Monday, May 9, 2011

Don't Pay Full Price for College Textbooks

Buying new text books can easily break the bank.
Graduating Park Hill South High School student, Jesse McGinness, plans to take a couple of summer classes before heading to the University of Missouri Columbia for the fall semester. One of the books he'll need for summer course work is US Narrative History Vol 1 To 1877, sold for $71.30 in the campus bookstore. Jesse works hard at a part-time job several days a week and is diligent not only in saving money in his bank account to finance his college education, but in seeking alternative avenues to make his college experience more affordable. So, after some online research, he has found the opportunity to rent the book for $21.99 for the summer term, a savings of $49.31. 
Multiply that by five classes a student may take each semester, and that is nearly $250 that can be spent on tuition, housing, personal expenses, or saved in the bank for later use instead of on textbooks.
Here are a few resources to find college text books at more affordable prices:
NEW AND USED BOOK SALES COMPANIES
www.affordabook.com 
search engine that reviews books available through 20 different companies and provides a list of best prices
can search by ISBN, author, keywords, or book title
able to search by college/university
can create a "watch list" to alert you when a specific book is available at your target price
not just for college textbooks; all kinds of titles available (novels, cookbooks, etc.)
iPhone app 
new and used text book service
can search by ISBN, author, keywords, or book title
claim up to 95% off some books
may sell or donate books via this site, too
iPhone and Android apps
CampusBooks.com on Twitter
CampusBooks.com on Facebook
  • an eBay company
  • click on the textbooks tab
  • search by title, author, keyword(s) or ISBN
  • ranks textbooks by condition (mint, like new, acceptable, etc.)
  • offers a "wizard" for getting the best value, especially on multiple book purchases
  • not just for college textbooks, either

TEXTBOOK RENTAL COMPANIES
www.CampusBookRentals.com
claim to offer books at 50 – 85% discount
free shipping both directions
tout the largest selection in the country and the most flexible rental periods
users welcome to highlight and underline inside rented books
donate a portion of sales from every book to Operation Smile
CampusBookRentals.com on Twitter
CampusBookRentals.com on Facebook
www.chegg.com
claim to offer books at 65 – 85% discount
free return shipping
search for books by school
users cannot highlight or underline inside rented books
plants a tree through American Forests for every book rented (more than 5 million planted to date)
iPhone app
Chegg.com on Twitter
Chegg.com on Facebook
  • $13.99 a month per book for 3 months
  • $10.99 a month per book for 4 months
  • shipping both directions included
  • search by ISBN, title, author, or keyword
  • 2 million books in inventory
  • users may not highlight or underline inside rented textbooks
  • Skoobit.com on Twitter
  • Skoobit.com on Facebook
  • environmentally aware company with specialized shipping materials to reduce carbon footprint

www.bookrenter.com
search by ISBN, title, or author
free return shipping
okay for user to highlight and underline inside rented books
for every book rented, company makes a donation to First Book (more than 67,000 books funded to date)
BookRenter.com on Twitter
BookRenter.com on Facebook
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