Broke College Kid

Textbooks are one of the biggest scams that college kids put up with these days.  Textbooks that cost $100 usually have less information than books from Barnes & Noble that sell for $30. Regardless, they are often nessecary for classes, and we have to buy them. If you are smart about it though, you’ll never have to pay full price for text-books again!

Buy/Sell Online

Sites like Half.com , uLoop, and the Facebook Marketplace are all good places to both buy and sell your books online, and they all have their pros and cons. Facebook is good if you have editions specific to your school, and you get to meet in person, which can prevent you from getting scammed. Sites like Half.com don’t require you to leave the house, and it gets you a wider audience.

Use Past Editions

As soon as a new edition of a book is printed, the past editions will usually sell for $5 or less, as most students consider them useless. In a lot of classes, the past editions contain most of the same information. History books are a great example, because it isn’t like history is changing every couple of years. If you are in doubt, ask your professor. They’ll usually be honest with you on this issue, as they understand how hard getting money for books is for some college students.

It’s Not Moral, But . . .

A lot of textbooks can be found in torrent form online.  This isn’t always the best option, and it can be a pain to do a lot of reading on a computer screen. On the plus side though, it is free.