by Veronica Bergschneider

Created on: July 03, 2010   Last Updated: July 19, 2010

In the world of college, textbooks are a vital too to nearly every course. However, these can be quite costly, depending upon the area of study and number of books per semester.

Assuming that one has not chosen to study a field where information changes too rapidly, such as science or social sciences, buying used textbooks will save the student money. Always check the publication dates of any textbooks and other materials assigned by the professor to see how worthwhile a used book would be. After doing so, check with the professor to see if an older copy might work as well as the latest one.

Once those steps have been taken, a student can find used books in three main ways.

First, find other students who have recently completed the course. Sometimes, especially with books not necessary to that student’s major program of study, he or she will gladly share the books, either by giving them to a new student, or loaning them to him or her to be returned at the end of the semester. Some students in need of books exchange them with others or sell them for small amounts of money.

Secondly, try the campus bookstore. Bookstores at larger schools may have a book swap. At such an event, students can return their own used books from the previous course for those required for the next one or for credit toward the materials. Even if there is no book swap, used books can easily run at least 40% off the cover price of the new version.

Thirdly, the Internet and independent book dealers often offer significant savings over even the campus bookstore. Many students and recent graduates place their no longer needed books on sites such as Amazon or Ebay in the process of trying to make extra money. Careful trolling of these sites can result in huge bargains, but once again, be sure to check the publication date of any book and make sure it is within a recent enough time frame for the information to be useful. Those who are not comfortable using the computer can enlist the aid of independent book dealers at their shops. These students may need to pay a small commission for the books, but it will be worth it in the long run to save money on those texts when there are many to purchase in a given semester.

Using these ideas one by one or in any combination can save a student serious money. After all, books are the second or third largest expense in attending a college or university. Only tuition and the room and board of a student living on campus cost more. In many cases, as long as the professor of a course deems the practice all right and the information in an older version of a text is not outdated, students can study many of their subjects from used books.

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