Going to college isn’t cheap. If you are a college student and have to pay your own expenses, you’re already aware of how costly a good education is.
There are some things you can do, however, to cut down your initial expenses and even recoup some of your expenses. If you’re thinking of going to the campus bookstore on the first day of class to buy textbooks, it’s time to change your mentality.
Online bookstores are a great resource for textbooks, both when you are buying them and when you’re selling them.
Buy Books Online
You already know you can order used textbooks online at a greatly reduced price, but you might be worried you won’t get your books in time, or you won’t receive the correct edition.
There are two ways to handle this while saving yourself some money. First, make sure you get your books on time by checking the bookstore for books you need for classes well in advance of the first day of school.
Most professors and instructors have to submit their book orders well in advance of the first day of class, so you can probably find out what books are required a couple of weeks or more in advance of your first class. If your books aren’t on the shelf yet, ask someone who works there. It’s likely they’ll be able to tell you what’s on the list.
Second, get familiar with using the ISBN to search for a book. The ISBN is a unique number that will make sure you get not only the right title, but the right edition.
This way, you get your books on time and you don’t have to worry that you have bought the wrong edition.
Make Your Money Back
So you’ve been savvy enough to buy your books online before the semester started. Once the semester ends, it’s time to make that money back.
Campus bookstores often purchase used books from students, but they may not be paying as much as you could make if you were to sell your used textbooks online.
You can set your own price and make sure that you get as much money as possible for your used books. This might take a little extra time, but in the long run it will make you more money, meaning that you’ll start your next semester with extra funds. Use the campus bookstore resale price as a guide and start with that number when you list your used book online.
Even if you already use online bookstores for recreational reading, you might ignore them when it comes time to buy books for school. This is a mistake.
Even if your campus bookstore sells used copies of your textbooks, you might be losing money by buying your books there. Textbooks are very expensive and as more students turn to online bookstores instead of campus bookstores, you can take advantage of this by selling your books online.
How do you save money when buying textbooks for college?
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