need it).

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By: SavingDiva

SavingDiva — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:36:16 +0000

My recommendation is to buy used (and not at the bookstore). My favorite sites for buying and SELLING (way to recoup at least some of the money) are http://half.com (a section of eBay) and http://amazon.com (only buy used books and pay $3.50 for shipping). I agree with Dima that you have to be careful about who you are purchasing from. However, I have never had a problem with an international edition. I usually buy a book that is in good condition (slightly used, maybe some highlighting) because you know that someone survived a semester with it. Also, I find it amusing to read the notes that other people write in the margins. Some of my books had smart previous owners…and others…well, didn’t….

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By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:46:53 +0000

Dima, Thanks for the tips and precautionary tale! A bargain is only as good as the quality of the product you're saving money on. Erin

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By: dima

dima — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:39:55 +0000

I have used half.com for purchasing and selling most of my books over the last three or four years. For the most part, I was able to find pretty good deals on used and new books on there as well as to get more money for my books than I would of gotten at the bookstore. However, you have to be careful about a few things. Checking seller rating and recent feedback is sort of common sense. You also need to read the book description carefully. There are a lot of "international" edition books on there that can cost half as much as the actual hardcover edition. These are generally low quality crap that will fall apart in couple weeks and you'll have to wash your hands because all the ink will stick to them. These are also sold illegally in the US. It says on the books that they are not for sale in the US, however most of the sellers just put a sticker on top of that. I did get one of these books long time ago and have been able to avoid getting ripped off ever since (yea, you are saving half of the actual cost but how much do you think you will be able to sell it for after half of the pages fall out and the whole thing looks like its been used for a decade after just one semester?).

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