College Textbooks

[Lilz]

Sometimes it is hard to be mustachian as a college student. But textbooks are still a place I see a lot of people overspend. Now my books for this semester were actually very cheap (also have a class that doesn't currently list a book), but I still saved 50+%

I just found out all the books I needed for the first semester so I thought I'd get a head start on ordering them. Slugbooks.com is my awesome helper. Seriously, use that if you have the need. It compares amazon, abebooks, and more. It also compare buying new, used, renting, and digital copies of books.

My notecard as pictures below shows my savings. The left column is what the bookstore prices were for new books/study guides. The right is what I paid (ended up Amazon had all the best deals). The two prices in parenthesis I didn't find online, it's a study guide and a workbook I believe. I'll continue looking and if worse comes to worse, fork over the also relatively cheap price on those to the bookstore.

[Fuyu]

Have you looked at bookbyte.com? I compared the prices slugbooks shows with bookbyte's for the textbooks I had to get this semester and bookbyte was a little bit cheaper. Also, if this is your first semester, did you know you could ask your professor if its okay to use one edition earlier than the one listed in your syllabus? If its 10th+ edition, generally, the publisher doesn't change the textbook information significantly.

[Kriegsspiel]

You can usually find textbooks at the library, I got by without buying any for a few classes in college.

[Russ]

You can usually find textbooks at the library, I got by without buying any for a few classes in college.

+1. I haven't bought books for a while, although I might go back and pick up the ones I think will be useful to have around once I'm out of school. Good job on the savings; that's a pretty good deal.

[Spork]

It's been a few years since college, but as I recall my methodology was:
1. parents paid for textbooks
2. I sold them at the end of the year
3. Drink beer

[mpbaker22]

My first semester textbooks were somewhere around $500.
My next 6 semesters average about $75, and I even had one that cost negative dollars.

Yep, that's right.  I bought a book for $8 on amzaon and sold it on ebay for $80 at the end of the semester.  That paid for my other books plus some.  Meanwhile, people would ask me why I didn't buy them at the bookstore to get a larger refund at the end of the year ... fools, I tell you!

[1e7ksi]

My plan is to not buy any physical textbooks anymore, if I can help it. 

Whenever the textbook isn't written by a professor at my University, my plan is to find a pdf of it from the internet, and use that. So far this has been extremely effective.  I invested in an Asus Transformer Prime tablet last summer (used off ebay), which has totally paid off. I keep all my notes and textbooks on it, meaning I won't misplace paper, and I will have it with me wherever I go.

If the textbook doesn't exist on the internet, I have (and will) either take pictures of the relevant pages with my tablet, or borrow the textbook.  The absolute worst that may happen is that I go half in on what a friend paid for it.

[Left]

buy international books (same thing as US books) online to save some money as well. Sometimes the page numbers are off, but the chapters/content is all the same. Page number is off because of a few empty pages sometimes or because so some informational things at the front.

I traded books with people that took the class the previous semester with one that I've taken already and they haven't

[Taffy]

Whenever the textbook isn't written by a professor at my University, my plan is to find a pdf of it from the internet, and use that.

You're not majoring in ethics, I take it?

[NellGwyn]

I've been using dealoz.com to find cheaper textbooks for several years now. It compares prices across hundreds of different sites -- similar to Slugbooks (which I've not heard of before), but at a glance it looks like Dealoz might cover more territory. You can also use it to comparison shop for other things like video games, movies, and music, but I've only ever used it for books and occasionally dvds.

I do like how Slugbooks lets you search by book, course, or school. Unfortunately, my school isn't in their system, but I might cross-check with their site next time I'm book-shopping just to see which site performs better.

Like eyem said, I've had good luck with international editions. Also, sometimes textbooks are available as paperback volumes vs one huge hardcover, so if you just need to take one semester of the class rather than all three (e.g. calculus or physics), you can just get the volume covering the chapters you need and save a bit that way.

[grantmeaname]

I love TextbookX for textbooks. Even better is to buy a book one edition older from an online store for $5-10, and then just use the library's copy for the updated (only slightly different) problems to turn in.

