Back to school shopping!

Well, I guess it's that time of year again..

BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING! Every student from grades K-12 to undergraduate and masters must go through some sort of this process before taking their first class in August/September. There's writing utensils, organizing tools, craft supplies for some students, and then furniture and storage for the college-bound. But even more important for the latter is BOOKS.

Now everyone knows that the price of books has gotten to be.. ridiculous, for lack of a better term. I mean $200 for a Calculus I book that the teacher doesn't even read out of? Not cool. I'm not saying that books are a waste of money, because that is definitely not true. Often times, professors require these books for students as useful tools in addition to the information taught in class. I've found that they're especially helpful in my Chemistry and Physics classes, just because the information is explained in a different way and example problems are spelled out for you.

But when these classes are over in four months what do you do with these books that were only partially used? This is why college students have created the Used Book System within their university book stores as well as online markets. I've been able to save a couple hundred dollars each semester by purchasing or renting my books online or even borrowing them through friends that I know have taken one of my classes previously. (I really lucked out last semester: I was able to borrow four books and lend out three so I payed a total of $0 for a whole semester of classes!)

Here are some of the websites I use when I buy my books:

• www.amazon.com - they also offer a trial version of Amazon Prime to students so they can receive free shipping on books for an entire year!
• www.half.com - sponsored by eBay **I'd say this is the best and cheapest place, but they don't have as wide of a selection as Amazon
• www.alibris.com - sign up with your email address and you will receive coupons for future purposes
• www.abebooks.com

And if you don't want to keep the book after your class is over, just rent them!:

• www.chegg.com - I have never personally used this website, but I've heard from many other students how easy it is to use!

Don't be afraid to buy slightly used books! They're maybe markings and highlighted pages in a few of them from previous students, but that just gives them character (and may even help you when you're studying for your own class!) I bought all three of my books USED and ONLINE for this semester, and it cost me less than $100!

So good luck, students! I hope you find some great deals out there!