Every college student knows that any money not spent on tuition is usually spent on college textbooks. I have covered the topic of saving money on textbooks in the past but I wanted to share a few more tips on the subject. Below are a few more ways you can save money on textbooks this coming school year:
Do not wait too long to buy or sell your textbook. After the first few weeks of the new college semester, most college students will have already sold/purchased any required textbooks. I urge all of you readers to put your textbook ads (online & offline) up as soon as you read this! You don’t even have to finish reading the rest of the article. Get off, put your ad up or look for the textbook you need, and then come back to tell me how it went.
Consider purchasing used textbooks online. Cheap textbooks are hard to come by. Buying used always helps. Buying online always helps. Why not buy used textbooks online?
Always check the ISBN on the textbook. Just because the textbook has a similar author or title it doesn’t mean that it’s the right book for your course. Write down the ISBN number on the textbook from your course syllabus to ensure you don’t waste money on a totally different textbook. This happened in the past to one my friends (okay fine it happened to me).
Buy an older edition of the textbook. This can be a minor risk sometimes when the professor chooses to religiously follow the textbook. In the past I have had no issues with using an older edition of the textbook. The ony differences are that there are different problem sets, page numbers, and examples. Because you know Enron is not the greatest example in 2009.
Please share any money saving tips on textbooks that I may have missed.
Much credit for this article must be given to Meagen Ellis of Textbooks.com. The website is a great resource for finding cheap textbooks.
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Textbooks are difficult, because they’re the bread and butter of student expenses. You definitely need the course textbook – don’t skimp! It’s ok to buy the 5th ed. (usually) if your prof asks for the 6th, but you don’t want to go without the textbook. And don’t wait too long to buy it, either. After the first two weeks you will be too far behind.