Rent or buy textbooks?

daniellehorses · Dec 18, 2014

Try craigslist too. I just bought all my books next semester for $145!

Purple_roses · Dec 18, 2014

If you feel comfortable reading an ebook on your laptop, I would highly recommend renting an ebook from Amazon. This is because you can highlight, make notes, and search terms very easily. In a physical textbook, you cannot mark up the book, which is annoying because I make tons of notes in my books. The Amazon ebooks also return automatically. No late fees or shipping!

My friends have also had good luck buying from Chegg.com.

If the textbook you are searching for was published by your school, you won't be able to find it online. I ran into this problem last semester.

Good luck! I feel your pain! (Should I buy groceries or my books? )

Purple_roses · Dec 18, 2014

Also, email you teacher to see if there are any books you won't need to buy for his or her class. Last semester I paid $150 for books in one class, and we never touched a book.

SilleLu · Dec 18, 2014

Don't forget about the school library. Many schools have textbooks on reserve. I used allbookstores.com, it compares prices (new, used, rental) from all sorts of other websites including amazon and ebay with just one search. Also check facebook for swap/garage sale sites in your area, these are getting very common and you can often post what book you are looking for.

daniellehorses · Dec 18, 2014

Your school might have a used book Facebook page too. I found some of my books for last semester that way.

akg713, CNA · Dec 18, 2014

I heard half.com has some good prices from other classmates. But I have a rule, If its over $100 i will not purchase the book, our school has a lending library and also has textbooks on reserved. This last semester I borrowed a textbook from the library for the full semester and also walked in to use their reserved books. Personally I liked the idea not to buy all the books and not having the textbook for a certain class made me go to the library and I actually stayed there to study and do my homework not just for that class but other classes too..

tbird88 · Dec 18, 2014

Yes Purple_roses my textbook was published by my school or for my school. So I think I'm out of luck. I guess it will be books and no groceries for me next quarter. I can't even find an older edition of the book. I wish I knew someone that took the class this quarter and I could purchase their books. Oh well, so here I sit.

tbird88 · Dec 18, 2014

Thanks akg713 I will try the library but I wonder how long they let you use the book. I guess I could keep checking it out for the whole quarter. Thanks for the idea.

daniellehorses · Dec 18, 2014

Tbird88 -

Some times the bookstore says that the book is a special edition for the school such as my one Biology book. I was the exact same as the popular Biology book that I found used on Amazon but completely different isbn numbers. The only difference was the cover & the school edition had the first 20 chapters compared to the Amazon version has 56 chapters. Try searching the title and the author and see what comes up. It's worth a quick search on Craigslist or Facebook like I listed above to see if anyone is selling a used copy. Sometimes students post paper ads by the bookstore too (there is a bulletin board right outside my schools bookstore with books for sale).

tbird88 · Dec 18, 2014

Well I found out the library has the book as a reserve. So I can study the book or make copies of the book for 2 hours at a time in the library. This might work out but making copies might get expensive. However, it is an option.

daniellehorses · Dec 18, 2014

What class is it for?

daniellehorses · Dec 18, 2014

I looked up the isbn you listed & pretty sure your school does a custom version of this book. My school did the same thing with my biology class but it's exactly the same textbook.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321775651/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?pc_redir=T1