[grantmeaname]

Whenever the textbook isn't written by a professor at my University, my plan is to find a pdf of it from the internet, and use that. So far this has been extremely effective.  I invested in an Asus Transformer Prime tablet last summer (used off ebay), which has totally paid off. I keep all my notes and textbooks on it, meaning I won't misplace paper, and I will have it with me wherever I go.

And you're morally okay with stealing all of the textbooks you need for your degree? It's not like they're free by virtue of you owning a device that opens .pdfs!

[mpbaker22]

Whenever the textbook isn't written by a professor at my University, my plan is to find a pdf of it from the internet, and use that. So far this has been extremely effective.  I invested in an Asus Transformer Prime tablet last summer (used off ebay), which has totally paid off. I keep all my notes and textbooks on it, meaning I won't misplace paper, and I will have it with me wherever I go.

And you're morally okay with stealing all of the textbooks you need for your degree? It's not like they're free by virtue of you owning a device that opens .pdfs!

It is questionable, and this doesn't make it right, but textbooks are set up to make a few people wealthy at the expense of providing over-priced information to poor college students.

For example, Steven Zuhmdahl writes a new chemistry book every 2 years, like clockwork, for near $200.  He simply changes the order of questions so you have to get the new one if your professor has homework assignments based on book questions.  Meanwhile, he has a collection of classic cars worth in the millions.

I know this because he taught at my college and would drive them around campus as if to flaunt what he was doing to students.

[Rural]

Thanks for the slugbooks link. I'll definitely show that to my students. Looks like it isn't updated yet, but it does have my school. I've just been pointing students to half.com; it's amazing how many don't know they have options.

[grantmeaname]

It is questionable, and this doesn't make it right, but textbooks are set up to make a few people wealthy at the expense of providing over-priced information to poor college students.

So don't use the product, or get it from the library, or encourage your professor to use old editions, or share with a friend. "Over-priced" is hardly objective, too... I think the prices I pay for books are terrific!

[zinnie]

Whenever the textbook isn't written by a professor at my University, my plan is to find a pdf of it from the internet, and use that. So far this has been extremely effective.  I invested in an Asus Transformer Prime tablet last summer (used off ebay), which has totally paid off. I keep all my notes and textbooks on it, meaning I won't misplace paper, and I will have it with me wherever I go.

And you're morally okay with stealing all of the textbooks you need for your degree? It's not like they're free by virtue of you owning a device that opens .pdfs!

It is questionable, and this doesn't make it right, but textbooks are set up to make a few people wealthy at the expense of providing over-priced information to poor college students.

For example, Steven Zuhmdahl writes a new chemistry book every 2 years, like clockwork, for near $200.  He simply changes the order of questions so you have to get the new one if your professor has homework assignments based on book questions.  Meanwhile, he has a collection of classic cars worth in the millions.

I know this because he taught at my college and would drive them around campus as if to flaunt what he was doing to students.

As someone who has worked in textbook publishing my entire career, let me just say that the bolded above is NOT a good characterization of the issue. Publishers have had to release new editions every few years to even attempt to stay afloat because they lose over half of their sales to the used book market. The students who actually buy the full-priced book from the bookstore are essentially subsidizing everyone who is getting it used. It's an odd industry where publishers are marketing to the professors who assign the books, not the end consumer who actually has to pay the price. And as much as professors say they care about price, when cheaper versions of books are offered this doesn't impact their choices. Profs. lead students to the school bookstore, which is marked up beyond the publisher's invoice, because the bookstore profits go back into the school.

And as far as authors making all the money while the students starve: authors make 15% in royalties if they are very very lucky, which for the Zumdahls is quite profitable, but the majority of the authors work for years for a few thousand bucks.

The textbook model is broken, and about to change dramatically. Cengage Learning just declared bankruptcy. Person underwent a dramatic reorganization and reduction. Others need to be going digital in a way that doesn't just mean putting PDFs online or they will be doing the same very soon.

[mpbaker22]

As someone who has worked in textbook publishing my entire career, let me just say that the bolded above is NOT a good characterization of the issue. Publishers have had to release new editions every few years to even attempt to stay afloat because they lose over half of their sales to the used book market.
...
And as far as authors making all the money while the students starve: authors make 15% in royalties if they are very very lucky, which for the Zumdahls is quite profitable, but the majority of the authors work for years for a few thousand bucks.

