Purchase only what you need. Not every book listed on a syllabus needs to be purchased. Before you start shopping, determine which titles you’ll truly want and need.
Check free sources. Use titles and ISBN numbers to hunt online for the books you need. Some university websites offer free digital editions of texts needed for introductory courses, as does OpenStaxCollege.org. Boundless.com creates alternatives to popular books using open-source content.
Comparison-shop. CampusBooks.com, DealOz.com, and Bigwords.com scour the Web for the best deals on each title and display the options. Half.com often offers the best prices on used books, and Chegg.com is “usually your best bet” for rentals.
Consider e-texts. Inkling, a free iPad app, offers e-book versions of popular textbooks for as little as 99 cents a chapter.
Source: Kiplinger.com
