We Search 1000s Of College Textbook Sellers
We all know that college is expensive. In fact, according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the cost of college textbooks have risen the highest of all the college costs. At CheapestTextbooks.com, we are trying to help you buck that trend. There are a lot of college textbook sellers on the internet and we do our best to find them. The competition to get your business is fierce and we take advantage of that. Our search is quite comprehensive. We extensively search the internet to help you find the cheapest price for your college textbooks. Whether it’s an individual seller on a marketplace site or a large store trying to compete for your business, we search them all. This gives you more choices and a much better chance to get your college textbooks at a price that is cheap. Do a couple searches on our site, the variety of sellers will amaze you.
Why Textbooks Cost What They Do
Conversations about college affordability tend to focus on tuition, and with good reason the cost of attending college in the US increased 63 percent between 2006 and 2016, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to tuition, which can cost out-of-state students at public universities as much as $26,000 per year or upward of $40,000 at some private colleges, the amount of money students spend on things like textbooks can seem negligible.
But the price of textbooks has similarly skyrocketed over the past decade: Textbook costs increased 88 percent between 2006 and 2016, according to the BLS report. The College Board suggests that students set aside $1,200 each year for books and other course materials, which can be an exorbitant amount of money for students who come from low-income backgrounds.
Not all textbooks are created equal, and not all textbooks are equally priced. Books for humanities courses like art history tend to cost less than those for STEM courses like chemistry or calculus.
Some professors dont assign textbooks at all, instead opting to fill their syllabi with a combination of journal articles and other texts, some of which cost money, some of which dont. Thanks to the advent of textbooks that come bundled with online access codes a single-use password that gives students access to supplementary materials and, in some cases, homework other professors can rely on one textbook for almost everything.
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How To Save Money On College Books
Even if you can buy used books or rent your books, you may still need help covering the costs of textbooks. Here are a few easy ways to save money on your course materials:
- Buy the electronic version: Most textbooks have a digital option that you can access through your computer or tablet. Digital copies are typically much cheaper than the physical book.
- Try your schools library: If you need your textbook only for a specific lesson, check your schools library to see if the book is available to borrow. Keep in mind that you wont be able to mark or highlight your book, and you could have trouble getting a copy if other students in your class have the same idea as you.
- Search for scholarships: Some scholarships allow students to use the aid money for books and supplies. Some scholarships, like the one offered by textbook marketplace BookScouter, are geared specifically toward textbooks.
- Look into the Open Textbook Library: The Open Textbook Library is a website that offers over 800 textbooks that are openly licensed by the publishers and authors and free to use and distribute. Students can download, edit and read textbooks at no cost.
Are Digital Textbooks A Move Toward Affordability Or Are They A Way Of Limiting Students Options Further
Textbook publishers say theyre well aware of students difficulty affording books and are making strides toward affordability. The market, right now, is going through a reset, Virkler, the McGraw-Hill executive, said. The prices of textbooks themselves spun out of control over the last 10 or 15 years. About three or four years ago, right around 2015, prices started to come down significantly. So were at a point now where, on average, for a semester, taking a full course load, the course materials are costing around $240 to $250.
Virkler and Nik Osbourne, the senior vice president of strategy at Pearson, both pointed to a recent development in the industry, dubbed inclusive access, as a move toward affordability. Inclusive access is basically a way of including the cost of course materials in a students course materials fee, which is levied by the university. According to publishers, inclusive access helps keep the cost of materials low because theres a near-guarantee that students will buy the products its kind of like buying in bulk, but for textbooks instead of food. At most universities that use the service, through McGraw-Hill, Pearson, or another publisher, students have to opt out of the program, or else theyre automatically enrolled except for in Florida, Virkler said, where they have to opt in.
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Ways To Get Cheap College Textbooks
Above, weve given you many places where you can get free college textbooks.
But, you might not be able to get the specific book you need at the places above, or you might want a physical copy of a book, rather than a digital one, or you might want to a physical book that you can make notes on, so borrowing one from the library isnt ideal.
