Textbook Buying Tips for International Students
By Scholarship for USA on Nov 30, 2008 with Comments 1
So you’ve registered for classes and are ready to hit the books. Just one problem though. You don’t have any books because you couldn’t afford any. If you are like most American college students, you will be facing this scenario. You will have received an estimate of $300 – $400 for textbooks from your campus bookstore. Well, don’t pack your bags and get ready to board the next flight back home yet. With a little patience and luck, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to buy your textbooks for one fourth of the price at your bookstore.
Picture By: wohnai
Book Exchange
Most colleges arrange book exchange programs during the first week of every semester. Students take in their used textbooks from their previous semester, set a price and submit it to the book exchange for sale. These are bought by other students who require the books. Prices set by students are much lower than what the campus bookstore charges and you can usually get all your books from the book exchange. Be sure to visit multiple times if you are unable find the book you need because books are sporadically submitted for sale all throughout the program.
Online
Another good place to by your textbooks is online. There are multiple websites that sell textbooks. The original sellers are mostly students and the website acts as an intermediary. Half.com has by far been the best website that I have used to buy my textbooks. They have superior customer service and delivery has always been prompt. You should be aware though that books take at least 5 days to arrive in the mail and therefore you should order in plenty of time before classes start.
Bulletin boards
Check the bulletin boards at your department. Students often advertise there to sell their books.
Older Editions
Although not many people recommend this, I think buying older edition textbooks are a very good way to save money. American publishers come out with newer editions of textbooks almost every year without essentially changing much in the way of content. Believe it or not, I have bought older edition textbooks for pennies and saved myself a fortune. I have had not trouble following in class. The most that change is page numbers and the cover of the book. Be sure not to go more than one edition older than the current edition and you should be fine. Again, a very good place to buy older edition textbooks is online at www.half.com.
The prices at campus bookstores are exorbitant to say the least. Try and avoid the bookstore if you can. If you want a job there, that’s another story though. 
Filed Under: International Students
The best way to get a really good deal on a textbook from online is to go to ‘shop-search engines’ like ‘gettextbooks(dot)com’. They run a price comparison on the various sellers and I have always gotten super deals out of them. Better still, try renting your textbooks. That way, you don’t run into the hassle of selling it once you are done with it. ‘Chegg’ is an awesome book rental portal.