(Disclosure: Some of the links present in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you click through the link and purchase a product, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
Having to buy overpriced textbooks every semester is akin to extortion. However, there are plenty of places to buy textbooks online that are so much cheaper than the university bookstore. Click below to find out the best places to buy textbooks online!
(Disclosure: Some of the links present in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you click through the link and purchase a product, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
The beginning of the semester means a lot of things. New classes, new apartment, new friends, and new experiences.
One thing that doesn’t change, though, is the textbooks.
Scrambling through the bookstore (or the bookstore’s website) to find your books before they run out, only to see that you’re being charged an exorbitant amount for a book that will have a brand new edition within a year.
The total on the register (or laptop screen) makes you cringe.
Sound familiar?
Well guess what? You don’t have to pay an arm and a leg just to buy massive books that you’ll only read once! Check out the following if you want to know the best places to buy textbooks online.
1. Amazon
Amazon is probably the king of online stores. If you have a need for anything, Amazon has it. This includes cheap textbooks. Amazon is one of the best places to buy textbooks online.
Amazon’s massive selection of textbooks allows you to find new, used, and electronic textbooks at a fraction of the price that you’d find them for at the campus bookstore. In addition, you can rent them for less money if you don’t want to go through the trouble of reselling the books later.
Got Amazon Prime Student? Then you can get your textbooks shipped in 2 days for FREE!
Don’t have Amazon Prime Student? The first 6 MONTHS are absolutely FREE. In addition, there are plenty of other resources that Prime members have access to that are unrelated to academia.
So if you want to save the big bucks on any kind of school textbook (and other items), Amazon is your place to go.
2. Chegg
Let’s say you needed a book, but not for a long amount of time. So instead of buying, you decide to rent. Chegg is a great site for renting college textbooks. You can save up to 90% on textbook rentals if you order from Chegg.
If you decide that you need the book for a longer period of time, Chegg even allows you to easily purchase your rental.
Chegg even offers risk-free returns for up to 21 days, for those times that you decide to drop that advanced physics class and switch majors.
On top of all of the great textbook variety and prices, Chegg will give you a 4 week free trial of their Chegg Study (normally only $15.95/month). I can’t tell you HOW MANY TIMES their Chegg Study service saved me when doing complex accounting problems.
You can sell books on Chegg as well once the semester ends to recoup some of your hard-earned cash.
So if you want to rent with the flexibility of being able to buy, along with homework solutions and help, check out Chegg.com.
3. TextbookRush
I’ve ordered some of my textbooks from TextbookRush, and for good reason. They are the largest independent online bookstore, and they’ve been around for almost two decades now. This has allowed them ample time to develop into one of the best places to buy textbooks online, as well as rent textbooks.
TextbookRush has quick delivery times, great for those classes you join on Friday of Syllabus Week. In addition, you need to spend a mere $35 in order to be granted free shipping. That means if you order at MOST two of your textbook from TextbookRush, shipping is FREE!
TextbookRush once again caters to you procrastinators out there with their return policy. If you put off dropping a class after attending for a few weeks, TextbookRush offers an enormous return window of 30 whole days!
I’ve personally used TextbookRush to sell back more books than I’ve bought or rented (read about the best places to SELL textbooks online), but TextbookRush remains a fantastic option for buying textbooks online for less than a small fortune.
4. Bookscouter
Bookscouter isn’t exactly a textbook site; rather, it aggregates many textbook sellers (many of them on this list) so you can compare offers between various sites. This removes the stress of trying to find the lowest price for your textbooks.
The one downside (and I hesitate to call it a downside) is that Bookscouter itself does not sell books; you have to decide which book vendor is best for you.
Bookscouter works even better if you want to sell books (once again, read this to find the best places to sell textbooks online) as you may buy a book for a low price on one site, but that site’s selling price may be lower than a different textbook site. For example, a book on Chegg may cost $50, but you find it for $40 on Amazon. However, maybe Chegg buys it back for $30, while Amazon buys it back for only $10.
Either way, Bookscouter is great if you don’t have time to browse around for the best deals on textbooks.
5. Barnes and Noble
As the last major brick and mortar book retailer, Barnes and Noble is a bit unique compared to the rest of the list. Their brick and mortar stores cater more to customers who want books to read for pleasure, but their online store sells textbooks.
Barnes and Noble’s offers free shipping on orders over $25, which essentially means you get automatic free shipping since no textbook is below $25. Like some of the other sites on here, you can rent and sell books.
Despite being a major book retailer, Barnes and Noble holds its own as one of the best places to buy textbooks online.
Buy Your Books From One of These Sites
There are so many different financial responsibilities you take on in college. Don’t let books be a major financial burden. Use these sites and you’re guaranteed to save boatloads of cash!
“When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.” -Desiderius Erasmus