The first paragraph is like a new car dealer complaining about those pesky used car salesmen, and I don't buy it.  It's a part of the industry, not a reason to make a new textbook every two years.

15% is still a lot for the bucks that don't get changed year after year.  Sure, a lot of classes do have change, but just about every 100 level class has the same textbook year after year with slight differences to the problem sections.

[Rural]

It is questionable, and this doesn't make it right, but textbooks are set up to make a few people wealthy at the expense of providing over-priced information to poor college students.

So don't use the product, or get it from the library, or encourage your professor to use old editions, or share with a friend. "Over-priced" is hardly objective, too... I think the prices I pay for books are terrific!

I agree with all but the bolded statement. Please don't encourage students to skip the textbook altogether (unless they've checked about how much it will be used with the instructor). I've had too many students fail a course for lack of study materials, and even at my cheap state school, the cost of repeating a course is many times the cost of the textbooks (which I tend to choose based on price as much as possible, anyway). There are too many good options for getting, sharing, or borrowing to risk paying double tuition and fees and still buying the book to ensure passing the class on the second go-round.

[grantmeaname]

I've had too many students fail a course for lack of study materials

I've only seen my peers fail from lack of opening study materials, not lack of buying them.

[Rural]

Oh, that happens, too, but it's a separate issue. :-)

[grantmeaname]

I guess for that point I was thinking more about secondary or tertiary books for courses. For the main textbooks, I'd lean towards any of the other options.

[Rural]

I guess for that point I was thinking more about secondary or tertiary books for courses. For the main textbooks, I'd lean towards any of the other options.

Fair enough. I avoid secondary and tertiary books in my courses whenever possible (which is usually easy unless no textbook exists in the first place), so I tend not to think about those. Also, our demographic is such that even one textbook can be a real stretch for many students - I do as much as I can and review the options every semester.

[Fuyu]

A little off topic... What makes borrowing textbooks from libraries acceptable, even encouraged behavior, but downloading pdf version of textbooks not okay? It seems like the end result to the publisher is the same. Only only one copy is purchased and many people have access to the information in that copy.

[grantmeaname]

A little off topic... What makes borrowing textbooks from libraries acceptable, even encouraged behavior, but downloading pdf version of textbooks not okay?

The law, for one.

It seems like the end result to the publisher is the same. Only only one copy is purchased and many people have access to the information in that copy.

Libraries purchase more of the things that are more highly used. If there's consistently a waitlist for a book at my library, they order another copy. (It helps the library, too, because they have an easier time making the case that they're an important resource for citizens/patrons.)

[zinnie]

As someone who has worked in textbook publishing my entire career, let me just say that the bolded above is NOT a good characterization of the issue. Publishers have had to release new editions every few years to even attempt to stay afloat because they lose over half of their sales to the used book market.
...
And as far as authors making all the money while the students starve: authors make 15% in royalties if they are very very lucky, which for the Zumdahls is quite profitable, but the majority of the authors work for years for a few thousand bucks.

The first paragraph is like a new car dealer complaining about those pesky used car salesmen, and I don't buy it.  It's a part of the industry, not a reason to make a new textbook every two years.

15% is still a lot for the bucks that don't get changed year after year.  Sure, a lot of classes do have change, but just about every 100 level class has the same textbook year after year with slight differences to the problem sections.

It must be worse in textbooks than other industries. They pretty much only get sales in the first year, then it's all used/ resale copies. 2-year revision cycles are ridiculous; I'm not arguing there. My old boss worked on philosophy and had to convince people to switch to the new edition of philosophy titles, much of which hasn't changed in thousands of years... But without strategies like that they would have been gone a long time ago. I get it; I was a student too. The highest price i ever saw when i was at cengage was $150 and i know it has gone up dramatically from there. But the characterization of prices being so high because publishers are just particularly money-grubbing is totally off. They wouldn't be in such dire financial straights if that was the case. Many have had losses for the better part of a decade...

