Let’s face it, there’s a lot of things about college that simply isn’t cheap; unfortunately, required school books are one of these things. However, like many college-related things, there are ways to cut costs when it comes to affording the books required for your courses.

Below, we’ll explore some tricks to cutting costs and finding college books for less.

Rent Your Textbooks

Owning your school textbooks is definitely not necessary. Check out these retailers for your rental needs:

• Knetbooks.Com - This rental site advertises up to 85% in savings on regular book pricing if you rent from them. You can also extend rentals easily if needed.
• Amazon.Com - Of course, Amazon’s origins began in books! You get the added bonus of free shipping if you have Amazon Prime (student discount available!) and there is a pretty wide selection available for almost any book you need. Most textbooks are advertised as being discounted by up to 90%.

Buy Your Books for Less

With some pricing discounts, it can make sense to purchase your textbooks as opposed to renting them. These websites can help you buy at the lowest prices:

• Amazon.Com - Yes, Amazon again! Free shipping, a large list of retailers, and up to 90% savings make this website a definite contender for your college book needs.
• Chegg.Com - This website advertises as having discounts available on textbooks up to 90%. There is also a rental program available and they have convenient tutoring onsite.
• CampusBooks.Com - This site offers big discounts on used textbook purchases as well as eBooks. You can also sell them your textbooks that you aren’t using and earn some extra cash. Definitely worth checking out.

Obtain a Membership

There are a few sites that offer monthly subscription services where you pay and gain access to physically borrowing some books in their collection and utilization of eBooks that they have. A couple of the sites you may want to check out if this interests you are:

• PerLego.Com - This UK based site has a large collection of eBooks for use, but they also have physicial books for borrowing as well. Students can get a 14 day free trial when they sign up.
• Scribd.Com - This site isn’t just for text books, but it definitely has plenty of them! When you sign up for use, you’ll gain access to magazines, newspapers, audiobooks, eBooks, and of course textbooks.

Borrow Books

You won’t be able to make notes or highlight in borrowed books, but doing this can definitely save you a pretty penny. Check out what your local libraries and school libraries have to offer; they may just have the book you’re looking for. Often, friends and other students might be willing to lend you their copy as well.

Compare Pricing with An Aggregator

An aggregator is a tool to be used to compare prices available and help you determine where you can get the best bang for your buck. If you want to see what’s out there and ensure you are getting the best price, try these sites:

• BigWords.Com - When you use this site to compare pricing on textbooks, they’ll scan a ton of sites to find you the best deal, with promises of saving up to 45% on your purchases as compared to other sites.
• AllBookStores.Com - This site compares dozens of other book sites and their pricing in order to guarantee you pay the lowest price. They also give you the option to sell your used school books to them.
• Dealoz.Com - Who could turn down an advertised 97% savings? This site compares 200 bookstores to help you get the best price on textbooks. They also have an app that can give you notifications, and you can build rewards up with them with your purchases.