Textbooks for school

So school's starting for some people in certain parts of the world.


And some of them have to buy textbooks.


Do you buy textbooks? where do you buy them? What do you do with them after you're done with them?

I have to buy $200 text books from the campus bookstore >.>

When I am done I try to sell them back if I don't need them.

Sell back to the bookstore?


I remember doing that once. I bought a $140 book and when I tried to sell it back they quoted me $8. And they were planning to re-sell that as a "used book" for the next term in like 2 weeks.

That's the basic idea, though I would hope that most bookstores prices aren't that bad (I have never done it).

Ebay, Craigslist, etc. may be a good idea for buying and selling textbooks, but I have no experience with that.

I would never pay $200 for a single book. Not on this Earth! lol

I'm afraid you probably wouldn't last long in college then, unfortunately.   They like milking their captive audiences.  :p

When I went to college, in 1990, the textbooks were cheaper at a "mere" $100 or so, but yes, the bookstore would buy them back for around $10 or so.

If I can I just borrow and scan the pages from a friend, that only works if we use the book only for homework. If I need an actual book for my class I just find the cheapest price on amazon or in the used book store we have around. I never buy new because that just a waste of my money. I either sell them later to a collage student or just put them on amazon, don't sell back to the school because they will give you up to $20 for a book that originally costs $300. Books are pain in the ass during college be smart and like Dekita says don't pay $200 for a single book, I guarantee you can find a cheaper offer on internet. Rent a book if you have to, use http://www.slugbooks.com to compare prices, and put the saved money else where, for me its art supplies. 

PS: Important advice, try to buy books after you start a class, I had couple of incidents where my teachers would change the book or announce that we don't need them anymore, I never had a teacher who was mad because I didn't came with the book on the first day. ;) That is just my personal experience though, it might not work every single time.

Also, always always always ask your teacher if a previous edition of the book is ok.

When I took my electronics classes, my teacher was fine with using older editions, as everything but the most complex electronics stuff hasn't changed in years and years. The cost difference was like 150 for the newest version, to finding copies on Amazon of older editions for like 10 bucks.

Unfortunately, most of my core classes required "newest edition only" which made me spend almost as much on books as I did on tuition some semesters (smaller, nice community college, much lower tuition than the big schools... books, still the same).

I see Amazon has a textbook site


http://www.amazon.com/New-Used-Textbooks-Books/b/ref=amb_link_366662302_1?ie=UTF8&node=465600&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=browse&pf_rd_r=0PRHG4SMW2ASXDCTHC8V&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1711713342&pf_rd_i=2205237011


Never tried it, not sure how good it is, but from the prices those are pretty good deals.

My first semester of college, I did what was suggested and left a list of my classes with the bookstore, and they gathered all the books together, ready for me to pick up a week before classes started. This cost me right around $300. The only books I really used were the algebra textbook and the book for my english comp class.

At the en of the semester, I went to sell them back to the bookstore and only got about $80. They wouldn't take the manual for a calculator my math prof. recommended, (which I didn't use, because I had a different calculator) because it was outdated. I couldn't sell back my math book because it was water damaged when they sold it to me. And my grammar textbook was outdated. Cuz the English language changed dramatically in four months.

That was definitely the last time I pre-bought my books. After that, I only ever bought a history book. Nearly all my other classes (all fine arts and graphic design classes) didn't need a book. My life science class used one, but it was all such basic stuff, Ijust used my notes from high school.

If the teacher tells you you need the book, try and find a friend you can go in on it with.

When I bought books, I'd just sell em off after. After that semester, though, I decided to rent textbooks if possible instead. It's much cheaper.

for my class I just Borrow the book the the school so I don't have the right to write in it 

I always search for digital editions of the books first, unless the class does not allow me to bring a laptop or tablet to class.  In which case I search for used versions of the books or rent them.   Renting is usually the best route unless you want to keep the book, since you end up spending less money, and even though you cannot "sell it back" to make some money back after you're done with it, you usually spend much less money that way than the combination of buying a book and selling it afterward.   The few times I've had to buy them and then sell them back after though I usually sell them on Amazon and can at least make back some of the money I spent.   Selling them back at the bookstore, or even used bookstores in the area is pointless, they won't give you much of anything for them since they get so many from other students, they won't really pay much for them.

My school is very supportive of students selling their used books to each other. We also have a very extensive library. I purchased mostly new books because the demand was higher than the supply of used books, but I got them online because the bookstore on campus is expensive. Not that I blame the poor bookstore, I know the true evil is the publishing companies.

No, I never knew it, is it a book from college, I haven't been in college(and didn't think will go). If the price is 200$ I prefer rent if it can be rent with a lower price. 200$ is to high for me.

There are some sites dedicated to textbook swapping/selling...there are often groups online (facebook, school sites, etc.) for meeting up on campus to swap.  I also found at my university people would often put signs up in the class trying to sell their books from last semester, as long as the version is ok it's usually a really cheap way to go.  I also had a few professors who would buy books off their own students and sell them for the same price to the incoming students, loved those professors but I understand why many don't want to get into that. I found with the exception of hard sciences & math most professors were very flexible about versions.

There was this site started up by two first-year students at my university, for students to buy and sell their books. Short time after, the TU "bought" that site, and started to use it as the central selling point for ALL books for ALL of the university. Before that, you had to buy books at the study association to which your courses belong, and buying from them often required membership.

Great move, TU Eindhoven, but like... 12 years too late? Only because two students came up with it.

Was this one of those millionaire-overnight stories? lol

The only time I bought text books is when homework was done out of them. Not going to lie. I probably saved thousands. If the books were only being used strictly for reading assignments I could often find last year's addition on Amazon for pennies. If the book was simply for personal reference, I skipped. Though, there were a handful of text books I was interested in owning because they would be good references for future/individual studies. The books I did have to buy at full value from the book store (University Editions) were sold back for a decent amount of the money. In the end, it's not so terrible.

Fortunately, my major doesn't require me to have tons of books in fact, I only need three for the entire 5 years in college. I think they cost me round $150-$200 for the three books that I was required to have. The other books that were issued were all public documents like building codes and whatnot so each one only cost me $4-$5 each, even though public documents were supposed to be free. There were also booklets that were required for each of my minor classes and although they are only good for one semester, each one cost me less than a dollar.

Can't say that I haven't encountered budget problems in college, though. I'm pretty sure I've spent a ton on other requirements besides books.