How to Save Money on Textbooks in College

As a college student, buying textbooks can be rather expensive. And if you’re studying a lengthy course, the cost of textbooks each year can really add up.

In my part one article on buying cheap textbooks for college, I covered the different ways that you can get hold of textbooks as a college student. Some of these methods including buying textbooks online, renting your textbooks, or selling back textbooks one you have finished using them to keep your costs down. Here are some further tips on how to save money on textbooks in college.

As a college student, buying textbooks can be rather expensive. And if you’re studying a lengthy course, the cost of textbooks each year can really add up.

In my part one article on buying cheap textbooks for college, I covered the different ways that you can get hold of textbooks as a college student. Some of these methods including buying textbooks online, renting your textbooks, or selling back textbooks one you have finished using them to keep your costs down. Here are some further tips on how to save money on textbooks in college.

How to Save Money on Textbooks in College

Buy Textbooks Online

The preferred approach these days is to buy textbooks online due to factors such as convenience, ability to search quickly on the Internet for what you are searching for, and having the books delivered to your doorstep within days.

Buy Used Textbooks

An informal approach that is easy to try is to swap textbooks with students, especially students who are senior to you and are studying the same course or units and will be done with their textbook in a semester or two. I don’t think there is anything wrong with well loved or pre loved textbooks. You may even be able to get some good notes or cheat sheets from the owner of these pre loved or used textbooks if the owner of these textbooks happens to be your friend and did well with their exams and assignments.

Money Saving Tips on Buying College Textbooks

One tip on how to save money that I would like to mention is that when you buy college textbooks is to plan ahead and make a list of textbooks you’ll need ahead of time and to check availability ahead of time. Visit a few stores online to get a feel for the price of textbooks. Find online textbook stores that are willing to buy back your textbooks once you’ve finished with them. If you’re planning on going this route, work out the net cost of buying your book ie. outlay for purchasing the book less cash received for book.

Make sure to do your homework to check whether the price is reasonable. One thing to note is that just because you find a site where you can buy textbooks online doesn’t necessarily mean that that the online provider is  cheaper than physical bookstores from Barnes and Nobles or your local university or college bookstore.

I scoured the Internet to find the top places where you can buy textbooks online. One place to buy textbooks online that stood out is Chegg.com. They both buy new and used textbooks. Once you’re done with your textbooks, you can also sell your textbooks back to Chegg and get some cash. You can get a quote to find out how much your textbook is worth. Send your textbooks via UPS shipping and then you’ll receive cash for your books.

New Technology with eTextbooks

Another handy service that Chegg provides is that after you have ordered your physical book, you are able to get access to the equivalent book in eTextbook format for seven days, whilst waiting for your physical book. That’s service for you. You’ll be wanting to get Chegg’s eReader so that you stream from either your computer or your iPad to read your eTextbook. Students are finding the note taking feature and search functions using the eReader very useful.

One aspect about Chegg that is slightly different is that you can get help with your homework via its online community. Just enter what help you need with your homework and away you go. Perhaps you don’t need your textbook after all! Only kidding. That’s another neat feature that makes it stand out from other online textbook stores.

Other Save Money Hound Articles

Read my Part 1 Article on Buying Cheap Textbooks for College