How to Buy Textbooks the Smart Way

If you have yet to attend college, you don’t really know what to expect when you must buy those textbooks. Let me tell you, it can be a shock. “How can such a thin book be $90?” I asked someone incredulously last year. It almost made me regret taking Intro to Theatre on a whim.

Trying to be smart this year, I decided to try to cut down on my textbook cost this year as much as possible.

To the Internet!

The way I do things is this way: I compile a list of sources that I know will have textbooks at cheaper prices. Borders is definitely not on that list because they pretty much sell at retail value. Instead, I relied on my book-getting staples: eBay, Amazon, and ABE.

EBay: This site has both online auctions and eBay stores where sellers list a “Buy it Now” price. Type the name of the book you’re looking for in the search box and check out both sets of listings. Keep in mind that auctions will tell you how long they last (1 day-7days). If you need your book right away, you might consider looking only in the Buy It Now section.
Link:

Amazon: Amazon appears to be popular for its book listings, and you can even search for a book by its ISBN number (more info on this at the bottom of this blog). Remember though, that Amazon is not an auction site and you are automatically committed to buying an item when you click “Buy”. Simple, right?
Link:

Abe: One of the sites I discovered by accident a few years ago was Abe. I was shocked when I saw how many books are listed as only a dollar plus shipping. You can find some nice deals here. Plus, I think you can search by ISBN as well. Sellers range from your average Joe to actual book stores all around the USA.
Link:

Cheapesttextbooks: This is different from the other sites mentioned because it compiles data from many other sources to find you the cheapest price. It’s worth checking out (though it doesn’t always seem the most accurate in my opinion). It will take you to other sites like eBay, Amazon, or Alibris among others.
Link:

Alibris/Textbooks.com: These sites also primarily specialize in used textbooks. Once again, searcgable using that nifty ISBN. Links:

and

Also check out any of these textbook sources Thanks to those (Fallon, mvenus929/Reboloke, and sawaboof) who commented and put their two cents in:

(Here's a message from BetterWorld when I bought a book from them: "Thank you again for your recent purchase from Better World Books! You may not even know it, but by ordering from Better World Books, you've joined thousands of others in support of our local, national and worldwide literacy partners.")

(Another one, like cheapesttextbooks, which compiles date from other sources to find you the cheapest price)

Book buying alternative: Buy e-books! TomorrowToday mentioned in a comment below that some course books are offered online for half the price as e-books. For books you only need to read chapters for out-of-class, this might be a good idea. You'll have access to it via the Internet for approx. 180 days (more than a semester's worth)
Try this link for e-books:

(Thanks, TommorrowToday!)

Also mentioned in a comment to this blog was

by maxy. maxy mentioned that this site lets you list a textbook for sale for free...they only charge a small fee when you sell it. You can also post videos, but I'm not entirely sure what that's all about. So if you're interested, check out the site! (Thanks for the link, maxy!)

There are more. All you have to do is search “used textbooks” in your search box or with Google.

Things to keep in mind when Internet shopping for textbooks (or anything else, really).

Shipping: This can be a major factor in the price. It’s a bit of a secret of eBay sellers that their shipping prices aren’t accurate, and that price may shift drastically from one seller to another. Make sure you calculate shipping cost into the cost of the book.

Also, know whether or not you need the book right away. If a seller ships a book via “media mail” you may have a problem. Media mail is incredibly cheap shipping but it comes with another price: it may take up to three weeks to get to you because it’s subject to inspection. It may be a good idea to change your shipping to expedited shipping--if it’s available and if it’s somewhat reasonable.

Condition: What condition do you expect your book to be in? The standard words used by sellers are New, Like New, Good, Fair, and then some vague term that’ll indicate terrible condition. New is just that--unread. Like New is a used book that looks new, probably with minimal wear. Good--expect some markings or dogeared pages, but pretty good condition. Fair--Eh…let’s not get our hopes up.

And probably the most important: Edition/Publishing Year: Your professor may indicate that a book must be brand new or can be several years old. Make sure you’re getting the right edition! If you get an older book, many things may have been changed for the new edition that you’ll miss out on. This topic also connects to the importance of knowing your ISBN number on the book. This can usually be found near the barcode on the back of the book (this would require asking a professor for the number of the correct book, having it already written on the syllabus, or doing the research yourself by snooping around the school bookstore). An ISBN is simultaneously useful for locating the right book online fast.

Beware of offers that seem too good to be true.: If the price of the book is unbelievable (incredibly low), then be a skeptic and make sure you know what you’re getting. Is it the right year? Good condition? Is the shipping too high? Those are things to look out for.

Window shopping is okay at the mall, not online. Here’s a rule of thumb: Don’t judge an online textbook by its cover. Sometimes sellers use stock photos provided by the site (eBay, Amazon, etc) instead of taking a picture of their book with their listing. This means the picture shown may not be the exact same edition as the one you need.

I hope this guide was informative without being completely boring. Comments welcome.