We are proud to announce that as of early this week we have added CourseSmart as one of the sites that we are comparing in order to get you the lowest prices on books.  CourseSmart is a leading provider of E-books, and allows users to purchase many popular textbooks in e-book format and download them instantly.

One of the benefits that the Web has brought, in regards to books, is the ease of propagation of E-books.  E-books are, as the name suggests a virtual, digitized representation of a physical book.  This format enables individuals to read the book on a PC or laptop, and often allows users to access the books online with a username and password.

These books are typically offered at a great discount because of the reduced costs of production.  Additionally these books are safer for the environment as no printing or shipping is needed, and they can be distributed digitally.

In the words of the immortal bard, “To be, or not to be: that is the question…”  OK, well perhaps the question we are dealing with is not as life and death as that penned by the sage himself, but it is still vital nonetheless, and it is one that I will attempt to shed light on here.

Most of us have been in a situation where, after spending a ton of money (often borrowed money) on textbooks we have come to class and learned that either these textbooks were optional, that no one else had simply bothered to buy the books or had got them from a library. Unfortunately it is impossible to prevent every occurrence of this situation, and no matter how hard you try to avoid being played for a chump, any diligent student will at one point find themselves having overpaid for textbooks or paid for “useless” ones.  But there are a few steps you can take to prevent such occurences, and I will cover these here.

First of all I want to say that there are many classes where buying the textbook is unavoidable, this rings particularly true for all math, science, engineering, law, medicine, computer science and other technical courses.  These courses will typically have a single textbook (a very expensive one at that) but one that you’ll have to either purchase, or share with a friend.  For such courses professors often give out assignments taken directly from the book, and it is helpful to have the book on hand to answer such problems.  Additionally, for such classes you are expected to read the entire book, and avoidance is difficult if you expect good grades.

An important trick to note is that most university libraries keep the majority of required textbooks on reserve, this means that as long as you are willing to do all of your studying at the library, and no one has beaten you to the textbook, you can have as much access to the required textbook as you wish (but you cannot take it out of the library)  Additionally, each department often keeps a collection of textbooks that are either currently being used as required reading, or that have at some point in the past been used as required reading, so I would advice you to consult a secretary at your department to see if they have a book, and if you can borrow it.

Now, as promised, here are a few ways to avoid buying textbooks altogether. If you are taking an English or Literature course, there will be a number of assigned books, these books are typically not too expensive, but they are a good place to save a few bucks, as they are normally available at the library. Many professors (for a number of different courses) like to assign novels as required reading, these you can get for free at a few places:

1. The library (local, college or otherwise).
2. The Web.  If you search for, “book name + full text version” you will discover that many classics are available for free online in full.  You can then either read the book on your computer, or print it in a computer lab, avoiding having to buy the book altogether.  This applies not only to the majority of classic texts, but also to many introductory level liberal arts textbooks. Be sure to check the legality of the version you find online, though. Reading illegally scanned or otherwise digitized books is bad not only for you but for everyone. The more people pirate books, the less books will be published and the pricier they will get. So check your sources!

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times; but even during the best of times college is extremely expensive. The typical student has to pay for tuition, for example 15+ course credits a semester, often at $600 a credit, room, board, plus having a life, other expenses, textbooks, etc. Most of these expenses are paid for by loans, which are not only ever increasingly difficult to obtain, but which accrue interest, and will one day have to be repaid.

Unfortunately, as much as I wish to provide brilliant advice on surviving college during a down economy there is no magic to this. I can only give a few tips:

• Pay attention to what you spend, and try to buy things on sale when possible (again, there is no shame in bargain hunting).
• Do not buy things you do not really need. Do you really need that new pair of jeans? Do you really need that flashy new cellphone? Go with your actual needs, not your desires.
• Compare prices on everything even a little pricey. There are many price comparison engines on the Web and they can help you find the best price on almost everything that is available.
• Cut back some spending where you can. I agree, it sucks. I agree, you are young and you want to live the life while you can, but the truth is, if you contract too many debts now, the rest of your life will be spent repaying them with nothing for yourself.

The place where it may be easiest to save is on books. Typically in a recession economy the number of used books on the market increases, people look around their homes for old books, and try to sell them for extra cash. As mentioned earlier (also here), this is great for buyers. Additionally this is a time when many publishers start to cut prices. Since fewer students are now able to afford that $250 chemistry book, for example, the publishers get stuck with a larger inventory, which means a good incentive to lower prices. All of this means lower prices for those out there willing to do the legwork. Of course those among you who still buy all of your books at your local bookstore without searching will pay outrageous prices, but those willing to look around will get some great deals.

There are perhaps very few positive things about a recession, people lose jobs, and life is more difficult in general.  The one positive thing is that during a recession the “used” market tends to expand as people are looking to save money.  This is especially a truism when it comes to textbooks.  Although I am sure that the prices of new textbooks will continue to increase (though perhaps not as much), there will be, and already is, an increase in the amount of quality used books/textbooks on the market.  As people look for ways to cut back and save money, they also look for things that they can sell to make a little extra money, and books are a quick and easy thing to sell.  This trend of increased used books creates downward pressure on the overall prices of books, causing average prices of used books to drop significantly, which is, again, fantastic for those shopping for that used textbooks.

My single word of advice, relevant in the current market more than ever, is to shop around, and compare prices. Bargain shopping does not make you cheap, it makes you smart; going to your college bookstore and paying full price, when you can get the same book online cheaper makes you stupid. It pains me to say this as I can recall times when I purchased my textbooks in the school bookstore.  But those were different times, and at the time I wasn’t very savvy. Do not make the same mistakes I did! Buy online or buy local, but buy at the lowest possible price.

Well, it’s not official yet, but the US economy (and probably the world economy at large) is headed for a recession. It is said that during a recession discretionary spending declines and I agree with this, but for me books have never fallen into the category of discretionary spending.  Reading, and owning books is an important part of life, especially if you are a student, and I’d like to take this time to share with you some thoughts on why a recession might be the best moment to get the best deals on books.

My website was created primarily to help college students save money on textbooks, but the site allows users to compare any book, as long as you are able to provide something from this list: keyword, author, or an ISBN.  And although it is always important to shop around, compare prices, and look for the best deal, this is especially important with the economy we have today because you are bound to find much, much better deals.  As people look for extra cash they often try to sell whatever they can, books, cd’s, etc. This tends to depress the costs of these items as there are more of them to go around, and those who are more eager to sell will offer a lower price, thus the equation is simple, “more books on the market + desire to sell=cheaper prices, and great deals”. Also, since our service will always be free for end-users, you never have to pay a cent in order to get the best price on books, in three mouse clicks.