10 Ways to Save Money on Textbooks

For our first blog post, we're writing about one of the first thing every student rushes to buy as soon as they arrive on campus: textbooks. College textbook prices have risen over 810% in the past 30 years, even faster than tuition.

Because of this, students (and the textbook companies) have began searching for more creative ways to get the textbooks they need. Most students pick up on this by their sophomore year, but freshman are often woefully unaware of alternative textbook-buying methods and flock to the most convenient, and most expensive, textbooks they can find.

Last semester, I spent under $100 for a full time schedule worth of textbook the book store estimated would cost me over $500. My friend still hasn't spent anything on textbooks, besides one $15 book she figured would make a nice gift for her grandmother after the semester was over. This post will explore ten of the most important tips we believe every college student should know when searching for textbooks.

1. Don't buy textbooks before going to class! This is the single most important tip there is. Even while trying hard to save money on my textbooks, I still ended up buying two textbooks throughout my freshman year that I later found out weren't even the right books for the class. It wasn't just that they "weren't required to get a good grade", but the textbooks listed on PeopleSoft literally weren't even the right books! I arrived in class and realized that the two or three chapters from the book we would actually have to read would be given to us by the professor for free. Never buy textbooks without attending the first class, listening to the professor, and reading the syllabus. 
   
   
2. Go to the library! Lots of people don't know this, but it's very likely that the textbook you need will be available in a school library (whether Hillman, another school library, or the public Carnegie Library) for free. The most popular books will require you to stay in the library while you read them, but many will allow you to check them out like a normal book. With renewals, these can easily last you the entire semester. Feel free to ask the librarian at the desk for help if you need it. Also, if you do have to stay in the library, this doesn't mean you aren't allowed to make copies of the book. You are given 900 pages to print with every semester, so use them! Be sure to also check PittCat+ for eBooks and other digital media.
   
3. Download PDFs for free. When we say this, we are absolutely not encouraging you to "steal" textbooks by torrenting them - you can get fined and kicked out of school for that. In college, especially in classes such as english, philosophy, and political science, you can often find books online for free. Many of these books are so old that they are public domain, so when you buy the book in the store, all your money is going to the publisher to pay for the paper. Beginning your Google search with .pdf: will limit results to PDF files. Then, add the name of the book in quotes with the author, for example- .pdf: "Mill" "On Liberty" will yield a PDF of the book posted on McMaster University's archives. This method works best with literature, but you may be able to find modern textbooks as well.
4. Use Google Books and Google Scholar. This is similar to #3, but  you have to flip through pages on the Google website instead of downloading the books. Often, they include only certain parts of the books, so be sure to check that before deciding not to purchase somewhere else. If nothing else, I find this useful for searching for quotes to use in my papers and finding their page numbers. Google Scholar centers around research papers, so it's great if you're doing a research project and need to find credible sources.
   
5. Buy from other Pitt Students. Have some school spirit and help not only yourself, but also your fellow students. Buying from other students is a great way to get books conveniently at a great price. The best way to find books for sale is joining the Textbook Exchange group on Facebook. Just be sure to compare with other stores first and check the book for major damage, because like I said in the introduction, most freshman are woefully unaware - and most upperclassmen know that. Also, don't forget to sell your books to other students (or online) when the semester is over. You can also try swapping books with friends if you have one of the books they need.
   
6. Buy books online! There are tons of websites looking to make a buck off of textbook sales. The best are eBay and Amazon, where you can compare prices between multiple sellers. I have found books on eBay for under $10 that retailed at the book store for over $100. If you're buying on eBay, be sure to check the shipping times - if a book is coming from overseas, it can take up to three weeks to arrive. However, many are sold domestically. Often, the cheapest textbooks on eBay are sold by local Goodwills across the country, so it's for a good cause too! Sidenote: Be sure to sign up for Amazon Student so you can get free two-day shipping plus exclusive deals on textbooks and other items.
7. Rent books online. In addition to buying, you can also rent books online. You can rent from Amazon and Chegg for a fraction of the price it costs to buy. Just remember that if you damage the book, write in it, or return it late (check that the return date is after finals!), you will face hefty fines. 
   
8. Buy used books and older/international editions. Professors are often required to list the newest book on their syllabus, but this doesn't mean you really need it. New editions of books usually change next to nothing, adding maybe a new paragraph about some current event and some pictures. Check your syllabus to see if you will need to do problems out of the book, in which case you will need the newest edition, and if not, save tons by buying the older edition. If you're buying on eBay, you may also be able to buy the International Version, which may be exactly the same with a different cover. As for used books of the newest edition, there's really no reason not to save - your book will be dirty by the end of the semester anyway. 
   
9. Use coupons. One incredibly simple tip that lots of students forget about is using coupons. When you're buying anything online, it's likely that you will be able to find a coupon on RetailMeNot. This may only save you a couple bucks, but those bucks add up! 
   
10. Know when you do need to go to the book store. Let's face it - sometimes, you just can't get away with any of the above methods. If you have a test or homework due the first week of school, buying books online might be a bad idea. Many science classes require unique codes to unlock the online homework software, which is included only with brand new textbooks. Although some are available directly from the publisher online (OWLv2 for Chemistry includes the software and eBook for less than a print book), be sure to check this ahead of time. If you buy textbooks from another student or online and they don't include the software, you may end up spending more than if you would have just bought the bundle from the start. And of course, there are special Pitt Edition textbooks, including lab manuals, that are exclusively sold at the book store. At least the interior design of the store in nice. 
    

Do you have any other tips to share? Write them in the comments below!

This post was written by Angelica Walker, 2015 VP of the Pitt Pennysavers.