I now work for a digital publisher selling textbooks in the under $40 range with a totally different business model. So it can be done...profs just need to be willing to change! And students need to push it. Most profs still think students will panic without a nice hard bound print copy, even though the students say the opposite...

/end soapbox

[Gerard]

I'm a textbook author and I'm not rich. Well, I am (compared to the past), but not from writing textbooks. In my discipline most new editions reflect seriously new thinking in the area. I would guess that there are some texts (especially intro texts in well-subscribed disciplines, especially in science) that change little from year to year and sell in sufficient numbers to make their authors wealthy, but if that's true of *most* of your texts and you're not in first year, then you're in a crappy university or programme.

[Rural]

I now work for a digital publisher selling textbooks in the under $40 range with a totally different business model. So it can be done...profs just need to be willing to change! And students need to push it. Most profs still think students will panic without a nice hard bound print copy, even though the students say the opposite...

/end soapbox

This is the future, eventually, but not all of the resistance is from the professors (a lot is, I know; I work with faculty!) However, my student evaluations suffer when I use digital-only textbooks - I get multiple complaints about wanting to have a book. Whenever possible, I give students the choice.

This fall, I have one of those no-textbook-exists courses, and many of my texts are free online (legal; they're public domain). We'll see how that goes. I expect some trouble.

Part of the shortcoming of digital textbooks is the assumption that all students have access to online resources or to a device to carry around .pdfs. That's often true in urban areas. Ours is increasing rapidly, but high-speed Internet is just not available everywhere, and 3G is not available in most of our area (forget 4G). Cost of a reader or laptop (or smartphone) is also a problem. It wouldn't be if all books were available digitally; then the initial outlay for the device would pay off over the course of a year, probably, and certainly it would be a money-saver over a college career. But when the courses where digital resources are available are few and far between, a device becomes a special purchase for one class, and that's prohibitively expensive.

[dweebyhawkeyes]

Part of the shortcoming of digital textbooks is the assumption that all students have access to online resources or to a device to carry around .pdfs. That's often true in urban areas. Ours is increasing rapidly, but high-speed Internet is just not available everywhere, and 3G is not available in most of our area (forget 4G). Cost of a reader or laptop (or smartphone) is also a problem. It wouldn't be if all books were available digitally; then the initial outlay for the device would pay off over the course of a year, probably, and certainly it would be a money-saver over a college career. But when the courses where digital resources are available are few and far between, a device becomes a special purchase for one class, and that's prohibitively expensive.

Seriously. I bought a nook during Black Friday last year specifically for textbooks, but found out that most textbooks are only offered for iPad. While I don't regret the nook one bit (no more library fines for pleasure reading, holler!), I've only found one textbook for it. The latest textbook I bought was $53 because my teacher was irresponsible and listed course materials two days before the first assignment. I bought the digital textbook from a site called Kno, which I absolutely hate because their web reader requires a flashy internet connection that neither I or the local library have. To read it offline, I'd have to either upgrade my beautifully-running Windows XP to at least Windows 7 or own an iPad. Since I bought a legal copy that I'm basically unable to use (stupid stupid stupid) would it be that unethical to download an illegal pdf somewhere?

If anyone has a somewhat cheap solution for this predicament, I would love to know. This situation just makes me sad.

[mpbaker22]

I'm a textbook author and I'm not rich. Well, I am (compared to the past), but not from writing textbooks. In my discipline most new editions reflect seriously new thinking in the area. I would guess that there are some texts (especially intro texts in well-subscribed disciplines, especially in science) that change little from year to year and sell in sufficient numbers to make their authors wealthy, but if that's true of *most* of your texts and you're not in first year, then you're in a crappy university or programme.

This is true - it's mostly the Phys 101, Chem 101, Psych 101, etc. 
Many of my 300+ level classes either had professor written notes or relatively cheap textbooks.  I studied math and economics, and at least on the math side, most the coursework isn't cutting edge, at least in the books.

[grantmeaname]

Since I bought a legal copy that I'm basically unable to use (stupid stupid stupid) would it be that unethical to download an illegal pdf somewhere?

It wouldn't keep me awake at night. I'm no luddite, but problems like this are why I avoid digital copies of textbooks like the plague.

