When going back to college after years, I discovered the college bookstore is a big rip-off. If you go online, like Amazon, amongst others, you can get brand new editions, sometimes called international versions, (same exact book, just looks different on the outside) for a fraction of the price. Plus the prices on used are very good.
I had a Pell Grant and would use money to buy the books outright, then when the Grant paid out at the end, make more than enough to pay back the money for the books that I got for less than 30% regular price plus, and pay some towards the transportation costs of getting to and from school. Unless I was taking online courses, which left a little extra spending money!
Don't ever buy the bookstore books. Get the ISBNs ahead of time and most ship within a few days, even with the shipping costs, I have saved an average of 70% shelf prices. There are numerous sites, out there, just Google them. You can even get the previous year edition, with just a few words change and if you can follow a table of contents, you can find the subject on the syllabus. Those are even less than the current version, like $2 - $3 on most that would be $50 new! Worth finger walking! Good luck!
By Suedobbins from Davenport, IA
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!