Back To School Strategy: How To Find Cheaper Textbooks Today

Posted on August 22, 2021 by kepyas3578

It’s that time of the year again when students look forward to going back to school. These are exciting times as they gain their independence, living away from home, decorating their dorm rooms, prepping their meals, and managing their own finances. A big part of education is not just the tuition and living expenses, but the textbooks needed for all their classes, which often leads to a common dilemma, how to find cheaper textbooks?

To Buy or Not to Buy

Rising costs of education and living expenses contribute to the rising level of student loans.  Many times, students have been known to struggle with buying textbooks because of the rising costs. Textbooks are often needed for all those course works, and required reading by professors on an almost daily basis.

In a recent article from Nerd Wallet, it said that in 2019, the average student loan for a Bachelor’s degree was already at $28,950, and that is just for a public four-year in-state degree. Textbooks are not covered by tuition fees, and books can easily reach $1000 for a year’s education. According to the National Association of College Stores, in 2018-2019, students spent an average of $415 on course materials each semester. Reinforcing this, the College Board recommends that students budget $1,240 for books and supplies annually.

With this scenario in place, students often weigh their options, do I need all these new textbooks? Can I survive the semester without them?

Finding Cheaper Textbooks Made Easy

So then, for an average student, the nagging dilemma is still looking for ways to save, and that includes finding cheaper textbooks.  

Compared to some years ago, students now don’t have to stress too much to find cheaper textbooks. There are several options available to them, and conveniently at their fingertips. 

Here are some of those sure-fire options that have been compiled to ease that financial burden:

Online

  • Craigslist.com

While searching for some of those dorm room essentials, why not check this out also for your textbook needs? This site has so many sellers that you can narrow down your search by location, price range, and free shipping.

  • Ebay.com

Equally popular for used textbooks, especially if you don’t mind older editions. Although one downside here is the bidding process since it is auction based, plus there’s the time element to consider as well.

  • Facebook

Make use of all that time scrolling through Facebook.  Search groups from your university, such as textbook exchange groups or class groups as this is a good source of used textbooks.

  • Amazon

This is another source for cheap books, in fact, their motto is, Rent. Buy. Sell. If you have a Kindle, some textbooks are even available as ebooks, making it much more convenient. You can even save as much as 90% on some textbooks.

Second-hand stores

While going around your university, hit up those second-hand bookstores. A good thing about second-hand stores is that you can immediately check the condition of the books.

Membership

Scribd offers a fixed subscription each month (which can be cancelled at any time), not only for those finding cheaper textbooks, but also for a wide-range of audiobooks, ebooks, and magazines.  Quite a good deal too, especially if you think of all the research papers you need to churn out each semester. 

Sometimes, with so many options out there, one can easily get overwhelmed. A good tip is to use a price comparison tool such as booksprice.com for the best deals. It allows you to compare prices of online sellers without having to go to each website. It even makes the search easy by title or ISBN. Saves you both time and money!  How easy is that?

Going back to school while exciting, can also give students a sense of dread because of the financial burden. Finding cheaper textbooks shouldn’t be one of them with this list. Savings from cheaper textbooks can give students a much-needed reprieve, and allow them to splurge on other essentials, and have the time of their lives while in college.  Save the stress for all the late-night studying, loads of paper writing for submission, and case studies. 

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5 Top Tips Students Can Save From Pricey Textbooks

Posted on August 22, 2021 by kepyas3578

How does the popular saying go? “An investment in education always pays the highest interest,” said Benjamin Franklin. 

But tell that to all the college students saddled with high student loans. Going to university means freedom and independence for many, if not all. But quickly, they realize, they have all these new responsibilities to face – student loans, health insurance, room and board, personal expenses, and textbooks and supplies! That is quite the list!

Let’s lighten that load, and one way is to start early with the textbooks hunt to save from pricey textbooks. This will give you more buying options at a better price. Cramming and doing this too close to the start of the semester will mean higher textbook prices and possibly shipping fees, and you don’t want that.  Going through the course requirements seems daunting already, so let’s not add to the tension of back to school activities.

Where To Begin

At present, you’re facing that list of textbooks and supplies you need. You’re probably sitting in your dorm room asking yourself right about now, “Where do I begin?”. Here is a list of the fail-safe and dependable list of resources compiled just for you.

Pay the Library a Visit

Get your gear, and let’s go take a walk to the library. Yes, the library! This should really be on top of your list. Most libraries have several copies of each textbook that you need. And if you are quick enough, you can borrow your textbooks, and simply keep on renewing.

Thrift Bookstores

Seeing and feeling the actual textbook is still a different experience. Another perk is you have the added advantage of really inspecting the condition of the book. After all, you might want to consider selling this again at the end of the semester. Smart move! Make a search now for all these second-hand stores within your university. You’ll probably get the latest edition of your textbook while you’re at it.

Rent

You can stretch your budget by renting rather than buying. Amazon is an old favorite for renting and buying, in order to save from pricey textbooks.  You can also check with your university bookstore if they have this option. If not, here are some online sites you may want to check out:

  • Chegg Books has the option for ebooks which may be more convenient for you. In case you decide that you want to drop or switch classes, they also offer a 21-day return on physical books.

