Did you know around 65 percent of students don’t buy some course textbooks? Most students worry about paying for expensive textbooks. If you want some tips on buying textbooks, we can help.
In this guide, we’ll go over how to save money and find your textbook for a class.
Want to learn more? Keep reading.
What Kind of Textbook Do You Need?
Before you buy your textbook, you want to find out what your professors want for their class. Email your professor and ask them whether you need the most recent version of the textbook.
A lot of new editions will get released. Your professor might let you use an older edition.
Also, you want to ask if the professor expects a hard copy. Find out if you’ll need a digital access code for activities online. Most instructors are willing to help students with textbook questions.
After you hear from your professors, you can start searching for your textbooks.
Buy a Digital Textbook
A lot of publishers will now offer the textbook as an e-book. Most college students prefer an e-book because they don’t have to carry around heavy textbooks.
For people who like to highlight sections of a textbook, they might need a physical copy. Yet a lot of e-books can also get highlighted virtually. You will still be able to find important sections or passages you highlighted.
Consider Buying Used Textbooks
A lot of college students will buy secondhand textbooks for their classes. You can go to your college bookstore and buy used textbooks there.
Most of the time, students don’t need the textbook after their semester ends. You can bring the textbook back to your college bookstore and sell it.
A lot of campus book stores will resell your textbooks. If your bookstore does offer this service, consider buying through them.
Buy Textbooks Early
College students are more stressed than ever before. If you’re heading back to college, make sure you plan ahead. Consider buying your textbooks early.
Since the pandemic, a lot of bookstores have noticed an increased demand.
When there’s high demand during the return to school, prices for textbooks will increase. Yet, you may be able to get a lower price on a textbook during the off-season months.
Buyback prices might be lower at the end of the semester because a lot of students are selling. The supply of textbooks will be high, so the college bookstore might not pay a lot.
Try to buy your textbook early and consider selling it later on during the school year. You could buy your books in July. Hold onto your books until January and sell them.
Try Not to Buy Brand New
You might have a class where the professor prefers that you buy the latest edition of the textbook. This is where you will end up spending hundreds of dollars.
Yet, with a new textbook, aim to sell it at the end of the semester. You’ll get some money back on the textbook instead of leaving it on your shelf to collect dust.
Try Renting a Textbook
Many students will choose to rent their textbooks. Most students feel that it’s wasteful to spend hundreds of dollars on a book they will only use for a couple of months.
Find out if your university has a rental system. You might be able to borrow textbooks from them. It’s a cheaper option, but you will experience some limitations.
If you rent a textbook, you will need to keep it from getting damaged. You also won’t be able to highlight the textbook.
If you learn better by highlighting or annotating, this might not be the right option. Learn more about renting textbooks.
Buy Some New Textbooks
You might need to buy a brand new textbook. A professor might reference homework questions from the latest edition.
Also, you might have to buy workbooks for your class. Find out what you will need brand new. Try to save on other college textbooks.
Some students hold onto their new textbooks and reference back to old material.
What About Interlibrary Loans?
Your university library might not have a copy of the textbook you need. Yet another university might have an available copy.
Thousands of colleges around the country take part in the interlibrary loan arrangement. Request different textbooks if your library doesn’t have the book in stock.
The interlibrary loan services tend to be free. Yet, some lending libraries might charge a fee for delivery.
Is There a Spare Copy?
Some students will be able to get a spare copy from their professor. Ask your teachers if they have any extra copies of your textbook in their classroom. The professor will feel happy the textbook’s getting used.
Consider Sharing a Copy
Find out if your professor will let you share a copy of the textbook with a friend. You could share the cost of a new textbook with two or three other classmates. Make sure you take turns using the textbook outside of class.
You may end up spending more time together as a group and learning better.
Now You Know More About Buying Textbooks
We hope this guide on college textbooks was helpful. Now that you know more about buying textbooks ask your professor what they prefer.
Find out if they want you to have the latest edition or if you could share a copy with a classmate.
Save money by renting a copy of the textbook. Check out our wide variety of textbooks today.