The 6 Best Sites For Scoring Cheap Textbooks
College is definitely not a cheap feat. Even if mom and dad are nice enough to help you out during your extended education, bills tend to rack up pretty quickly. From dorm décor to groceries to supplies and semester bills, most of us end up graduating with a pretty hefty debt on our shoulders. Textbooks can be very expensive, especially brand new. So to help you out, we listed the top 6 websites where you can find all the cheap textbooks-new, used, for rent-that you need.
1. Amazon
Amazon is one of those incredible sites where we literally have access to anything and everything we could possibly need for a fraction of the retail price. College textbooks can be found anywhere, but beware of sites that try to get you to buy brand new copies where they jack the price up, convincing you that “newer is better if you want an A”. We’ll be straightforward with you if you don’t already know… No matter what kind of condition your textbook is in, as long as it’s legible and you do the work, you can still get an A if it’s not brand new. We recommend Amazon first, especially if you already have an account with them. You can always check out as a guest, but they usually have even better prices for online members. Go take a look!
2. Chegg
Chegg is one of our personal favorite sites to find cheap textbooks on. Being a current college student myself, I use Chegg all the time! They offer new, used, rentals, and online format textbooks to serve the needs of any type of student. Chegg also offers many other services aside from cheap textbooks such as tutoring online, pre-prepped study questions based on different subjects (solved and unsolved), tips to help boost your grades, etc. It is definitely the perfect site for the hard-working college student trying to make ends meet and keep that GPA up at the same time. We know it’s not easy, but you can do it!
3. BIGWORDS
Unlike the two sites listed above, BIGWORDS is a comparison site to help you find cheap textbooks. It is a massive search engine for all kinds of students to use where they can search an ISBN, author, and/or title and see which sites have the most affordable options for you. Some great qualities about this site are that they guarantee you can find your textbook for up to 90% cheaper than the average retail price. That’s insane! Also, for those who choose to sell their textbooks once they are completely done with them, BIGWORDS can help with that, too! The site facilitates all sales to and from the student so minimal effort is required, which every college student likes to hear.
4. AbeBooks
AbeBooks stands apart from most sites that offer cheap textbooks because of its incredibly vast selection. Sure, there are hundreds, probably even thousands, of sites that claim they can get whatever book you need at a “guaranteed low price,” but there is always that one random class you have to take to graduate with the weirdest supply requirements and a textbook you cannot find anywhere. We’ve been there. That’s when you can turn to AbeBooks without hesitation. Established in 1997, it is high up on our ‘most reliable’ list and also offers buy-back services and free shipping to any country! Score!
5. Half.com
If you are surprised that we have yet to mention eBay, here it is. Half.com is an eBay platform site that specializes in music, movies, games, and of course cheap textbooks. We hesitated to mention eBay in general because it is such an enormous retail site. Of course Amazon is too, but eBay has been around just a bit longer and is a little less… organized for lack of a better word. Regardless, this site has a great selection of new and used textbooks for you to browse. Plus, you can set up your own wishlist of cheap textbooks and perhaps e-mail it to mom and dad, hint hint….
6. DealOz
DealOz does not sell cheap textbooks directly online. This site is a lot like BigWords. It’s a massive search engine that can help you locate just what you need, but on multiple sites so that comparing prices is super easy. Just because it’s on the lower end of our list, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out. These guys claim you can find one of your books for up to 97% average retail price. We don’t know about you, but we think that’s definitely worth a few minutes of our time!