Online

Ok, so you probably want to do the search in the comfort of your dorm room. Here are some online options for you as well, to save you lots of time.

  • Craigslist and Ebay

Most students post their textbooks here, so why not check out the listing in your area. 

  • Student-to-student book exchanges

Check the platform used in your university, as this is quite common, and it’s a good way of saving from pricey textbooks, and you get that added advantage of getting the latest edition of the textbooks you need.

Comparison Tool

Online options are countless, overwhelming and tricky. You might ask yourself again, “Where do I begin?”, so here’s a textbook price comparison tool that should save you even more time, and save from pricey textbooks! The heavy lifting has already been done by BooksPrice.   

You have probably used Kayak to book your airline and hotel before, and BooksPrice works the same way too. The search for your required textbook is even made easier by just simply typing in the title or the ISBN.  It generates a listing of all the online sellers of the textbook you need complete with the prices, so that you will be able to find the deal that best suits your needs. 

Now that you’ve got your textbooks, plus you were able to save from pricey textbooks, you can now sit back and relax. Focus on the semester ahead, sign up for all those classes you’ve always wanted, join clubs that interest you, and hit up that new coffeeshop in your university.

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7 Tips To Save Money On College Textbooks

Posted on August 14, 2021 by kepyas3578

So, it’s the start of a brand new semester. Your professors have given you your syllabus and it;s confirmed, you’re going to spend $200 on a textbook for a class you aren’t interested in. Turns out, it’s not unreasonable for some four-year college students to spend close to $500 a year on textbooks.

In this article, we are going to share with you every single strategy to save money on textbooks. Let’s get started!

Textbook costs rose 67% from 2008 to 2020, which is putting a serious strain on students and parents’ wallets. Buying textbooks in college is inevitable. Unfortunately, they cost a lot of money. Some students pay as much as $250 up to $1,500 per semester just for textbooks alone and that can really add up through the years.

TIP 1 – Get a list of the textbooks you’ll need.

Before your classes even begin, get a list of every single textbook that you’re going to need for the semester. A lot of universities in their bookstores have the course number. You can go to a lot of bookstores and they will have all the textbooks there that you’ll need for that course. Write down either the name of the textbook and the author or just simply write down the ISBN on the back.

On one hand, some universities put the information online and will tell you in advance what textbooks you’ll need.

TIP 2 – Compare textbook prices from other outlets.

Once you have that information, you can compare prices through other outlets. If you take the time to shop around, you can save hundreds of dollars per semester just by being a smart shopper.

First of all, you want to check all the online sources and write down the price for each different online website. That way, you would know who has the cheapest price when you need to buy them. Online sources tend to have the best prices and deals.

Be sure to research thoroughly, jot down or add it to your shopping cart so that you can go back and buy it once you’ve made your decision. Use textbooks comparison tools by entering the ISBN in the search bar or enter the author’s name or find the proper edition.

TIP 3 – Check your local bookstores.

There might be a bookstore that sells used books in your area. They can offer cheap prices too. For a lot of classes, this won’t be helpful, but for some classes, such as literature classes or some history classes, the local bookstores may in fact have the book that you’re looking for.

Tip 4 – Buy your textbooks early.

Because whether you buy them in the bookstore or online, if you wait until the last minute or if you wait until the first day of classes, the smart shoppers are going to snag up those cheap deals and you’re going to be left paying an extra $50 or $100 more per textbook. So buy your books early. Try to get it at least 2 weeks to a month before classes begin if you can.

Tip 5 – Buy used textbooks

Usually, it’s no problem at all having a used textbook for class. The only problem you may run into is if some classes utilize a software program. You want to make sure you will be able to access that. But for the most part, used textbooks are enough and that can help you save a lot of money versus buying a new one.

Tip 6 – Buy older edition.

This is a trick that a lot of students know about. Mostly, textbook authors will have, for example, a 7th edition and then they’ll go in the next year and update a couple of statistics or include a more recent news story in the textbook but the main content really hasn’t changed.

So, if you go buy the 8th edition, it might cost $200 but if you buy the 7th edition which is basically the exact same material, you can sometimes buy that for $50 or less. If there’s an older edition you can use, that can help you save a lot.

Tip 7 – Rent textbooks

Renting is something relatively new. Back in the day, renting a book wasn’t even an option and you couldn’t rent anywhere. But today, most university bookstores will allow you to rent. There are several online stores that offer a renting program. They will ship the book to you and you ship it back to them at the end of the semester.

These are just some tips on how to save money. We know college textbooks are so expensive but we hope these tips work!

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Hello world!

Posted on June 2, 2010 by doronorbach

Welcome to Booksprice.com blog. We will help you with tips and tricks on saving money for college.

Using Booksprice.com to compare book prices, and other saving options can help you in your college days.

Booksprice can save you up yo 90% on your textbook prices. this is a lot as the average spend on textbooks in a single college year can can go up to hundreds of dollars per year.

In order to save on your textbooks costs you will need to be consistent though. prices change very quickly, and the sooner you search for your textbook the better.

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