Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks – Our Top 2
Having graduated from the University of Wyoming about a year ago now, one thing I grew very tired of pretty quick was buying a $180 textbook and being offered a measly $3 in return by local bookstores. If that doesn't make you mad I don't know what will, especially being a poor college student. Fortunately it is really easy to cut the cost of buying textbooks down from what you would normally pay. Now days you might even be able to get digital copies of the books at a fraction of the price. Don't let the book stores try and scare you by saying that the books you buy in other places may be the wrong ones; this is not true! Over my years in college I quickly found that online was the only place to go not only to buy cheaper used textbooks, but also to sell my textbooks. There is one thing you need to watch out for though; international versions of your books. Many times soft cover international versions of the books you are looking for are listed with the regular hard cover US editions, so watch out and read the book descriptions carefully or you might be disappointed when your textbooks arrive. While this website doesn't make the list because it is not a site that can be used for most colleges, if you happen to be attending the University of Wyoming make sure to check out the Cowboy Book Swap as it is probably your cheapest option because there is no middle man. Now on to the list!
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half.com
I am not going to waste any time here. The number one place to buy your textbooks on the cheap is half.com. half.com is owned by eBay and if you have an account on eBay already, you can use the same login for half.com as well. You also know that the site is nice and secure. Typically you will find used textbooks here cheaper than anywhere else and they usually have the widest selection of any website as well. I actually bought my books at the beginning of one semester and sold them for more than what I paid in the first place using half.com. This doesn't happen often but if you are crafty it can happen. Make sure to buy your books at off times before the masses start looking on the site and you will get some great deals. half.com also uses generic media mail shipping rates for books so you won't get ripped off when you pay for shipping. As I mentioned earlier though, just be careful and make sure you aren't buying a knock off international version of the book. For all you textbook needs and more check half.com first!
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Amazon.com
half.com was where it seemed that I ended up buying most of my books, but sometimes I did find some great prices on amazon.com. In general though, I found books on Amazon to run a little higher in price than half.com, so it takes the number two spot on my list. Amazon often also has a very good used selection just like half.com so if you are looking at peak buying times it is worth comparing to find the best price. However, since Amazon prices usually run a little higher it can be a great place to sell your books and get more back for them at the end of the semester. One more tidbit of advice; don't keep your books unless you are in a major where you absolutely know you will use them again. Professors may tell you to keep them but keep in mind they are in the world of academia! I only kept a couple of books and honestly I haven't looked at any of them since graduating; real life is way different than what you will learn in school. Sell them back and grab a beer to celebrate making it through another semester.
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