Buying at a bookstore tends to be the most expensive option. Although there are a variety of alternatives, some students still prefer the traditional way.
However, with the help of the Internet, students now have the option to rent or buy books online, and they can even purchase them in the form of e-books.
Should I rent?
Renting textbooks is a fairly recent trend among university students as a cheap alternative to purchasing books. Both the IU Bookstore and TIS offer this option, in addition to local retailer TXT Book Rental and websites like Chegg.com.
Pros Renting a textbook is cheaper than purchasing one, and you don’t have to keep a book that you don’t want. According to TIS, renting textbooks usually saves you 60 percent off the list price of the book.
Cons Rental books have to be kept in good condition, so you can’t write in them as much.
Should I buy online?
Buying online can also save money, especially with popular websites like www.amazon.com. They advertise big discounts on new and used textbooks, and they even offer free shipping for students.
Pros You can do it from the comfort of your own living room, and it might save you some money.
Cons If you order your books online, you have to wait for them to arrive.
Should I get e-books?
Once you’ve decided whether you want to buy online or rent, you can also choose whether you’d like traditional books or e-books, which can be read on a portable device, such as a Kindle or a NOOK.
However, most of the e-books are formatted to be read on a computer screen.
Pros Having an eTextbook on your computer saves some space and weight in your backpack.
Cons Looking at a computer all the time can be a bad habit, especially for your eyes.
How can you save money?
Go to class before you buy your books. You’ve heard this one before from your upperclassman friends and everyone else who has ever suffered through a lecture with an expensive, but thoroughly unopened, book.
“Everyone gets mad as sophomores because the books are seen as a bad investment,” TIS textbook manager Tim Lloyd said.
Don’t do that to yourself.
Besides trying to buy used and rent books, here are some other tips:
Split the cost. If you can, try to take those basic, big lecture classes with a friend or roommate so you can split the cost on those big-item books. And also to survive the boredom, of course.
Use the library. We have one of the most extensive library systems in the country — use it. Especially if you need fiction or nonfiction books for literature or other liberal arts classes.
Consider an older edition. A lot of students get slammed because the department recently adopted the newest edition and require all students to buy it.
A lot of times, especially with history and science books, the new editions have very minimal changes, so you can get away with an older one. Be careful with this one, though, and watch out for different page numbers or changes in homework problems.
*SOURCE: Inside magazine, the “Consumption” issue, spring 2014
