Getting the Best Deals on Textbooks

Our SMMC reps are often asked where to get the best deals on textbooks. The #1 place we recommend is the University Bookstore. They offer great prices, the ability to rent books, AND great customer service.

As for textbook websites, we've had good experiences with the following:

Amazon.com

Amazon.com is a staple for many students. Amazon offers both used and new editions for many textbooks Huskers need. Also, if you have a Kindle, they offer electronic textbooks.

One of our SMMC reps recently had to purchase a book for her financial planning class. A pricey book! On Amazon, a new copy was $123 and a used copy was $118. Being a Kindle fan, she chose to go with the Kindle version, which was $82. She saved $36! She was able to get free shipping.

Being this was her first Kindle textbook purchase, she was worried she wouldn't be able to easily search for all the tidbits of knowledge she needs, but found that her Kindle's search capabilities made it incredibly easy to find what she was looking for!

Valorebooks.com

Another of our SMMC reps is loving Valorebooks.com. They offer new, used, rental, and sell-back options.

We used this website to search for the same financial planning book that was purchased through Amazon. The price for a new version was $139, used was $130, and renting was $73.

Obviously it's a great deal to rent. Shipping is free. The rental period is 125 days.

Is it better to rent rather than buy and sell back? Sometimes. In this example, if we would have purchased the book for $130, the sell-back amount would have been $70. We would have spent $60 and saved $13. However, lots of students like to keep their books so they can reference the material in the future.

Also, there is never a guarantee that you will be able to sell your book back. A new edition may be released that eliminates the market for your old edition.

Valorebooks.com also offers additional savings promotions throughout the year, including buy 3 textbooks, get the 4th for free!

Chegg.com

This is another favorite for UNL students. However, we didn't have much luck finding a good price on our financial planning textbook. We could either buy it for $159 or rent it for $135. The rental period ends on December 21st.

However, some students do find good deals on Chegg.com. This example shows that you do have to put in a little effort and shop around to find the best prices.