by Abby Way

Created on: April 11, 2009

What would you do with a crisp pile of one thousand dollar bills, or a shiny heap of one thousand toonies?

You don't have to hold up a bank, either.

If you're taking a four-year degree, these kinds of savings are easily attainable - $250 each year is an easy amount to save if you follow these tips.

-Check editions-
Talk to the professor, or compare library copies of the newest edition and the one before it. If there are no significant changes, you might be able to get by with the last edition, or even one before that. If there are changes, perhaps you could borrow a friend's textbook for long enough to take note of the changed page numbers. Some professors are willing to work with students and give out page numbers for more than one edition. It never hurts to ask.

-Borrow, beg but don't steal-
Talk to a friend or acquaintance who's taking the same class. You two might be able to share a textbook, or he might be willing to loan you the book for a night or two here and there. If you're only using the book once or twice, check it out from the library. There are even textbook rental services these days, though you might find this route hard if you're an international student.

-Buying used textbooks-
If you really have to buy the textbook (for math classes, for instance), you don't have to pay that exorbitant price from the campus bookstore. Make a list of books, including their ISBN's, titles, and the edition you need, and look online to save a lot of money.

When you're buying cheap used textbooks, watch out for indicators of quality. Most reputable sites have a system that goes something like: "Perfect, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor". Buyer beware the lower end of this scale, as you might end up with more highlighting and scribbling than you wanted (though in some cases, this can be a great thing for helping you decipher the important stuff!).

-Places to buy-
Local bookstores might have the books, but generally you can get a better selection at better prices if you shop online. You don't even have to have a credit card, some sites accept Paypal!

1. Major Retailers
Amazon, Chapters-Indigo, Half.com and eBay are four well-known book retailers that also sell textbooks. The only drawback is that they sometimes mark up their books because they can get away with it, whereas smaller resellers are more likely to have fair prices in some cases.

2. Book Resellers
Check out some sites that specialize in buying and reselling used textbooks. Try ValoreBooks (US only), Alibris (worldwide),

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