It's like someone just walked up, kicked you in the shins, and ran away. Dropping $400 or more on textbooks is just about as common as dropping organic chemistry.

Why are textbooks so damn expensive?
What can students do about it?

When I sat down to write this guide I was sure the first thing I would talk about would be those money grubbing greedy book publishers and their profit driven scummy practices. As a student who has been forced to perform the new course textbook buying dance almost 20 times, I was sure that they sat in dark rooms smoking expensive imported cigars, cackling as they watched their Swiss bank accounts roll over to that 9th digit at our expense. I think I was wrong.

Enter the organized used book marketplace, the Back to the Future textbook arms race:
While some of the above may be true, research has led me to believe that a change in the dynamics of the textbook marketplace a few decades ago could be the real problem. Publishers of recent face a newer and more powerful enemy, one that is constantly adapting and updating materials, one that students increasingly look for first in the campus bookstore or online, and one that may contain highlighting, vulgar doodles, coffee stains, and funky odors; THE USED BOOK. Publishers today fight with the efforts of their past selves, and unless they constantly change they cannot compete. "Great Scott!" You may say, "Frugal students trying to save a buck (or a few hundred) by buying used books have inadvertently caused textbooks to become more expensive." Yes, it's articles like this that may be partly to blame. A used book removes two big middle men and fails to provide income for the publishers or royalties for the authors, thus they must raise prices and frequently come out with new (but almost exactly the same) editions to keep students away from used copies. Stop reading now if you do not want to be part of the problem.


How to save a bunch of money on your textbook purchases:

Before you can go any further you must gather intelligence. There are three ways to find out if a book is required for a course and if so, exactly what book that is:

1. Email the professor as soon as you find out who they are, politely introduce yourself and ask which materials will be required for the course. Be sure to specifically ask if they might be able to give you the title, author, and ISBN number. (That number is your golden ticket to massive savings and will make all the efforts discussed below much easier. Not familiar with the International Standard Book Number, Wiki it here)
2. You can always go undercover as a "normal student" and take your course schedule to the bookstore to ask an associate, or use the shelf labels, matching your class numbers to the correct stack of books. Be sure to take a pen and paper and record the discovered titles, authors, and ISBNs. Also note the full price for future bragging. Just kidding...well maybe not.
3. As a last resort you can wait until the first day of class when the book information is usually distributed in the course syllabi. This is not ideal as you don't have any time to allow for shipping when you find it cheaper online.
   

OK, now that you know what you have to acquire, Try these Steps.

1. Go for the absolute jackpot and just for the heck of it, try your campus and city library, you would be surprised what you might find for free.

2. See if you can find a student who may have taken that course in semesters prior (a little more of a challenge for a freshman). Ask to take the bad memories off their hands, bargain with them to swap books if you have some they need, or start the negotiating at a ridiculously low price. Often if you show them cold cash, along with a small collection of baked treats, or corner store goodies, they may take the bait.

3. Number three is a little more practical and where the meat hits the grill: Buy your textbooks online. It sounds like common sense but you would be surprised how many students are either too afraid or too lazy to do this. Here are a list of personally tested sites to check out in order of what I have found to be the cheapest, your results may vary: (common sense online buying practices apply: read and understand what you are purchasing, search by the ISBN to ensure a perfect match, mail them to your college mailbox, and anticipate shipping times and costs)

• eBay
• Valore Books
• Amazon (used marketplace only)
  
• Half.com
• Bookbyte.com (used marketplace only)
  
• eCampus (used marketplace only)
• Biblio
• abebooks
• Check out CampusGrotto for additional sites
  
• Others (feel free to search Google at top right of this page to find more)

4. Be creative but smart. Share or borrow books, etc. Be careful of free, non-mainstream electronic forms, or non-US versions of textbooks, the small chance of big consequences may not be worth the savings. It's hard to save money by doing "normal" things, so be flexible, but be smart.

5. Look through the comments below for some more great tips and resources. Thank you to everyone who has chimed in with their ideas and experience. Have an idea that's not here, or want to share your experience? Please leave a comment.

That first week of class you will see the bookstore jammed with students, credit cards at the ready. Please be different and don't be lazy, save 35-70% by not following the herd. Regardless of how your education is paid for, money is money, save it.

Tip from experience #1: If classes are starting tomorrow and you still haven't received that book you bought last week from half.com, it may be worth while investigating your campus book store return policy. Many times you can purchase a book and return it (with receipt) up until the end of your school's add/drop period for a 100% refund (check with the cashier to make sure). This may buy you an extra week or two while the books are still traveling across country via USPS media rate (save the most money on shipping with this rate, also the slowest). Don't miss assignments waiting for you books, that's just foolish.

Tip from experience #2: NEVER sell your book back to the bookstore. If you think they just club you on the purchase price and not the buyback price, you are in for a world of hurt. Do yourself a favor and sell textbooks online too. Using the same methods above to maximize recouping your investment. I used to think that I should keep the books and build a small "personal library". Trust me, you will change your mind, and unless it's a cornerstone calculus book, sell back your philosophy and English literature books while they are still worth more than a paper weight.

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Post Resources:

• Why Textbooks Are So Expensive?
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