Finding college books for your classes can be one of the biggest challenges you face when school starts. Everyone is buying the exact same set of books that you are. You may be asking “why not just buy them all as soon as you get the book list?”. For most it is best to wait until the first week of classes has gone by before purchasing books because although it is listed on the book list, some of your professors won’t actually use them or will use them very little to the point where going in half and half on a textbook with a friend would be better option. We have listed below some of the best sites to purchase from and cost friendly options.

• Campus bookstore
  • This will be your most readily available option when book shopping, especially if you’re in a time crunch. This is because it is a brick and mortar (meaning you don’t have to wait a few days for your package to arrive) you are able to walk right into the store and if they have the book that you need in stock, more than likely you are able to bring it home that day. Campuses like APSU have systems set up so that you can send your book list straight to the bookstore and have them  be available for pickup- you don’t even have to pick them out yourself! This option sounds great (which it is for some) but there is one major downside- for the luxury of having your books readily available is that typically the books that you get from your campus bookstore can be a bit more pricey than the other versions that you can find online. Your campus bookstore may even price match what you find online, so don’t be afraid to ask about price matching if you are shopping in-store! 
• Online shopping
  • Majority of shopping for school supplies can be done online and there is no exemption for that when it comes to college textbooks. There is a multitude of websites with varying prices and deals that you can shop from when looking into buying next semester’s textbooks.  Here is a quick link to the top 10 best sites to get your textbooks Books For Less  
  • Brand new
    • A lot of the options that you will find available for textbook purchasing is for brand new books. This typically comes about because professors are required to update their textbooks to certain editions every few semesters. You may get lucky being able to use an older edition but the chances are slim. 
  • Used
    • If you are lucky and your professor is not using the latest edition of the textbook you may be able to find it used for cheaper! If you are really trying to pinch some pennies this semester keep an eye out for paper back or partially damaged/ returned books. Although getting a damaged book can be risky the chances of you getting an unusable book is unlikely. What typically happens in the case of a returned/ damaged book is that the student realized that the book wasn’t needed for the class and went to return it to try and get back as much money as possible. So in that case buying a potentially damaged book doesn’t sound that bad, but not everybody is lucky so be sure to read up on the return policies yourself. 
• Of course, there is also the option of renting! This option may be available to you depending on your campus’ bookstore and their policies but you are almost guaranteed to find rental options online. When purchasing a rental textbook it is worthy to note that different companies have different policies on how their textbooks should be handled so be sure to read through them all! Also remember your return date! Sites that rent want their books back and if they’re not returned in time you could be stuck with a huge late fee. 

Getting your textbooks may sound like a daunting task but when boiled down it either comes up to a little in person or online shopping. If you are having trouble finding the textbook you need in your preferred price range don’t hesitate to reach out to your professor or campus facilities, they may know something that could help!