It’s time for a new semester and you have almost everything you need. You’ve pushed it off for as long as you can, but you can’t avoid them: textbooks.
Semester after semester, students are required to buy their own textbooks with little or no help from the University. Furthermore, these aren’t your cheap textbooks: students are encouraged to purchase books from the bookstore, where prices are so high that students would rather wait and order their books to be shipped almost a week after classes begin.
Why is it that the University requires us to not only pay for classes, which as we all know are extremely expensive to begin with, but we have to pay for textbooks and supplies, too? I do not think that it is at all fair that we have to pay for textbooks, especially since we don’t even receive a discount when we buy them from the University bookstore. Furthermore, some classes require that the students pays for supplies as well.
When the semester ends and we finally go to sell our books back, the bookstore won’t even take it for half the price. For example, last year I bought a $200 textbook and the University bookstore only gave me $50 for it, while some of my books weren’t even accepted.
As much as students would like, the bookstore will not budge its prices (if that were the case, I don’t think I would be writing this article.) So, here are some great places to get textbooks if you don’t want to deal with the skyrocketing prices of the bookstore.
1.) Chegg: Chegg is perhaps one of the most popular book rental sites. According to the website, Chegg says that students will save up to “80 percent on rentals and eTextbooks and 90 percent on used textbooks.” Not only does Chegg provide an answer to all your textbook needs, but it also provides students with an internship search engine and ways to help study for all your exams – kill three birds with one stone and save money? Who doesn’t want that!
2.) Amazon: known for being one of the biggest online stores, Amazon is a great way to find all the textbooks you need. On top of that, Amazon offers any student with an .edu email address Amazon Prime, which comes with two day shipping – no more being unprepared for the first week of class due to late shipping on books!
3.) Valore Books: While it may not be as popular as Chegg or Amazon, Valore Books offers a search engine for all textbooks and enables the user to track their order. You can also return your books for free – isn’t that every college student’s favorite four letter word?
4.) Skyo: Looking for new books for less? While most students might opt for the cheaper, used option, if you’re looking for cheap new textbooks, Skyo is the way to go.
5.) Bookbyte: Bookbyte has free shipping both ways, enables you to pick how long you want to rent your books for, and guarantees saving 87 percent. They also give you an extra week to return your book if they’re late.
6.) eBooks: If you have postponed your homework reading until the night before it was due and you feel your only resort is to buy from the campus bookstore, think again. Many sites, such as Barnes and Nobles, are offering eBooks as an alternative to textbooks. You receive the book right away and although you will not receive a hardbook form, most college campuses are accepting laptops or tablets in the classroom. eBooks are also great to lighten one’s load on the trek to and from class. More often than not, these are the cheapest forms of textbooks.
Don’t forget, the bookstore is always a quick way to get books, but if you’re looking not to break the bank, these options are great!
