One thing I forgot about when I enrolled in college again (well, there's more than one thing, but this is one big one) was the cost of textbooks and materials. I feel that, unlike forgetting about how to write essays and having to adhere to almost high school like rules, the shock of having to buy textbooks is bigger because this time the cost is not rolled into a student loan and thus I am paying out of pocket for them every semester.

Since I have the Board of Governor's fee waiver here in California (seriously, without this I would not be able to afford school), there's no need for student loans. I've had to come up with creative ways to obtain the cheapest price for textbooks:

First check to see if you actually even need the textbook.

Sometimes a teacher will list a textbook but you don't even really need it. I had two classes like this, a Philosophy class and then a Nutrition class. In the philosophy class, the teacher never even used the book, and in nutrition, there was no need for the book since the teacher's Powerpoints spelled everything out! 

Luckily, my college website shows textbooks with "Required", "Suggested", and "Recommended" labels next to the books. It would suck to pay for a book and never even use it. Unless the book is hard to find, wait until the start of the semester and ask the professor how much you really need that book. If you don't use it at all, don't worry about it. If you only need a part of it, ask someone if you can borrow it, or check it out of the school library (they will often have reference copies of certain textbooks that you can check out for a day or hour). Then you can photocopy those pages. If for some reason the professor says you do need it but you end up not using it, send it back for a refund.

Never order from the campus bookstore if you can avoid it (excepting special circumstances).

Usually, the campus/school bookstore will be very expensive. The reason for this is that there's added cost that goes to a student scholarship fund, or something similar (or they're just trying to gain a profit, in some private school's cases). I avoid buying books from there unless:

• The books can only be purchased at the campus bookstore (teacher specific materials, class workbooks, laminated cards, etc.)
• The book happens to (miraculously) be cheaper there. This hasn't happened yet for me but it might!

Check Facebook for a textbook swap or used book sales group.

Some students at my school set this up, and students post there regularly with used books to sell or trade. Usually you can get a good bargain, but if your class requires online access codes, it may not be the best option, as those are usually one use only. I keep an eye on mine because when people transfer they usually want to dump a whole cache of books and are willing to haggle.

After that, start with Amazon.

Note that most places do not guarantee access codes. If I did buy this book used, I'd probably have to buy the access code separately for another $25.

Amazon seems to have fair prices for book rentals, and for buying used books. I've found some textbooks for $0.01. But for the most part the prices for rentals are a lot cheaper than other websites. That being said, be sure to return the rentals on time. If not, you will get charged one extension, and then when that expires, they will automatically charge you for the full cost of the book (which I learned the hard way once when $300 was suddenly missing from my account).

When Amazon fails you or turns up nothing (for an old book), try a textbook search service.

Chegg.com is one people regularly turn to, but there are others that provide some of the same services. You type the ISBN number (usually the 10 or 13 digit code your teacher provides on the syllabus) into the search bar and the website will search the net for you and come back with where to find the book, usually with the cheaper prices listed first:

• www.textbookrentals.com
• bookrenter.com
• half.com
• campusbookrentals.com

Sometimes it will be cheaper to buy the book used, but sometimes it will be cheaper to rent. Keep in mind these prices may not include shipping, and may include books that don't come with access codes. You'll have to decide who is best to go through, but there are a few places I don't trust...

Be wise on who you spend money with.

If a website looks sketchy, go with your gut. On the search I ran (above), the first link is an ebay link. The link doesn't show the book...it shows a study guide for the book. Be sure to read everything about the listing and cross compare the product offered with the same product offered on other sites. Some ebay listings will be sneaky and stick the word "study guide" or "cover only" in the product description or fine print, and you'll receive a box or print-out instead of a book! Check the reviews of customer service for the site, and I feel any legit site will also be listed on the Amazon.com "Other Sellers" tab.

That being said, you can find some textbooks for free!

There's these little Life Hacks memes floating around with websites that offer free books. I personally have not used these apps, but if you want, go ahead and check some of them out. You may be able to score a free textbook!

And lastly, don't be afraid to use an older version of a book if it is cheaper.

Sometimes a professor will require you to use Such and Such Book, Vol. 10. But there may not be much of a difference between Vol. 10 and Vol. 9. And those books may be cheaper because now students want to buy Vol. 10 and people need to unload Vol. 9! I've nabbed a textbook from the 1980s that was $0.01, where the only difference between that version and the new version was the title had changed to be more politically correct. While I do agree with the change, I also agree with paying a penny for the book.

Ask on the first day of class if the old version of the book will be OK for the class. So far, every time someone has asked, the professor has said that yes, it is OK to use an older version of a book as long as it was an immediate predecessor. That means if Vol. 10 is on the syllabus, don't use Vol. 4. The info may be way too outdated. But always be prepared for the professor to say that you must get the updated version.


What creative ways have you used to find textbooks? What's the cheapest textbook you've found?