Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - Cutting the Cost of Textbooks

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Cutting the Cost of Textbooks

I just saw a news clip on how a reporter was able to save around $60 per book by buying some college textbooks online and overseas.

I know it may be too late for some of you students -but by all means save your money and save it on beer.

http://web1.whdh.com/features/articles/realdeal/A39/

Quote:

Buying Textbooks

Air Date: 02/18/2004
It's one of the first lessons you learn in college, your textbooks are going to cost you a bundle! But why are they so expensive? And is there any way to save money? Hank Phillippi Ryan put textbook buying to the test and uncovered the "Real Deal".

It’s Mathematics 101, the price of textbooks…

Student
"This was $101."

It’s Economics 101, not in the classroom, but at the cash register…

Student
"One hundred and forty six dollars…"

And Business 101, students have no choice but to buy the books their profs require.

Student
"One hundred twenty nine dollars for both, it's expensive."

An average textbook bill is $700 a year, sending some students into sticker shock.

Student
"I don't buy my books anymore, I go to the library."

But here's the "Real Deal", you can beat the high cost of textbooks and we don't mean just buying used or heading to the stacks.

Here’s Strategic Management a requirement for a popular business class. At the college bookstore it sells for $94! But here's "strategic book buying", a few mouse clicks and bought exactly the same book from a store in England for much less -- $66.

Philosophy 100 at Umass -- at the bookstore, that’s going to cost almost $130. But we found the same books in cyber stores for just $73, a saving of almost $60.

By shopping online in the U.S., and especially overseas, for books for a beginning psyc class, we saved $46.02, for a chemistry class -- $39.84. Every time we checked, we could beat the bookstore price.

In Washington D.C. a publishers group explains that it’s all about the markup.

Hank Phillippi Ryan
"The ability to purchase textbooks online or overseas, doesn’t that prove the books don’t have to be so expensive?"

Patricia Schroeder, Assoc. of American Publishers
"All we control is the wholesale price and what people sell the book for and how much they mark it up, we can’t dictate that, we are not allowed to dictate that."

But they do dictate wholesale prices and we found that sometimes those are cheaper for overseas stores, leaving U.S. students paying more.

Hank Phillippi Ryan
"What do you say to the students?"

Patricia Schroeder, Assoc. of American Publishers
"They should get whatever they can get at the price they can get it."

This Emerson College professor actually helps her students beat the high cost of books…

Marsha Della-Guistina, Emerson College Professor
"I feel very passionately about it."

She's now brokered discount prices for some of her classes and dumped textbooks from others, all to keep her kids out of the bookstores.

Marsha Della-Guistina, Emerson College Professor
"How can they sleep at night while ripping off college students."

Bookstores insist that they don't just sell books, they also sell service. But store managers admit savvy student shoppers may soon teach everyone a lesson.

If you or your kids are in the market for textbooks try visiting the links below:

* www.allbookstores.com
* www.amazon.com
* www.amazon.co.uk
* www.blackwells.com

half.com is another good place to check out, it'll also let you sell your books online as well. They're a subsidiary of Ebay, so you've got some clout behind you to make sure you get your stuff.

Half.com, amazon.com, tons of book resellers, used bookstores online, etc, sell textbooks at half or close ot half price, some WWAAYYY less. I've found that amazon has given me the best results, as a lot of the "used" sellers will often send new books or books that look perfectly new. I bought a $64 book for $16 shipped that way expecting something used and received a pristine package with pages that still stuck together like new :)

check online, save TONS of money. Or become a music or art major and spend more on supplies than books...

One way I found a way to save on books, is to buy from people in your halls. You would be suprised at how many people are taking the same classes as you are.

The bank won't give me a card because I have an "unstable income" :| , so I have to fork out valuable New Zealand pesos from said income to pay for my texts. Luckily this semester I only needed two, but they cost me $NZ 180 all up.

Keep them in good condition and sell them back at the end of the class for only about 20-40% depreciation.

Quote:

Originally posted by Zander
Keep them in good condition and sell them back at the end of the class for only about 20-40% depreciation.

sell them back to who for that? not the bookstore i bought em from... i spent $500 on books a couple semesters ago... and got $64 back... completely lame...

a friend of mine bought all his books and a scanner.... scanned all his books to .pdf and returned them within the full refund time period and returned the scanner for a full refund...

Yeah, our buyback prices at the bookstore are HORRRIBBLLEEE. I spent over $180 for a book for one class and they were giving $25 as a buyback for the book...

I kept it...actually use it regularly..

online is hte best way now for me

Funny, the last book I used was 60 and I got back like 40

www.campusbooks.com and www.bookfinder.com are good sites to look for cheap textbooks. Both of them search many different bookstores and then show you their prices, campusbooks even factors in shipping. I'm saved hundreds of dollars using these sites, and its much easier then checking each site individually.

Like others said, Half.com is great. I payed $150 for $500 worth of books this semester.