A university/college student on average spends between £120-£200 per year on textbooks. After all, textbooks are important when it comes to writing essays and studying for exams. With each module typically having a core textbook plus a list of other recommended texts the list of books you need to get can be quite long. For students wishing to save a bit of money and avoid using a chunk of their student loan buying books, there are several ways to get cheaper university textbooks.
Borrow them from the library
Check to see if your university/college library has a copy of the textbook. Borrowing them means you do not need to buy a copy so the library is probably the best place to start looking.
It’s best to check the library quickly as there may only be a few copies available. If there are none left you will need to wait until they are returned.
If your library has a time limit on borrowing books simply renew it (if your library lets you) or return it then borrow it again.
Buy second hand textbooks
Just because you need to buy a copy of the book does not mean you need to buy a brand new copy. There is a high chance you will be able to buy a second-hand copy either online or from other students.
Good places to check for second-hand books include:
- Amazon, eBay or Facebook Marketplace
- Ask around campus
- Check to see if there are any social media groups dedicated to selling second-hand textbooks at your university/college.
Try to get a discount
Ok, so this is unusual but sometimes your lecturer will have negotiated a discount with the publisher of the textbook. This means students can get a discount if they buy directly from them. This is usually the case if the lecturer helped write the textbook or contributed to it.
Furthermore, some retailers or publishers will offer a student discount which you could use when purchasing textbooks. For example:
- 10% off at Waterstones
- 10% off at WHSmith
- Oxford University Press offer occassional temporary discounts
Some universities may even offer students money towards buying textbooks. However, this is usually only for postgraduate or research students.
Share with fellow students
Finally, you could get together with 2-3 fellow students to buy the textbook between you and split the price evenly. Although this will save you some money, remember you will need to share the book so you won’t have sole use of it.
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[…] Another option is to purchase your own copy of the book. This can be costly so it’s probably only worth doing this if it’s a book you will need to use regularly I.e your core text. Thankfully there is no need to buy a brand new copy as there are plenty of ways to get cheaper textbooks. […]
[…] With some textbooks costing as much as £70-80, it makes sense to try to buy these second-hand. Better still, borrow them for free from the library. Read more about cheaper university textbooks here. […]