[Spork]

To read it offline, I'd have to either upgrade my beautifully-running Windows XP to at least Windows 7 or own an iPad.

Off topic, but... you're gonna have to upgrade or replace that XP pretty soon, anyway.  Support ends April 2014.

[grantmeaname]

If anyone has a somewhat cheap solution for this predicament, I would love to know. This situation just makes me sad.

Buy Windows 7 through your school's IT department - it should be under $100 bucks, and it could be under $50 if you're lucky.

[Spork]

Since I bought a legal copy that I'm basically unable to use (stupid stupid stupid) would it be that unethical to download an illegal pdf somewhere?

It wouldn't keep me awake at night. I'm no luddite, but problems like this are why I avoid digital copies of textbooks like the plague.

I am the same.  Unless I can buy some simple DRM free legal copy: I'm out.   Same with music.  I'll buy an amazon mp3, but hell if I'm going to buy some complicated talk-to-a-license-server copy of anything.

[Joel]

Buy your textbooks at the end of the semester when everyone is selling, and sell your textbooks at the start of the semester when everyone is buying. Reuse your packing material. I made money on my textbooks this way.

[zinnie]

I now work for a digital publisher selling textbooks in the under $40 range with a totally different business model. So it can be done...profs just need to be willing to change! And students need to push it. Most profs still think students will panic without a nice hard bound print copy, even though the students say the opposite...

/end soapbox

This is the future, eventually, but not all of the resistance is from the professors (a lot is, I know; I work with faculty!) However, my student evaluations suffer when I use digital-only textbooks - I get multiple complaints about wanting to have a book. Whenever possible, I give students the choice.

This fall, I have one of those no-textbook-exists courses, and many of my texts are free online (legal; they're public domain). We'll see how that goes. I expect some trouble.

Part of the shortcoming of digital textbooks is the assumption that all students have access to online resources or to a device to carry around .pdfs. That's often true in urban areas. Ours is increasing rapidly, but high-speed Internet is just not available everywhere, and 3G is not available in most of our area (forget 4G). Cost of a reader or laptop (or smartphone) is also a problem. It wouldn't be if all books were available digitally; then the initial outlay for the device would pay off over the course of a year, probably, and certainly it would be a money-saver over a college career. But when the courses where digital resources are available are few and far between, a device becomes a special purchase for one class, and that's prohibitively expensive.

Way late response, but that is interesting to hear about the impact on your evaluations, thanks! The problem with a lot of digital is that they're so inflexible, right? (and they are still just PDFs). The reader only works on specific devices, you can only save a few times or on one device at a time, etc. I'm interested in cloud-based stuff where you can access from any computer or any phone/tablet, and you can print as much as you like. Even if you don't have internet access, or regular access to a computer, you just have to stop at the school computer lab to print chapters as you need them. Options for all.

[Rural]

I now work for a digital publisher selling textbooks in the under $40 range with a totally different business model. So it can be done...profs just need to be willing to change! And students need to push it. Most profs still think students will panic without a nice hard bound print copy, even though the students say the opposite...

/end soapbox

This is the future, eventually, but not all of the resistance is from the professors (a lot is, I know; I work with faculty!) However, my student evaluations suffer when I use digital-only textbooks - I get multiple complaints about wanting to have a book. Whenever possible, I give students the choice.

This fall, I have one of those no-textbook-exists courses, and many of my texts are free online (legal; they're public domain). We'll see how that goes. I expect some trouble.

Part of the shortcoming of digital textbooks is the assumption that all students have access to online resources or to a device to carry around .pdfs. That's often true in urban areas. Ours is increasing rapidly, but high-speed Internet is just not available everywhere, and 3G is not available in most of our area (forget 4G). Cost of a reader or laptop (or smartphone) is also a problem. It wouldn't be if all books were available digitally; then the initial outlay for the device would pay off over the course of a year, probably, and certainly it would be a money-saver over a college career. But when the courses where digital resources are available are few and far between, a device becomes a special purchase for one class, and that's prohibitively expensive.

