Saw this article by LAUREN IRWIN  on tips to find cheap textbooks in The Maroon and thought she made some good points. What do you think?

Do not let textbook costs become the wet blanket to your new semester excitement. There are numerous tactics that allow scholars to save cash on textbooks from purchasing used or selecting an ebook to looking comparison internet sites or using renting services.  According to  University  Board, the average undergraduate student at a personal varsity spent $1,213 on books and supplies in the 2011-12 college year.  “I’m on a budget,” Caroline Hoffmann, history senior, declared.  “I’d rather spend a day scouring the  Net  so as to find inexpensive textbooks than the convenience and high costs of the bookstore.” That day-long search would possibly not be obligatory with new research tools.  As of 2008, schools are needed by The Further Education Opportunity Act to list textbooks’ ISBNs in course lists, giving scholars advance notice of texts’ costs and permitting them to research prices for a superior deal.  With public access to ISBNs, strong online textbook shopping has ensued.  Many comparison sites ,eg half.com and BigWords.com, have grown in popularity, making online textbook shopping even simpler.  Some students have even taken action ,eg Michael White, previous Tufts  Varsity  undergraduate student and founder of comparison internet site GetchaBooks.com.  “We were provoked with bookstore costs and seeing our buddies get ripped off,” White recounted.  “We made GetchaBooks to keep finding textbooks simple and cheap, collecting ISBNs from universities across the land and costs from trusted online book sellers like Amazon and Half.com.” The comparison format speaks for itself. Let us take the World Civilization to 1650 text “Worlds Together, Worlds Apart” for example : it’s priced around the Loyola bookstore new for $148.50 and used for $111.50, but GetchaBooks shows the same edition can be bought for $70.52 at Half.com, $85.99 on Amazon and $70.61 on Amazon  Market-place .

White means that scholars use comparison sites to buy used books but to also find the best place and time to sell back.  Scholars  can regularly make more cash on a text if they sell them online right before the start of the semester, instead of at the end.  “I buy all my textbooks on Ebay or Amazon because its so much cheaper,” finance senior Crystal Locicero declared.

“I sell them on Ebay and make a descent amount back, but it is often a two-week process.” For those strapped for cash and time, renting textbooks could be a great option.  Scholars  can even window shop for rental costs, comparing eFollet rentals to online rentals, on sites like Chegg.com.  Chegg, commonly referred to as the Netflix of textbooks, saves scholars cash while removing the load of selling back or holding onto texts.

As an example, the same “Worlds Together, World Apart” text can be rented new at the Loyola bookstore for $96.53 and used for $71.28, but may also be rented for as little as $41.48 on Chegg.  “Most of my pals use Chegg it is an extremely cheap and simple service,” enterprize management senior Ali Burdig declared.

“They even give you a box to send it back in.” However before renting ensure you understand the renting agreement.

The result to using Loyola bookstore renting services is that they are in harmony with the end of Loyola’s semester.  “I like rentals –the bookstore allows you to keep the book till after finals and are typically new copies,” Hoffman declared. Don’t really want to hire or buy?  For those cosy sans physical textbooks, using electronic books may become the new best alternative.  Scholars  could even be capable of finding electronic books free online on sites like Flat World  Data  and Textbook Revolution.  Today, even a straightforward Google search with the text’s title and “PDF” may produce a free online copy.  White advises to save cash scholars should not buy their textbooks far ahead.  “Go to class the 1st week or 2 and judge how much you might need a text before purchasing it,” White related.  “If you are not going to want it that much, it’s always possible to share a copy with a classmate or borrow it from the library.

Related articles
Advertisement