As students prepare for Spring '09, they are facing the ever rising cost of textbooks. In some case students are paying more for their books than tuition. While the internet has opened up many new options for bringing the cost down, some colleges are making moves to force students to spend their money in the college bookstore.
Rather than trying to compete with the options available online, these college bookstores are using dirty tactics to limit students' options. My own college has moved to "custom" book packages that require students to by brand new books bundled with extra items that are only available in the bookstore. Many of these custom book packages include loose-leaf versions of textbooks that cost the same as a regular bound copy, but can't be sold back.
In 2006 two Florida community college students filed a class action lawsuit again Follet, the largest college bookstore chain. The U.S. District Court threw out their complaint, even saying they had no right to file in Florida because they were non-residents. If students have no right to take legal action against these price gougers, and are being cut off from more affordable sources by dirty tactics, what can they do? It seems to me that the recent behavior of my own bookstore, and I'm sure others around the country, could be considered unfair competition.
Students who rely on financal aid are at the biggest disadvantage. Federal regulation doesn't allow colleges to disburse finaid until 10 days before the semester starts. By that time whatever deals may have been available are gone. The result is that low-income students, the students who most need the deals, get stuck paying higher prices for their books.
I really think something needs to be done about this. There is no excuse for textbooks to cost $200+. A student with five classes may get stuck paying $1000 or more for their textbooks. Then when they try to sell them back they are lucky to get $100 back.
Until something is done, here are some options to look into:
Amazon Market Place
This is always the first place I look. Quite often you can find excellent deals on used textbooks through the market place. Amazon only allows sellers to charge a fixed rate of $3.99 for shipping, so you don't have to worry about getting gouged like you do at other places, like:
Ebay
It is always worth it to check out ebay. Be aware, though, that the books you find on ebay tend to be international editions. They have the same content as the US version of the books, but the quality of printing is often lower. For regular US versions ebay's price are usually higher than what is available from the Amazon market place (in my experience). Don't forget to check the shipping costs. Ebay sellers are notorious for listing items at seemingly cheap prices and then you find out they want $30 for shipping. Most textbooks will fit in a USPS flat rate box, so you should never pay more than $10 for shipping.
Textbook Rentals
I haven't tried this. I probably won't, but it is the latest trend in reducing textbook costs. For me it is not worth it to mess with sending the book back. The deals are pretty good, though. If I were to rent my calc book it would be $23 for the semester. A used version through Amazon is $44. So the rental is half the cost of the used version. Of course, this only saves me money if I use this book for one semester. If my next calculus class uses the same book it would actually end up being more expensive.
Student-to-Student Purchases
Keep and eye on any message boards on your campus, and your local craig's list page. You may be able to pick up your textbook directly from another student. This benefits both you and the other students because you get the book for cheap and they get more money than they would from the bookstore buyback.
Old Editions
Your instructor may allow you to get an old edition of the book. If so, this is a way to save a LOT of money. I've found the previous editions of books on Amazon Market Place for under $5, including shipping. The challenge here is that you don't know if this is acceptable until you can talk to your instructor, and if you wait until class starts you will risk getting behind because it can take a couple of weeks to get books delivered. Sometimes I check the Market Place for old editions and if I find one that is cheap enough, I figure it is worth the risk to get it.
If you want to streamline your textbook search, try a site like cheapesttextbooks.com. Their search engine allows you to check the prices from several sellers at once.