Textbooks can be quite an expense for a college student. The problem is you can’t avoid textbooks since you need them to get through your courses. Following are some of the ways you can save money on college textbooks.
Buy e-books
Printed books are often more expensive than e-books. Many publishers offer e-book versions of their popular books. The good thing about e-books is that you can have thousands of them on your laptop, e-book reader, or cell phone.
Rent books
Instead of buying your books you can rent them. There are sites such as ecampus.com which allow you to rent books for certain periods of time at a fee.
Download free books
There are a lot of great textbooks that are offered as free downloads on the Internet. Openstaxcollege.org offers some good books on a variety of topics, which you can also buy at a low price if you want a hard copy.
Buy used books
If you want to buy printed books, you should consider buying second-hand books instead of brand new ones. They’re often way cheaper than brand new books. There are plenty of used bookstores on most college campuses.
Use the library
College libraries often have several copies of certain books which you can borrow on a long-term basis, overnight, or just for a few hours. If the book you’re looking for is in high demand you should do your best to book it in advance. You can also check other libraries outside of your college where they may not be as high demand.
Share
If a friend or colleague has a book that you’re looking for, ask them if you can borrow it. Alternatively, you can share the cost of buying a new book with a friend and take turns with it
Shop online
If you’re insistent that you need to buy a book, you should avoid physical stores. Check for books online from Barnes & Noble, Amazon Textbooks
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