Way late response, but that is interesting to hear about the impact on your evaluations, thanks! The problem with a lot of digital is that they're so inflexible, right? (and they are still just PDFs). The reader only works on specific devices, you can only save a few times or on one device at a time, etc. I'm interested in cloud-based stuff where you can access from any computer or any phone/tablet, and you can print as much as you like. Even if you don't have internet access, or regular access to a computer, you just have to stop at the school computer lab to print chapters as you need them. Options for all.

Actually, flexibility hasn't really entered into it. They don't have computers at home, or they don't like to read on a screen, or they don't like having to scroll through to find something they remember (that last mostly with one .pdf textbook). And then there's cost. Many of our students have figured out how to get used copies cheap, and they can't do that with digital, and they can't resell them when the term ends. Cost is going to have to be much lower than print, not just a little lower, I think.

Now, when I'm able to offer both, a choice of print or digital, everyone loves it. But students who are fine with digital textbooks don't think they're worth raving over in evaluations, and students who hate them do!

[PhoenixHeat]

It's been a few years since college, but as I recall my methodology was:
1. parents paid for textbooks
2. I sold them at the end of the year
3. Drink beer

First thought is many students may not have this priveledge.

[SimpleSpartan]

Thanks for the tip OP I'll have to give that a shot. So far I've just been renting off Amazon for >150 dollars a semester, we'll see if that website can cut that down next quarter and save me some bucks :)

[Car Jack]

Isn't it great when there's a required textbook for a course and by the end of the course, you realize that the professor hasn't used it, referenced it or assigned anything from it whatsoever?  Perfect condition for resale, but why the hell was it required in the first place if it's not going to be used?

[Pigeon]

I work in a college library.  We do not buy textbooks.  Occasionally, a faculty member will donate one to put on reserve or we'll get one donated by students, but we just don't have the budget to buy a copy of every textbook, only to have them be obsolete next year. 

Another huge problem with the textbook market is the emergence of textbooks with online access codes that expire in a year.  That's the textbook publishers' nefarious plot to gut the used textbook market and it makes me irate.  You can buy the code by itself, but it costs nearly the same as the new text that comes with the code.  They are easy for the faculty in that the assignments are simple to do and self-grading.  I don't know how any faculty can assign these things and still look at themselves in the mirror.

[MgoSam]

I work in a college library.  We do not buy textbooks.  Occasionally, a faculty member will donate one to put on reserve or we'll get one donated by students, but we just don't have the budget to buy a copy of every textbook, only to have them be obsolete next year. 

This cracks me up. So a college library doesn't see the need to buy the book every year yet students are expected to do so? I freaking hate the racket that college education has become. I had a professor tear into a student for complaining about textbooks cost because the student is spending a ton of money on his education already, I raised my hand and asked the professor, "Professor, if a textbook costs $100 and the student is earning $8/hour, how much time will it take him to earn the money for a textbook?" The professor looked at me with a shocked look on his face and then realized my point and was a lot nicer that day.

On a side note, for textbooks it may be worthwhile to try to find International Editions of it. I remember buying a few that were like $30 (as opposed to $100+) and were paperback, so easier to carry. I remember buying a few for math classes and then being able to sell them for a slight profit after the semester...in one case, the lady thanked me!

[Pigeon]

It's a university and our budget is for research materials, not for textbooks.

[clarkfan1979]

I teach college and use older editions on purpose, so students can buy it used. One textbook is currently $15 on Amazon and the other is $25 on Amazon. I tell them this on the first day of class.

The bookstore sells both used textbooks for around $60 and the new editions for $120. I would say about 90% of the students by the textbooks from the bookstore. I'm not sure why. They have a special sticker on the textbook if it comes from our bookstore.

Of the students that buy the textbooks from the bookstore, most of them do buy it used (75%). However, about 25% of them buy it new for $120. It baffles me.

[StudentEngineer]

I strongly second finding PDFs online.  I kid you not over the last year and a half I have saved $1,195 by finding the pdfs on the web.  This past semester alone I found a pdf for a book that would have cost $185 to buy. 

I'll also continue the rant against the ridiculous college textbook racket by the universities, professors and publishers.  While there are places where an updated version of a book is needed often, a lot of subjects don't change every year, and requiring the latest textbook is a sham to get students to fork up even more money than they already are to line the pockets of professors, universities and publishers.