So far I have never found any "free" textbooks for my nursing, healthcare, and prerequisite classes, but I learned it is important to start shopping online as early as possible and pursue all your options. I also found some teachers order the publisher's "packaged" set of books (usually the hard cover textbook with the softcover workbook) in the bookstore which has its own "set" ISBN number. I have saved significant amounts getting the textbook and workbook 13-digit ISBN numbers separately and buying them individually. Also, there are websites (like craigslist.org) where students can list their textbooks for free and I found books at much cheaper rates. I also saved money by shopping around various reliable websites (i.e., sometimes the best price was at barnesandnoble.com, sometimes at textbooks.com, sometimes at amazon.com, etc.). Also, if you are going to be a heavy book buyer, it can save you money to become a member of some bookstores like barnesandnoble.com where your annual membership card will give you an immediate significant savings on book purchases throughout the year online and in the store at the checkout. For school bookstores that refuse to give out ISBN numbers, I have had to drive major distances down to the bookstore to get the 13-digit ISBN number off of the back of the textbook and then drive home to order it online. I found when campus bookstores list the ISBN numbers, they usually list the 10-digit and sometimes it is wrong so I have to personally get look at the textbook and write down the 13-digit ISBN. Sometimes campus bookstores allow you to buy the textbook, gently use it with no marking at all and return it for a full refund before the refund cut-off date. This gives you time to get the ISBN number and order the book online and use it for the first few classes. Sometimes I will talk with students in my major/program that are a year ahead of me and ask them to sell me their textbooks at buyback value (usually 50% of purchase price) plus $5.00. Sometimes I have bought books by standing at the campus bookstore door as students lined for the buyback of their textbooks and read my textbook names and asked if anyone had that textbook to sell back. A few teachers will allow me to use the previous edition, but some of them change the books entirely to a new publisher and new author and you are forced to buy a new book. Financial crises has forced me to sell my old textbooks. I found out if I had sold them immediately I could have received good prices. Because I held on to them hoping to keep all of my textbooks for future use I had to sell them for really low market value. Also, I found that textbooks.com will guarantee a buy-back of some of their textbooks after finals at the end of the school semester. I have purchased their textbooks at low prices with a listed pre-set guaranteed buy-back amount which makes my net book cost less then a rental. I will not rent because they demand my credit card and have risky contracts.
Nursing studentof MI9:17PM September 05, 2009
In regards to buying and selling used textbooks, the internet is the way to go. While campus bookstores refuse to buy back books when professors move to a new edition, as long as that is still being used anywhere in the country, you can still sell it online. There are whole websites like MyBookBuyer which are dedicated to buying back books.
Rental services have a host of problems associated with them. The sites you mention, Chegg and Bookrenter base their due dates on a fixed rental period, rather than the student's actual school schedule, meaning that the books they rent could be due before they even finish their finals! And if they don't get the books back in time, they're slammed with late fees in the form of "automatic extensions". If they are unfortunate enough to be more than a week late, they can expect to be charged replacement fees of 100-140% of the list price of the book!
Free services are great in theory but as you mention, they aren't popular enough for students to be able to count on finding the book they need or finding someone who needs the book they have.
Buying used textbooks online from sites like half and selling them back to sites like MyBookBuyer are a students best bet. The net cost is lower than rental fees, and there are no due dates or late fees. The sheer number of students who buy and sell on the internet means students can find the book they need cheap, even ones they can't find through swap services, and that they can sell back books even if their college bookstore won't take them.
David Jonesof CA2:20PM September 04, 2009
My advice to any student is to email the professor ahead of time if you are unsure about a possible way to save money. For example- if the bookstore doesn't provide ISBNs (mine doesn't), and you think you found the right one on Amazon but aren't sure, the professor can probably clear that up. They can also let you know whether an older edition has identical text with new problems, substantially changed text, or somewhere in between, and how that will affect you in that course. However, they are unlikely to know about international editions.
Professors may not be as accessible and helpful at major universities with very large lecture-hall courses, but in my experience at a relatively small university (6,000 undergrads, class size limit about 40-50), professors have been very understanding in this matter and I'd estimate I saved $300-500 a year as an undergraduate Biology student vs. bookstore prices.
