Subscribe Feed (RSS)The following is one in a series of articles for students heading off to college. To help make your transition to school a smooth one, why not download your free copy of our College Moving Checklist today?
Anyone who has followed me on this blog since we got started in late 2007, knows that I don’t like college bookstores. Textbooks are overpriced, most of the supplies are too expensive, and bookstores are run by vendors which means the bulk of the profits go to a company, not the college. I’m not against businesses making a profit but college is already too expensive — so who needs to pay more than one thousand dollars per academic year for textbooks, supplies and other stuff when you don’t have to?
Save Money On Back To School Stuff
That one thousand dollar figure isn’t something that I came up with, rather it is based on the $900 that U.S. PIRG determined that students spend on textbooks alone. Add in supplies and some other stuff and that four-figure amount is quickly reached.
So how can you save on books and supplies this academic year? There are a number of different ways including the following ideas:
Shop Back To School Sales – Back to school sales are now going on with some states still offering “tax free weekends” which means that you can avoid paying state sales tax on most of your related purchases. Depending on your state those items can include standard supplies such as paper, pens, notebooks and pencils as well as on laptop computers, desks, chairs, and related furniture.
Rent Your Textbooks – A number of companies will now rent textbooks to you for the semester and at rates far below the cost of buying your books. Even if you’re able to find a buyer for your textbook after the semester is over, chances are you’ll only get a fraction of the $100 or more you paid for that biology book. Google the following companies – Chegg.com, CollegeBookRenter.com and CampusBookRentals.com – to see what each text book rental company has to offer.
Shop The Thrift Stores – Buying used is in, especially if it saves you a bundle on stuff you don’t need new. Your local thrift store may have that bookcase you want, a bed frame you need or even an umbrella to take to school with you. Consignment shops, remainder stores and consolidators are other good places to shop to help you find everything you need at a price that you can afford. Hey, we’re in a recession – think cheap!
Don’t Buy It! – When I was in college, one of the students in my Foundations of Business Marketing class decided not to buy her textbook, rather she found a copy of the book at her town library. Turns out the book wasn’t the latest edition, but the professor didn’t seem to mind. I’ve discovered that the books featured on the professor’s list aren’t always required, so wait until class begins to find out what you need for the semester. Consider also buying a book with your roommate, splitting the cost of the purchase.
So what if you decide to shop the college bookstore? Well, caveat emptor for you. If price isn’t a problem for you, then go for it. Far be it that I have a hand in closing down a money making enterprise!
Update: YouTube AP video added later to back my assertion about textbook price while naming the three main companies who rent textbooks.
Adv. — Do you need financial aid for this semester? Have you exhausted all other options? If you answered yes to both questions, then visit your Sallie Mae lender for more information or call them directly at 866-530-9523.
Tags: back to school, college bookstores, rent textbooks, school supplies, textbooks
Matt,
Since you are giving bad and inaccurate information and advice, you might as well adequately identify who you are and who you are working for so students know what this post is really about.
First, off this “blog” is actually a part of a Richmond Virginia based for-profit company called nbuy Associates that promotes online sellers and have affiliate relations with them (get click through money) as well as questionable banks who do private lending to college students. Try clicking on the link in the top left and then some of the links and you will be bombarded by windows that don’t let you leave the sites. Hardly an unbiased and reliable source of information.
Second, Matt is paid to write blog articles like this one:
http://www.matthewkeegan.com/2008/01/01/about/
Matthew C Keegan, LLC is the legal name for Matt Keegan’s business.
Established on November 12, 2002 in Delaware and ten days later in New Jersey, Matthew C Keegan, LLC is now a North Carolina business.
The primary functions of this business centers on writing and marketing. Specifically, Matt offers the following services to his customers:
Press release writing and distribution
Article writing
Magazine and newspaper writing
Web content writing and copywriting
Weblog development, writing and management
Internet marketing, promotion, and search engine optimization
Offline marketing
Matt contracts for short and long term assignments and is available on-site for special projects.
For more information, please visit Matt’s services page and visit his portfolio for samples of some of his work.
Scott, thank you for taking the time to reply. However, your comment isn’t entirely accurate.
First of all, I am one of two bloggers for this website which is owned by the company you mentioned. We’ve fully disclosed this fact and aren’t afraid to look at both sides of an issue.
Second of all, you haven’t said who you represent. Are you with one of the unnamed bookstore chains I referenced? Not one of the textbook rental companies I mentioned is an affiliate for nBuy Associates. As you can see, there are no links offered to their sites. But, as U.S. PIRG noted, textbooks are terribly expensive, a cost that is difficult for students to manage. As part of our “off to college” series, we’re sharing information that may be of interest to our students.
Finally, advertising is part of the web experience, but nobody is forcing you to visit the links, some of which are affiliates as you have said. I’m thinking that your motives for replying could be in defense of college bookstores, but I don’t know why you aren’t disclosing this information yourself — inquiring minds would like to know!
The comments back and forth is better than the article. keep it going. My name is Jeff. I represent Jeff. While I work for a company my comments are my own personal opinion.
Thanks, Jeff. At least you are disclosing what Scott refuses to say.
Since publishing the article I have done some research and believe that Scott represents a certain association of college bookstores. That’s fine, but why doesn’t he mention this. Or, if not, what’s the point of his rebuttal?
I agree that avoiding the college bookstore is a good thing to do for your wallet’s sake. I always use http://www.bigwords.com They are a textbook search engine that searches all the online textbook retailers and rental sites to find you the best prices. You can even use them at the end of the semester also to search for resellers to sell your book to.
Scott, that site is new to me. Thank you for sharing it. I think the days of the college bookstore are numbered, at least for the selling of textbooks. Most will make for nice cafes so the room certainly won’t be wasted.
[...] See Also — Off to College: Avoid the College Bookstore! [...]
Check out this site http://www.bookase.com, A price comparison search engine for books and textbooks. It searches for the lowest prices among the major online stores worldwide and also offers discount coupons. You can also choose among various shipping options to calculate the lowest price
Thanks, Amit. It looks like a useful tool for college students. I appreciate your sharing this site with our readers.