By Charles Westmoreland
Christmas is over, but many students are still suffering from the extra expenses accumulated last month. With another semester to conquer and textbooks to purchase, financial freedom this month may look bleak. Luckily, purchasing textbooks online can help.
Textbook purchases for a single semester can cost more than $500. A single textbook can cost more than $150 new. Shopping around online can help students save as much as 50 percent of the cost of buying books at the three local bookstores. While this method is more convenient and cheaper than searching through bookstores for the best price, online vendors note that there are several precautions that should be followed.
• Professors will often choose a certain edition of a text. When shopping online for texts, only minimal information is provided about the books. To ensure the book you are buying is the correct one, compare ISBN numbers (the number can be found on the back cover or first page).
• Watch out for older or outdated editions. In some cases older editions can be used for class and are offered at a cheaper price, but check with the professor first.
• Depending on the site, shipping could take from 4-12 days. If time is of the essence, choose to have the books shipped priority mail. This method is more costly, but in most instances you will still save money in the end.
• Lastly, read the Web site’s return policy on new and used books. Most online sites will reimburse the full price minus shipping costs.
BUYER BEWARE: purchase books from reputable sites. Purchasing anything online is a gamble, but an auctioning site, such as http://www.eBay.com, is more unreliable than buying from an online merchant.
