College is expensive. Really expensive. But in case you were worried about not spending enough on room, board and tuition, college books are expensive, too.
Because you want to save your money, there are a lot of books that you will want to buy from just about anywhere that is not the Arizona State bookstore.
Websites like Amazon and Chegg are your best bets for finding the books you need, but you don't want to just look at the webiste, find the cheapest possible book and get it.
First, always search your textbooks by ISBN number. If you go by title, you may end up with the wrong edition. There are some cases where the newer edition is nothing more than new pictures, but if you end up with an old edition that has completely different chapters, you're in trouble.
Don't just take the cheapest book you can find either; as much as none of us want to think while we still have a few weeks left before school starts, you do need to think through buying your books:
- An $80 buy from Amazon might be better in the long run than a $65 rental from Chegg. The bookstore will buy back any books that will be used in the next semester, regardless of whether or not you bought them from there. While the bookstore won't give you as much as you might hope for some books, it is easier selling to them when all you have to do is walk to the store and hand them your used book.
- When looking on Amazon for used books, pay attention to the condition. There are four different categories for used books: acceptable, good, very good, and like new. Your own opinion of acceptable might be different than the seller's; acceptable can mean that multiple pages are missing. It's all relative to price though: if you can get a "Like New" book for one dollar more than a "Good" book, go ahead and splurge a little and get the more expensive one.
- Take a look at Amazon's seller rating, too. There are several stores that sell textbooks through Amazon, and they take more care with their books then most individuals. Buy from them whenever possible.
- When the semester is over and you're selling your books, do it as early as possible. The fewer copies of each book that the store has, the more they will pay for them. So the more people that sell the same textbook you're selling to the store before you, the less you'll get for it.
- Knowing you might not get a great deal when you sell your books back, sometimes Chegg is the right way to go. While you have to send the rentals back, it is normally cheaper to rent from Chegg than to buy from Amazon. Always check both though. You can also buy books from Chegg, another option to look at.
- If your roommate is taking the same class but at a different time, or even if they have the same class, consider just buying one copy and splitting the price. You may have to work out a schedule for when each of you can use it, but it could save you come big money for some of the more expensive books.
In short, you need textbooks, but you want to pay as little as possible for them. Look at Amazon and Chegg; they are your best resources. Pay attention to more than price: look at the condition of the book, the person selling it and try your best to guess the price you'll get when you return it, because sometimes it is better to rent it than buy it. Then, when it comes down to making the sale back to the bookstore, do it as early as possible.
Last extra tip courtesy of senior Tony Pomposelli: Amazon Prime for Students! Free two-day shipping on Prime-eligible items, $3.99 one-day for those immediate needs on a last-minute basis. Lots of good items qualify there, including books. Lasts for a year, time it right and you can use it for two semesters and the beginning of the third!
Comments