If thats the case, then consider getting your books using one of the methods below.
Below, weve listed places where you can get books at a huge discount, and places where you can buy cheap used college textbooks.
Ways To Get Free College Textbooks Today
by Lauren Bennett – Last Updated December 10, 2018
We all know that college isnt cheap. So if theres anything you can do to save money like saving money on college textbooks by getting them, for free you should definitely take advantage of the opportunity!
One of the biggest costs, aside from tuition and living expenses, of course, is the cost of textbooks.
According to the College Board, the average college student spends $1,200 a year on college books and materials.
And thats an expense that you can definitely do without.
Fortunately, there are tons of ways to not only buy college textbooks for cheap, but also to get them 100% free.
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Below, we cover ways you can get college textbooks for free and almost free.
If youre looking to save money this semester, check out our tips.
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The Top 4 Sites To Find Your College Textbooks
According to College Board, “The yearly books-and-supplies in-state estimate for the average full-time undergraduate student at a four-year public college is about $1,298.” As a college student myself, I understand the burden of trying to find affordable textbooks that are required while figuring out the cost benefits of renting as opposed to buying. Check out this list below of four great websites to ease the process of getting textbooks this semester!
Buy Used When You Can
With the exception of rare books, used books are pretty much always going to be cheaper than a new book.
Unless you need to buy the most recent edition of a book and the most recent edition was only published a month ago, you can pretty much always get by with a secondhand copy.
Used textbooks are all over the place. Your schools bookstore is likely to have a few copies scattered in with the new editions. You can also look online at websites that specialize in selling textbooks or that sell books in general.
The list of sites that sell used textbooks is long, but some popular examples include:
One thing to pay attention to when buying a used book is the condition.
If youre shopping online for your books, pay attention to the notes included by the seller. Some used books have a lot of highlighting, underlining, or notes scribbled in the margins. If that bothers you or will interfere with your use of the book, try to get a copy that is as clean as possible.
Another thing worth noting is that you often dont get access to bonus material, such as online content when you buy a secondhand textbook.
For the most part, you should be fine without the additional content. But its worth checking with your professor to see if they expect you to use the online material.
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Ecampuscom Another Possible Source
For cheap college textbooks, both new, used and rentals, Ecampus is another viable option. They have a wide selection and free economy shipping on orders that meet a certain dollar amount threshold, which is a convenient addition.
However, if you plan on using Ecampus during the busy season and you need in-demand textbooks, there can be processing delays. Some users had placed orders, with anticipated shipping out windows of 3 to 5 business days after purchase, only to discover later that there was an issue sourcing the book, causing it not to arrive before classes began.
Best Sites To Buy College Textbooks And Save On Your Education
College is expensive enough without having to worry about spending a mint on your college books. Luckily for you, there are ways to make things a bit cheaper. Try out one of these best sites to buy college textbooks to make getting your education less stressful and more affordable.
Its going to take more than cheaper textbooks to survive college.
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Look Into Interlibrary Loans
If your own university library does not have a copy of the textbook you need, another university might. Check with your library thousands of colleges across the country are a part of an interlibrary loan arrangement. You can search for and request to borrow items from other libraries where they have what you need in stock.
While this is generally a free service, some lending libraries may charge a small fee for delivery.
Use Coupon Websites For Big Discounts Online And In
A really easy way to get new college textbooks at a low price is to use coupon and deal websites.
On these websites, you can find discounts for popular bookstores that can save you a lot of money.
On RetailMeNot, for example, there are coupons available for a wide range of bookstores, such as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.
And there are other coupon and deal websites out there, where you can get discounts for bookstores and other platforms where you can buy books, including:
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Cheap Used Books And Financial Aid
Financial Aid is a very tricky aspect of saving money on cheap used books . Students who receive FAFSA and other loans are often able to pay inflated prices for college books directly with their financial aid balance at their university bookstore, as if it is a credit card. People in college can’t use that same credit card to pay for used books from more affordable options like Amazon however. In order to purchase more affordable textbooks from cheaper websites, students are usually required to pay out of pocket and submit receipts in order to get reimbursed. Because of this, the students who have the least money are the ones who are forced to overspend on books and foot the bill for it when they’re required to start paying back their loans at the end of college.
