College Textbooks Save Money on Education Costs
Using Internet Sources and Other Resources to Purchase College Books
Aug 3, 2008
Adults going back to school today are immediately shocked by the high cost of college textbooks. When visiting a college bookstore to purchase course books, look around and notice that the only people purchasing textbooks are typically first year students and adults. These are the people college bookstores rely on to keep their sales in the black when it comes to textbooks.
The days of purchasing textbooks in the college bookstore are almost ancient history, because of all the online resources and off campus book stores. This has become a necessity due to the high costs of textbooks as students look for ways to save money as they continue their education.
College textbook publishers are notorious for coming out with revision after revision of textbooks to keep students buying their textbooks. This has become a top issue on most college campuses today as schools and students look for alternative methods for reducing textbook costs. In the publishers’ defense the cost of producing everything today is continually rising.
How to Save Money on College Textbooks
Adults who are going back to school to continue their education or are taking courses to enter a new career field need options for saving money where possible. Saving on college textbooks is not difficult; a couple of weeks before classes begin checking for required course textbooks using the college’s online bookstore. Then follow these steps by recording the:
- Title of the book(s) and volume or edition number
- Copyright year
- Author’s name
- Publisher’s name
- ISBN number of the book(s)
This is the important information needed to search online textbook sources. Next go to these online sources to find used textbooks or even new textbooks, such as:
- Abebooks – excellent source for used and new textbooks
- Allibris – has millions of used textbooks to choose from
- Amazon Textbooks – another good resource for used and new textbooks
- Half.com’s Textbook Superstore – to find a large selection of textbooks from which to choose
- EBay – a good source for buying or bidding for textbooks
- Look for online electronic book versions that can be downloaded to a computer. These are always cheaper, if available.
Additional Ways to Save Money on College Textbooks
Along with the online resources listed above there are other ways to save money on college textbooks. These include:
- Visit a local college textbook store for used and new textbooks, typically in large college or university cities.
- Visit the college library; they are required to have at least one copy of all current textbooks.
- Visit the local library to see if they have a copy to check out.
- Check local book stores, they typically sell textbooks a little cheaper.
- Check out bulletin boards on campus, students are always selling their used textbooks.
These are the best ways to save money on college textbooks. The days of having to purchase textbooks in a college bookstore are over and this is one of the best ways for adults to save money when going back to school to continue their education.
One last thing to remember is not to sell used textbooks back to college bookstores when the course is over. Sell them to off campus college book stores, on campus to other students, or online. Selling them this way allows getting more money for the used textbook.
