Students have taken on this issue and found ways that don't subtract too much from their wallets. But, it's gotten more complicated. There are lots of ways to get a "book."
In one sense, it also has gotten easier, because a new federal law, that took effect last summer, requires colleges and universities to post information about textbooks (which makes it easier to shop around) and to let professors, who decide which books to use, know what the books cost.
For students, the best way to get started on the book hunt is to always know exactly what book you're looking for. Sounds simple, but with updates and versions for international markets, this is not as easy as it seems.
Many students skip the bookstore entirely and buy books online for other sellers and re-sellers, but that's not always where you'll find the best deals. College bookstores are in the game, too, with plenty of web sites.
Check, too, to see if your school or state school systems offers free downloadable versions of any required books.
And then there are textbook rentals. A popular site for this is Chegg.com. CourseSmart.com sells subscriptions to digital copies of textbooks. TextbookMedia.com allows textbook downloads (some are free, with advertisements inserted, or you can decide to pay for other versions).
A recently launched website based in Jupiter, TextbookRentals.com, allows you to check one option against another.
TextbookRentals.com, offers a way to comparison shop , with a breakdown of rental costs across stores and a comparison to new and used prices for the book. The site's founder David Batchelor says rentals may not always be the best deal.
Here's another new option: Amazon's Kindle claims there are 200,000 electronic textbooks available on its reading device.
It's really up to you to decide which of these many options is the best fit.
If you'd like to know about the new law requiring schools to post textbook info, you can read a story about it at collegiatetimes.com.
And here are some other sites where you can continue the hunt:
TextbookX.com
TextbooksRus.com
Ecampus.com
Buy.com
Amazon.com
BarnesandNoble.com
BestBookBuys.com
In one sense, it also has gotten easier, because a new federal law, that took effect last summer, requires colleges and universities to post information about textbooks (which makes it easier to shop around) and to let professors, who decide which books to use, know what the books cost.
For students, the best way to get started on the book hunt is to always know exactly what book you're looking for. Sounds simple, but with updates and versions for international markets, this is not as easy as it seems.
Many students skip the bookstore entirely and buy books online for other sellers and re-sellers, but that's not always where you'll find the best deals. College bookstores are in the game, too, with plenty of web sites.
Check, too, to see if your school or state school systems offers free downloadable versions of any required books.
And then there are textbook rentals. A popular site for this is Chegg.com. CourseSmart.com sells subscriptions to digital copies of textbooks. TextbookMedia.com allows textbook downloads (some are free, with advertisements inserted, or you can decide to pay for other versions).
A recently launched website based in Jupiter, TextbookRentals.com, allows you to check one option against another.
TextbookRentals.com, offers a way to comparison shop , with a breakdown of rental costs across stores and a comparison to new and used prices for the book. The site's founder David Batchelor says rentals may not always be the best deal.
Here's another new option: Amazon's Kindle claims there are 200,000 electronic textbooks available on its reading device.
It's really up to you to decide which of these many options is the best fit.
If you'd like to know about the new law requiring schools to post textbook info, you can read a story about it at collegiatetimes.com.
And here are some other sites where you can continue the hunt:
TextbookX.com
TextbooksRus.com
Ecampus.com
Buy.com
Amazon.com
BarnesandNoble.com
BestBookBuys.com
