Buying new text books can easily break the bank.
Graduating Park Hill South High School student, Jesse McGinness, plans to take a couple of summer classes before heading to the University of Missouri Columbia for the fall semester. One of the books he'll need for summer course work is US Narrative History Vol 1 To 1877, sold for $71.30 in the campus bookstore. Jesse works hard at a part-time job several days a week and is diligent not only in saving money in his bank account to finance his college education, but in seeking alternative avenues to make his college experience more affordable. So, after some online research, he has found the opportunity to rent the book for $21.99 for the summer term, a savings of $49.31.
Multiply that by five classes a student may take each semester, and that is nearly $250 that can be spent on tuition, housing, personal expenses, or saved in the bank for later use instead of on textbooks.
Here are a few resources to find college text books at more affordable prices:
NEW AND USED BOOK SALES COMPANIES
- search engine that reviews books available through 20 different companies and provides a list of best prices
- can search by ISBN, author, keywords, or book title
- able to search by college/university
- can create a "watch list" to alert you when a specific book is available at your target price
- not just for college textbooks; all kinds of titles available (novels, cookbooks, etc.)
- iPhone app
- new and used text book service
- can search by ISBN, author, keywords, or book title
- claim up to 95% off some books
- may sell or donate books via this site, too
- iPhone and Android apps
- CampusBooks.com on Twitter
- CampusBooks.com on Facebook
- an eBay company
- click on the textbooks tab
- search by title, author, keyword(s) or ISBN
- ranks textbooks by condition (mint, like new, acceptable, etc.)
- offers a "wizard" for getting the best value, especially on multiple book purchases
- not just for college textbooks, either
TEXTBOOK RENTAL COMPANIES
- claim to offer books at 50 – 85% discount
- free shipping both directions
- tout the largest selection in the country and the most flexible rental periods
- users welcome to highlight and underline inside rented books
- donate a portion of sales from every book to Operation Smile
- CampusBookRentals.com on Twitter
- CampusBookRentals.com on Facebook
- claim to offer books at 65 – 85% discount
- free return shipping
- search for books by school
- users cannot highlight or underline inside rented books
- plants a tree through American Forests for every book rented (more than 5 million planted to date)
- iPhone app
- Chegg.com on Twitter
- Chegg.com on Facebook
- $13.99 a month per book for 3 months
- $10.99 a month per book for 4 months
- shipping both directions included
- search by ISBN, title, author, or keyword
- 2 million books in inventory
- users may not highlight or underline inside rented textbooks
- Skoobit.com on Twitter
- Skoobit.com on Facebook
- environmentally aware company with specialized shipping materials to reduce carbon footprint
- search by ISBN, title, or author
- free return shipping
- okay for user to highlight and underline inside rented books
- for every book rented, company makes a donation to First Book (more than 67,000 books funded to date)
- BookRenter.com on Twitter
- BookRenter.com on Facebook
- search by ISBN, author, tile, or keyword
- free shipping on orders over $25 or 3-day shipping for $4.99
- includes video games, not just textbooks
- textbooksRus.com on Twitter
- textbooksRus.com on Facebook
**To read additional Examiner articles written by Steph Hart, click here or visit Essential Elements: Comprehensive College Planning. You may also find Steph on Facebook and Twitter.
**Steph is also the Kansas City Volunteerism Examiner. Find those articles about community service opportunities in Kansas City via Facebook and Twitter.
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