Undergraduates who need financial aid are in quite a predicament, but comparing textbook prices and searching around for cheap used books will absolutely pay off in the short and long term, even if they have limited disposable income. For instance, a $100 textbook at the bookstore might be selling for $10-20 online . It might be worth it to pay the $10-20 out of pocket and get reimbursed, instead of racking up what you owe by another $100. Assuming that a student on financial aid can save $300 per semester by purchasing the books with the major savings out of pocket, that adds up to nearly $2,500 that the student will not have to pay back when loan repayment kicks off.
How To Find Textbooks And Course Reserves
Course Reserves are required or recommended readings, books, articles textbooks or class notes that your instructor has placed on reserve for you to use.
Visit the Course Reserves search page in the library catalogue, to search items by instructor, course code, or course name.
Course Reserves are located behind the Library Learning Commons Circulation and Help Desks. Please bring the title of the item and your instructors name so library staff can retrieve the item for you.
Remember, you will require your current Student ID/Library Card to use these items. *All course reserves are not renewable.
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Campusbooks For Iphone & Droid Smartphones
Put the Power of CampusBooks.com on Your Smartphone and Find the Best Deals on Textbooks Wherever You Are!
With the free CampusBooks for iPhone and Android apps, everything you love about CampusBooks.com’s powerful money-saving search engine and price-comparison tool is now with you on the go! Wherever you are, you’re just a few touches away from finding the best deals when buying and selling textbooks.
Now GPS integrated to show you nearby libraries and bookstores stocking your books!
CampusBooks for iPhone and Android App Capabilities:
College Textbooks Are Too Expensive
Compared to campus bookstores, more and more students shop Chegg for their college textbooks because of price and convenience. Below are just a few of the benefits students take advantage of when having to get assigned college books for their classes:
Textbook rentals cost significantly less than buyingChoose from new or usedall in good conditionTake advantage of the 21-day risk-free returns Rent as long as your need it if your due date is too soon, just ask for an extensionWhile you wait for your textbook to arrive, you can access a free 7-day eBook if available
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How To Find Older Version Of Textbooks
This seems to be a common issue for a lot of students. When textbooks are updated, it seems like the older versions just disappear. But sometimes, for whatever reason, you may need the older version.
The good news is that there are ways to find them. An done of the best pl aces to start your search is, yes, on Reddit, specifically this thread. Its basically a directory of resources for finding new and older versions of college books.
What makes it great is that while a user took his time to do this for free, other users keep adding to the list in the comment section. So make sure to read the comments.
How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
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New & Used Textbook Faqs
- Is there a fee to use PayPal? No. There is no fee to use PayPal.
- Why are textbooks so expensive? The biggest reason for expensive textbooks is that new editions limit the sale of used textbooks. That’s why we have spent 20 years working with publishers to get you the best price possible, whether it’s a new edition, used textbook, or eTextbook.
- Where is the access code on a textbook? Access codes can usually be found on the first few pages of the textbook, or bound together with the book in a separate kit. Used books will not have access codes.
- When is the best time to buy textbooks? Textbook prices are the most economical during non-rush times. Try to order between February – July or October – November.
- What books are worth money as a buyback? There isn’t a rule on which books are worth the most. We suggest checking the price on any book you are finished with. You may be surprised how much cash you have laying around!
Why Buy Textbooks From Us
When it’s time to buy textbooks, choose TextbookRush for low prices, great selection, and online convenience. Thanks to a large collection of used textbooks, study guides, and practice tests, we make it easy to find just what you need. Our catalog includes over 15 million textbooks for sale, all searchable by author, title, or ISBN. Plus, we offer free shipping on all orders over $35 and same-day shipping on any order placed before 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
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