CGof PA1:21PM September 04, 2009
Textbooks are expensive due to the greed of professor authors and publishers who come out with a so called new edition every year for the sole purpose of preventing students from using and selling back the books. New editions seldom contain anything new, how often does Calculus change? The old edition will work fine, however the college bookstores dont allow one to buy an old edition, the Internet sellers do. Thus the greed will eventually squeeze the bookstores and enable the Internet sellers to thrive. Only when someone, book sellers, colleges, instructors put pressue on these new edition crooks will this cycle end and prices will drop to a reasonable level. If colleges were required to throw in the book for FREE when one takes a class, the colleges would hammer the book sellers with buying in bulk and book price inflation would go away.
PhDof OH11:38AM September 04, 2009
Dear Mr. Schmidt,
I graduated from college 2 years ago with a degree similar to the one you apparently attained--in Public Relations. I can appreciate that fact that you are trying to do "damage control" for the company that you work for, the National Association of College Stores by writing the previous post, but let's all be serious here and look at the facts.
I bought pretty much all of my textbooks online for a fraction of the cost that my college bookstore sold them for and I never once feared the "dangers and uncertainties of purchasing textbooks on the internet." If a college has capable professors working at it, which most of them do (I would hope), students are provided with the textbooks that they need to purchase accompanied by the correct titles and editions, most of the time, with a sufficient time frame for them to be purchased online. Heck, I even had professors who gave us advice on where to purchase textbooks besides the school bookstore in order to save us money.
With websites out now such as Swaptree, where students can trade textbooks, it not only helps students save money, but it also cuts down on the massive amounts of textbooks that are put into warehouses each year because the edition is no longer "valid." The textbook industry causes so much waste--and for what reason??--oh yeah, so that publishers make money at the student's expense. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that most history, art, english, math, and science books aren't too much different from 20 years ago. The basics are all the same and will remain that way. I only wish that websites such as the ones listed in this article were available when I was in school, but I am thrilled that people are now trying to fight for reasonably priced textbooks for students.
I don't think you have much to worry about. School stores will still sell armloads of over-priced hoodies emblazoned with the schools name or mascot and expensive, cheaply made frames to hang those also over-priced diplomas. However, with the economy in its current state, I feel that you're post here was un-needed and petty. Give the students a break!
Abbyof MA2:07PM September 03, 2009
While this column makes some good points, it doesn’t give enough credit to the value the college bookstore brings to the transaction and perpetuates the common misperception that buying textbooks online is always better and always cheaper – NOT true.
The article makes the false assumption that more then 3,100 independently operated college bookstores sell college textbooks all for the same retail price. The reality is that prices and options such as new, used, e-book, and rental offered by college bookstores may differ on each campus. That said a recent Florida study found that students purchasing new college textbooks online saved an average of only $2.15 per item compared to the average price found at campus bookstores for the 24 courses examined. In fact, online prices were HIGHER for 27% of the textbooks examined by the study. The chart also unfairly compares the cost of a NEW textbook bought at the bookstore with a USED one purchased elsewhere. Not sure if that’s a fair apples to-apples comparison.
There are also the many dangers and uncertainties of purchasing textbooks on the internet. (The value of ISBN as an accurate identifier of course materials has declined significantly in recent years.) Go here to read about the many myths of textbook buying http://www.nacs.org/public/nacs/press_releases/090109-ReturntoClassEasier.pdf .
It is important for students to understand that their college store is the ONLY source that guarantees them the correct textbook and accompanying supplemental material that a faculty member may require (new OR used). College bookstores also have clear, plainly documented return policies. Check here for just a few examples of initiatives college stores have implemented to keep the cost of textbooks as affordable as possible http://www.nacs.org/public/nacs/press_releases/081909-WhatStoresDoing.pdf.
There’s also the buying local benefit. When a student makes a purchase from the campus store, they can be confident the money is returned to the campus through scholarships, paying the salaries of student bookstore workers, etc. This can’t be said for money spent at an online site with a company based halfway across the country.
Listen, I’m not saying that in all cases the college bookstore is cheaper, but neither is it always more expensive.
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Nursing student of MI 9:17PM September 05, 2009
David Jones of CA 2:20PM September 04, 2009
CG of PA 1:21PM September 04, 2009
PhD of OH 11:38AM September 04, 2009
Abby of MA 2:07PM September 03, 2009
Charles Schmidt of OH 1:28PM September 03, 2009