Another alternative to pricey textbooks: Buy overseas
Posted
Sep 18 2008, 03:10 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
We've covered some of the ways to avoid paying the top dollar that textbook publishers demand in the U.S. -- like buying used. But if you can't find the book you need at a lower cost here, "SavvyFrugality" has another suggestion: Buy the international edition.
Savvy says in a post at Savvy Frugality, "Believe it or not, students in foreign countries pay much less for textbooks than students here in the U.S." But you can find and buy those books online.
Savvy got the U.S. editions of three of the four textbooks he needed for $5 each at Half.ebay.com, saving $60 on each book. But he couldn't find the fourth book anywhere for less than $75 -- even used.
He searched for the book on the British version of Amazon and found it for the equivalent of $55, including shipping. (Make sure it has the same international standard book number or ISBN as the U.S. book.) Other sources are AbeBooks.com and TextbooksRus.com.
The international editions, Savvy says, are the same books except they are paperbacks and come with a different cover.
Of course, Savvy says, this begs the question, "Why must U.S. students pay such a higher price for textbooks?" That's a good one.
A typical U.S. college student spends almost $1,000 a year on textbooks. Reduce that by buying or borrowing used books from other students or ordering online at places like Half.ebay.com, Campus Book Swap or Craigslist. You can swap textbooks for free at Textbook Revolt (formerly Socialbib.) You can also rent textbooks at Chegg.com. Check for electronic editions at sites like Freeload Press.
