Our Top 6 Ways To Save Big Money On Your Child’s College Textbooks

When I was in college, I worked and applied for grants, scholarships, and loans. Still, I was always looking for creative ways to access the books I needed without the high cost. It might seem like chump change compared to the larger cost of college, but I was already eating ramen. I also used my college ID to access the free public transit system that was available to full-time students.

While there are lots of expenses associated with attending college, many of those costs are not really negotiable. College books are a cost that’s necessary, but as I stare down the mounting costs of textbooks, it always felt like there was a bit of wiggle room. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the cost of textbooks have skyrocketed in the last 10 years by 135%. 

I’ve always felt that there have got to be better ways. Here are some of my favorite solutions for finding textbooks on the cheap, straight from someone who’s done it before and is about to have to do it again.

Library

I’d check out the book as soon as I knew I needed it. It got a bit tricky if/when other students were after the same book and/or when they put the book on hold. It could be beyond frustrating when I had to return a book right as I was studying for a final exam.

For some classes, the professor put the book on hold, so we could sign up and check it out for our allotted time and read it in the library reading room. It’s not always the easiest thing to fit in between work and classes, but I spent most of my intervening hours in the library anyway.  

Used Bookstore

Students can’t always make use of used books for their college textbooks and required reading materials, but I spent a lot of time hunting through used bookstores for dog-eared copies. 

Of course, the hunt for books was time-consuming and often frustrating. It was also essential to make sure that I bought the right edition for some classes. So, it was important to know what exactly I was looking for as well as make acquaintances with bookstore employees.  

Share With A Friend

It was always helpful to find a friend in the class, so I could hopefully borrow the book for an evening to speed read my way through it. Then, I’d have to hope that my copious notes were enough for the papers, tests, and classroom discussions. 

Depending on the class, it was sometimes possible to contribute toward the cost of a book with one or more fellow students. We were all broke, so it was a great way to cut down costs. Plus, it then makes even more sense to meet as a study group.

College Bookstore

For math and science courses, there were few options for getting the books on the cheap. And, with the daily assignments, it wasn’t usually possible to share or borrow a book. I could find used copies sometimes, but that was never a certainty. 

Discount Textbook Sites

It’s now easier than ever to access books for college courses, but that can also make it a bit more complicated. There are so many options for outlets to choose from. How do you choose the one that will work best?  

• AbeBooks.com: AbeBooks collects listings for millions of books and objects from independent sellers all over the world (more than 50 countries). That means that it gives you access to not only the new and used textbooks you need, but also a wealth of other resources no matter what your course of study.  

• Amazon: You’re probably familiar with the fact that Amazon is an online retailer, but you may not know that you can buy, rent, or sell textbooks, with savings of up to 90% on some books. You may also be able to take advantage of their trade-in policy as well as the free shipping option on some books with Prime.  

• Barnes & Noble: With access to some 600 brick-and-mortar stores, Barnes & Noble is still a great option if you can’t get the book from your campus bookstore and you can’t wait for it to arrive via online order. Besides, who doesn’t love browsing through B&N, or sitting for a while in a comfy chair in the stacks or in the in-store café?  

• Bookfinder: Search more than 100,000 sellers to find the most economical options for your textbook needs, with free shipping options and savings of up to 90% off your required textbooks.  

• BooksRun: You can buy, sell, or rent textbooks via BooksRun, with free shipping options. With 430,000 ebook titles available, you can access your textbook immediately or use the 2-5 day shipping option.  

• BookScouter: With this website and app, you can easily buy and sell textbooks online, while getting the best price. It allows you to search 30 book-buyback sites to determine where you can get the best price.  

• CampusBooks: With the CampusBooks website and app, you can buy, sell, rent, and/or access ebooks via their marketplace of online vendors. With the “Buy vs Rent” feature, you can easily determine which option will work best for you and save up to 87% off. CampusBooks offers a grace period for returns and free shipping options for returns and rentals.  

• CheapestTextbooks: You can buy, sell, or rent textbooks via CheapestTextbooks, with savings of up to 95%. They also highlight free shipping offers and support flexible rental periods to get you the lowest cost for summer course requirements or other short-term needs.  

• Chegg: You can buy or rent a textbook, with a 21-day risk-free return policy. So, if you switch your class or drop it, you won’t be stuck with a book you don’t need. Chegg also offers free shipping on orders of $35+.  

• eCampus: Compare prices before you buy textbooks as ebooks or hard copies, with buy, sell, or rent options. eCampus offers free shipping on orders of $35+, as well as savings of up to 90% on textbooks.  

• SellBackYourBook: It may just say “sell” in the name of the site, but they actually do buy, sell, and rent textbooks, with free shipping options.   

• SlugBooks: With options to compare prices of used and rental textbook sites, SlugBooks is a search engine for textbooks. Their goal is to save you money on textbooks, but they also offer a mix of comics, photos, and videos that may just make your day – particularly if you’ve been glaring at those college-related expenses.

• VitalSource: This site offers an experience, with eTextbook options and a full suite of study tools on any device—both online and offline. You can make margin notes, listen to the audiobook version, use the workbook, etc.

Free Downloads

I know, I know…it’s all still daunting, particularly since these are just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many sites out there that buy, sell, or rent books. You really can save a ton of money if you do your research and compare prices, but it can also take time to make sure that you’re buying the right book at the lowest price and also being sure that it’s a good quality reading copy. 

If you’re looking for EVEN BETTER deals on textbooks, there are quite a few options for free download sites as well. I’ve seen a few of these being discussed on TikTok. 

• Bookboon: This site does provide a library of more than 1,000 business ebooks, with a free 30-day trial period. The cost is $5.99/month after the trial ends.  

• Free-Ebooks.net: This site offers download options for five free books every month, with fiction and nonfiction selections.  

• Free Computer Books: This site features free ebooks, lecture notes, and tutorials related to Computer Science, Information Technologies, and Mathematics.  

• Library Genesis: This site is a file-sharing library website with access to academic and general-interest books, audiobooks, comics, scholarly journal articles, images, and magazines. It’s a link aggregator, which means that it collects links to content that is publicly available. They also allow users to upload content.  

• Many Books: This site offers 50,000+ free ebooks and counting in many topics and genres. They call themselves a “friendly neighborhood library.” Of course, not EVERY book on the site is free, so you just have to be aware of what you want/need and whether it’s one of the free ones.  

• Openstax: Their goal is “transformative learning.” What they offer is peer-reviewed, openly licensed ebooks by professional content developers who are experts in their fields. Teachers have used these books in 35,969 classrooms so far, saving them more than a million dollars collectively.  

It might take a bit of searching and some creative finagling to gain access to the books for that class, but these sites really do offer a wealth of options. In addition to the obvious, more immediate requirement to get our kids situated in college, many of these sites offer downloads and resources that are great options for the rest of us to continue down the road of continuous learning and growing. 

In the immediate moment, though, I’ll take just not having to stress so much over the bill for textbooks!  

What are your thoughts on college textbooks? Are your kids heading to college? Sound off in the comments below!  

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