Fortunately for future generations, it seems that overly expensive textbooks are becoming a thing of the past. Scans, PDFs, iPads, Kindles, and just plain kindness are pushing more and more professors to abandon the textbook requirement all together. Yet, for many college students, textbooks still remain an obnoxious necessity of academic pursuit. However, there are worthwhile ways to curb the cost of textbooks or completely chuck the price tag all together. You just need to be aware of them:
Textbook Rental Sites
Hopefully every college student on Earth has heard of these companies. Chegg.com is the most popular, but the process is identical for all: you rent a mail order textbook and send it back when you’re done. It’s like a boring version of Netflix except you save a lot more money. The majority of users of these sites rate their experience very highly and recommend them to others.
Online Classifieds
Chegg.com was originally conceived as a “Craigslist for college,” and was only tweaked after the founders discovered textbooks were the predominant reason people used their service. Traditional online classifieds remain a terrific place to look for textbooks, especially if you live in a college town. Always make sure to communicate the necessary edition before deciding to meet up. Otherwise, you may either forget to ensure it’s the right one or waste your time on a book you can’t buy.
Social Networks
Facebook isn’t too keen on the idea that users can potentially turn it into a classifieds site with more refined marketing, but nothing stops you from utilizing your swath of friends. Many no doubt attend the same school you do, so several may have the book you’re looking for and vice versa. Sharing or reselling are definite possibilities as is good old fashioned donating. Just make sure to remember to pay it forward when the time comes.
Online Survey Taking
Countless companies utilize online survey services to learn more about ways to improve their products. In turn, these survey sites employ individuals that meet their demographics requirements. In return for participating in online surveys, members of the public often receive gift cards to sites like Amazon.com. Just by filling out a few surveys in your spare time you could cut the cost of buying a textbook through Amazon or other online retail sites.
Textbooks are in a terminal state of relevance, but don’t hold your breath thinking you can evade them for the entire duration of your higher education. They can cost more than $100, which can cripple a college kid’s budget. But that doesn’t have to be the case if you know where to look.