The expense of tuition and housing for college students has been rapidly increasing every year, as we all know. The price of textbooks, however, seems to have skyrocketed disproportionately. Having one kid in college and another on their way in a year, we have tried to cut back textbook expenses in any way possible. Purchasing a brand new book is usually out of the question, as the price for some can be a couple of hundred dollars! Though most new books average around $100.00, if you found out which books you needed early enough, a used book could be purchased at the college bookstore for almost half that price. The key here is finding out in enough time to beat out other scrambling students, as used books are hard to come by at the many campus bookstores. Also, many of these bookstores will let you return the book when you are finished for a partial refund, as long as it has remained in good condition.
Shopping around before purchasing your books, can be a real eye opener and may save you a lot of money. Just be sure to have all of the correct information before you start pricing textbooks, because a great bargain is worthless, if you have purchased the wrong book. Contacting your campus book store with your course information, should help you to obtain what text books are required for a particular class. Remember to ask for the ISBN and the Edition for each book required, as these are most important. Having the wrong edition of a book will have you running back to the book store (and good luck getting a refund)! The ISBN, which stands for International Standard Book Number, is a unique 10-digit to 13-digit number given to every book published, as identification, and is usually found on the back cover, near the bar code. To search for a book by ISBN, just type the 10 or 13 numbers into a book store’s search box, without dashes.
Finding a textbook online can save you a lot of money, if you do not wait until the last minute and purchase carefully. I am hesitant to buy from any place that I am unfamiliar with, so I usually stick with reputable merchants. Many bookstores offer used book prices, right next to the new book price. Many places have a “buy back” program so that you can get money back after you are finished using the book and some will even pay the shipping costs for you! If you plan to resell your book, remember to keep it in good condition, and be careful not to have any excessive highlighting or writing in the book. Happy Shopping!
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Lisa T writes on various subjects and hosts Student 4 Life along with a S4L blog . |
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