I think most international students are already known that textbooks and books are expensive in the United States. It is because that the United States pays much attention to intellectual property protection. So copyright-related things are expensive, no matter it is books, music, or software. Besides, there are four major publishing groups in the United States monopoliza more than 80% of the book market, it is no doubt that the price is not so cheap.
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◆ How to buy cheap textbook in the United States?
－Borrow books from library
－Buy second-hand books from seniors
－Find cheap books online: Amazon、Alibris、Abebooks、Bigwords、Betterworldbooks、Chegg
How to buy cheap textbook in the United States?
Although books are expensive, there are still some small tips that can save money for books and let you eat another good meal! In fact, there resources are readily available. You can borrow books from library, buy second-hand books from seniors, or buy on the websites, such as Amazon, Alibris, Bigwords.com, and so on, to get textbooks and reading materials at cheap or even free prices.
Borrow books from library
There are many collections in both university libraries and public libraries. Also, you can find textbooks, extracurricular reading materials in the collections. Books in the library are free, but if you can borrow what you need that is a good question. However, there are a few precautions for borrowing books from library. Remeber to renew and return them on the due date, and try to keep the books as they are, so as not to be fined for damage to the books.
Buy second-hand books from seniors
In fact, even if many books are revised and republished, the content may not be revised too much. If the professor doesn’t mind or keeps using the old version textbooks, then you can save a lot of money by buying second-hand textbooks from seniors. If the professor uses the new version of the book, then just borrow it from the students who have the new book to confirm whether the revised version is some new case or exercise. If so, just print the updated part to renew it.
Cheap book websites
Amazon.com
Amazon, a familiar website! All kinds of books on Amazon are quite complete, whether it is new textbooks, second-hand books, extracurricular readings, novels, comics, and options for buying and renting books, some books are also available in Kindle versions. On Amazon, you can choose to buy new books, second-hand books, or rent books at a lower price.
In addition, students can apply for Amazon Prime Student by using the email ending in “.edu”. You can use enjoy a 6-month free student membership trial period and free fast delivery service, which is very convenient for students who urgently need new books. In addition, regardless of whether you have Prime membership or not, as long as you sell the book back to Amazon, you do not need to pay extra postage!
👩🏻💻 How to apply Amazon Prime Student？
🔎 Find Books on Amazon！
Alibris.com
Alibris not only has business cooperation with hundreds of independent book sales companies in the United States and the world. You can use Alibris to find the good price of new books and used books. If the price difference is not big, I will choose to buy a new book. In addition, if you want to save shipping fee, you can find books in the bookstore near your home on Alibris, and pick up the books you bought directly at the local bookstore.
AbeBooks.com
AbeBooks.com is similar to flea market, but you need to spend a little to find books at a cheap price. It is basically not difficult to find new or second-hand books at a cheaper price than Amazon. AbeBooks.com also has a buyback service. As long as you print a prepaid mailing label online, you can sell the book back to AbeBooks and get cash back.
Bigwords.com
Bigwords is my favoirte one between these websites. As long as enter the books you want to buy, Bigwords will directly find the lowest price to buy or rent the books. The price includes the shipping fee. You do not have to calculate this hidden cost by yourself. The search results can filter various options such as e-books, rental books, new books, and second-hand books, and so on. You can even see the purchase prices of buyback second-hand books on some other websites.
BetterWorldBooks.com
Free shipping for all books purchased on BetterWorldBooks.com. There are also new and second-hand books on this website, and many books also have discounts. Maybe you can unexpectedly get a lot of discounts and save more money on the way to search.
🔎 Find books on BetterWorldBooks.com！
Extra: Chegg.com
Originally said that I only shared 5 book-buying websites, but I think Chegg.com is also useful to you. So I decided to add it temporarily! However, Chegg.com is more dedicated to textbooks. You can not only buy books but also rent books on Chegg.com. Buying exceed USD$35, you will get free shipping service. You also can sell books on Chegg after you finish reading.
Another thing I think Chegg is good that is because it has a Chegg Study. Sometimes the questions given by the professor are too difficult, then you can find reference answers on it. After understanding, use your own logic and language to organize the answer. In addition, Chegg Study also provides 24/7 online tutors. In case you can not find the similar question on Chegg Study, you can just ask the real tutors to help you solve the questions.Buy second-hand books from seniors
My Saving Money Book SOP
- Most professors will provide Syllabus before the class 1 or 2 weeks. After reading Syllabus, they can go to the library to borrow books or ask the senior if they have books.
- Since it is a book that is needed during class, people with Amazon Prime will be advised to give priority to Amazon, so that it will not to be too late to get the reference book before class.
- Use the Bigwords search tool to find the “lowest price” book buying site.
- If you want to sell the book again, remember to keep the reference book properly, and sell it back to the book website to get cash or gift card feedback after you use it up.
- Rent books with higher price is a smart way.
I hope above information can not only help me to save money on buying textbooks, buy also you can!
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