If you’re going to college or you’re in college, buying books is one thing you will hear students conplain about. You, yourself, may have complained too at one point or another. Here are 5 ways you can save money on books.

Rent Your Textbooks:

There are a lot of different textbook rental options online. Your school bookstore might even have this option available. Renting a book is typically cheaper than buying the book. Plus you won’t have to figure out a way to get rid of it later especially if it’s a book you know you’re not going to look at again.

Borrow books from the library:

Yes, yes, yes. You can borrow certain books from the library. This is a great option if you’re only going to be using a particular book for 2-3 weeks out of the semester. It’s free to borrow the book, you have it for class, then you return it after you’re done with it. This option has saved me a lot of money.

Borrow books from your friends:

Do you have a friend who took that class already? Ask if you can borrow their book. Or maybe there’s a book that your friend owns just because—ask if you can borrow it for class. I’m a bookworm so I keep and buy a ton of books. I’ve borrowed out my books to a handful of people throughout my college career.

Purchase books from other students:

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A lot of times students will resell their books to other students at a much cheaper price than the bookstore itself. Students often sell through word of mouth, consignment through the school bookstore, or online. Most schools have an option where students can post up books or tickets (school-related things) they’re selling too.

Buy books second-hand:

There are a lot of online book selling platforms you can buy second-hand. This is a great option and will save you a ton of money. Most books, in my experience, are still in good condition with minimal marks. A lot of times, big book retailers like Barnes and Nobles also have second-hand books available in-store.

Buy the E-book:

If you know you’re going to be keeping the book, you can opt for the ebook version. Usually the ebook is cheaper than the physical book. I’d recommend this option for non-textbook books like novels or memoirs.

And those are my 5 tips on how to save money on college books. I would say I kept about 75% of the books I’ve purchased throughout my college career. I took a lot of writing and literature courses which had me buying a ton of books—not textbooks, but books I can reread throughout the years so I kept them. A lot of the books I didn’t keep, I sold them to other students or back to the school store.

I hope this helps! What other ways have you used to save money on books? Share with us below!

~ Sincerely, Mainou

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How to Save Money on College Books | Saving Money on Books in College