With the term beginning in a few short days, it’s time to think about textbooks. The upperclassmen’s first tip in the way of textbooks is to wait until the professor says you will actually be using the textbook to buy it. Sometimes professors prefer to teach from PowerPoint, or have outdated class registries with books they no longer rely on for their courses. It’s also beneficial to ask if it’s possible to use older editions of a text, which could save a significant amount of money as crucial information rarely changes between editions.
DrexelOne is also helpful as it offers a list of all the required texts for an upcoming term and easy access for purchase through the Drexel bookstore. But, do not click purchase before browsing around! By all means check out prices, in many cases students can save a pretty penny by shopping elsewhere, other than the Drexel bookstore.
There are tons of sites that offer new, used and rented textbooks. Buying a textbook in used condition is always cheaper than buying one in new condition. If it’s a book that won’t come in handy after the class is over, rent it. One can easily knock off $10 by renting textbooks — a small amount, but one that adds up over purchases.
Amazon, Chegg and eBay are a few of the more popular sites to purchase textbooks; all of which have their advantages. (Side note: Signing up for a free six-month trial of Amazon Student packs the bonus of free two-day shipping.) Book.ly. is another highly favored site that shows the cost of used, new and rental texts at multiple vendors, allowing students to easily find the cheapest options. No matter where students buy, it is important to be mindful of shipping costs and the duration of time the package will take to arrive. After all, cheap textbook is useless if it’s not going to arrive until week five.
Aside from the Internet, one great location for texts is the Penn Book Center, an independent bookstore offering a wide variety of texts at a lesser rate, located on 34th and Sansom Streets.
These savvy shopper rules do not apply if the specialized Drexel edition of a text is needed. Then, simply walk into Drexel’s bookstore and hand over the life’s savings (there’s no way out of that one).