[New-hampshire-students] Fw: How to Save On Textbooks.

[Ed Meskys]

I thought this was interesting, and should be shared with the national 
student organization. Ed Meskys

Subject: How to Save On Textbooks.


Business/Financial Desk
How to Save On Textbooks.
NY Times Saturday, 2011_08_27
By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD. Exorbitant college textbook prices have given rise 
to a
'textbook
rebellion,' which may be coming to a campus near you.
A coalition of students, parents, professors and organizations including the
Student
Public Interest Research Groups, have banded together to promote more 
affordable
alternatives to the $200 textbook - an amount that is not uncommon for 
science,
economics,
accounting and math students, among other pricey majors.
So if you see a big van pull up on your college campus, don't be surprised 
if a
giant
yellow textbook - called Textbook Rebel - jumps out to do battle with Mr. 
$200
Textbook,
as part of the cross-country tour organized by the Student PIRGs.
Our goal is to collect student signatures on a petition, which we we'll use 
to
get
the word out to faculty and call on decision makers to take action,' said 
Nicole
Allen, textbook advocate at the Student PIRGs.
The coalition also hopes to raise awareness about cheaper alternatives like
'open
textbooks,' which are offered under a license that allows you to read free
online,
or to obtain a print copy for a fraction of the cost of traditional 
hard-copy
competitors.
Indeed, textbook prices increased 22 percent over the last four years, 
according
to the Student PIRGs, or more than four times the rate of inflation. On 
average,
students at four-year public colleges were estimated to spend $1,137 on 
books
and
supplies during the 2010-2011 academic year, according to the College Board. 
To
ease
the burden, a survey conducted by the Student PIRGs found that many students
simply
aren't buying at least one of the required texts.
But there are ways to save while the textbook rebels fight the good fight. 
Last
August,
I wrote a post that surveyed the various ways to save money on textbooks, 
from
finding
free texts online to renting books on campus. And in January, we took a 
closer
look
at the many comparison sites that do a lot of the legwork for you.
Over the course of the last year, several new options emerged, some of which
were
created by recent graduates who were exasperated by the book-buying process
themselves.
Those are highlighted below:
Amazon.com. You can now rent eligible Kindle textbooks and read them on your
computer,
no Kindle required, or on your smartphone. You can also customize the rental
periods
to any length between 30 and 360 days and pay for the specific chunk of time 
you
need the book (and can add time if you need to). The books aren't printable, 
but
you do have access to margin notes and highlighted text, even after the 
rental
has
expired.
Just keep in mind that digital textbooks aren't always the best deal. Be 
sure to
compare prices with other hard-copy rental options, as well as buying a used
copy
of the book, which you can typically sell again.
SwoopThat.com. Similar to Getchabooks.com (featured in this Bucks post), 
this
Web
site was created by four recent college graduates and aims at students at
specific
colleges - in this case, more than 2,300 schools. After you plug in your 
college
name and courses, the site serves up the list of books that you need and 
where
to
find them at the lowest cost. Our algorithms help students find the cheapest
places
to buy all their books collectively, rather than one at a time,' according 
to
the
Web site. That calculation includes shipping.
Jonny Simkin, one of the sites' co-founders, said the site currently 
searches
Amazon,
Half, Alibris, Abebooks, Chegg, BookRenter, eBooks.com, and Cengage Brain. 
The
site,
he added, has partnerships with 'all the major booksellers,' which are 
slowly
being
added to the site.
SwoopThat also helps students sell their books by searching online vendors 
for
the
highest buyback price.
In addition, the site also has an online exchange for each school that helps
students
buy and sell books with people nearby. When a student enters their courses 
and
views
their book list, they can compare prices between other local students and 
the
Web,'
Mr. Simkin said, 'and if they want to buy from a local student, they just
arrange
a meeting place on or near campus.
Affordabook.com. This site, also created by a former undergraduate, compares
prices
from 15 textbook retailers on the Web, including Amazon.com, Chegg, 
Half.com,
Ebay
and several others. I was frustrated with the university bookstores and how 
they
charge hundreds for textbooks that you can find online for a fraction of the
cost,'
said Vincent Thomas, who created the site about five years ago when he was a
junior
at Virginia Tech.
LocalTextbook.com is essentially an online classifieds section for 
textbooks,
which
aims to help students buy and sell books with other people on their campus; 
that
way, everybody saves money on shipping costs. Still, it does cost something: 
you
need to pay $3 to list each book (or, you can earn credits by referring 
friends
to
use the service).
Right now, the listings on the Web site -- created by a college senior --  
are
located
on only five campuses in Ohio, but they hope to expand this year.
Open textbooks. These books are much less expensive than traditional 
textbooks,
but
it's basically up to your professors to select them -- if they don't, you're 
out
of luck. Professors can save students thousands by assigning open 
textbooks,'
Ms.
Allen of the Student PIRGs said. That is why our campaign focuses on getting 
the
word out to professors, and letting them know this is out there.
These books can be read online free, while hard copies are typically a 
fraction
of
the cost of traditional books. You can download the book to your computer or
phone,
or print a printable PDF. Hard copies typically cost $20 to $40, according 
to
the
Student PIRGs, either in the bookstore or online.
In addition, the 'open' license typically gives professors more flexibility 
to
tailor
the material to fit a particular course by removing unneeded chapters or 
adding
new
material. The Student PIRGs site has a catalog of open textbooks and 
publishers
(Flat
World Knowledge, which offers open books, is also part of the 'rebellion'
coalition).
The Student PIRGs list their own book-buying tips here.
Have you started book shopping? Let us know what sites you have the best and
worst
experiences with in the comment section below.
This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in
print.