Back-to-school season is right around the corner and if you want to save money on books, this might be the best time to start looking around for the books. School is expensive and one of the best ways to save money in college is to rent books instead of buying them. New semester is exciting! New classes, new people we will be meeting but we also know what it means in terms of the cost.

One thing is tuition cost, other is the extra cost of textbooks which currently at an average of $1400 a year! These days, schools are very smart when it comes to books and I’m sure you have experienced similar situation where the version required for the course has changed and latest is required for that particular class, and the worst part is that you won’t get much back later for selling the book because it’s not the new version anymore again! Don’t forget to check out the BEST financial books everyone in their 20’s MUST read.

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I’ve compiled this article to list best websites for cheap textbooks that I have used myself before for students to look at before you go and buy that book from the school library at a full price.

Quick TIP: Simply open a new browser and open all the sites I provided you below and then enter “serial numbers’ or “titles” whichever works best which makes it so much easier to compare between each other.. Also don’t forget to check out TOP Internet Hacks you MUST know as a Student

1. Campus Book Rentals

Campus Book Rental is a great company to rent your books from and one of my top pics. It is known for something and you should be a little careful about it, Campus Book Rentals encourages every person to treat the book as its their own. In other words, you can do whatever you want pretty much like highlighting the book or even get one that is highlighted as well from previous owners which is something you might not like. In my experience though I haven’t gotten one that was messed up in any way.

Highlight about Campus Book Rentals: Campus Book Rentals has an interesting and unique RentBack feature. You can send your books to them and they will rent the books out for you to different students, therefore sending you the money for every rental until the book goes out of demand. You could make some good money by doing this especially if your book is not worth much other than for the book just sitting there collecting dust.

Some Links and Promos worth checking out:

Back to School – Get $4 off your order of $50 or more – Promo Code: backtoschool2011

Save 50-90% on textbooks

2. eCampus

On eCampus slogan states that it is easy, fast, and cheap! A great company that offers interesting rewards system because by renting from them you earn points per dollar you spend. You can get free shipping on $35+ orders. You have option of choosing to rent from short term, quarter, semester to fit your needs and save money.

Some Links and Promos worth checking out:

Save 5% at eCampus.com with code ‘BELOYAL’

Save $10 at eCampus.com with code ’10OFF150′

3. Chegg

You must of heard of Chegg, they have built their brand over the past few years pretty good. Their marketing really got them up there. Chegg is definitely top pick for a student. Chegg is a great option for any student and they also offer 14 or 21 day purchase guarantee. So, in other words, if you did not like the class you are taking and end up dropping it, you could just return the book for a full refund. If you have old textbooks laying around, you could also sell them to Chegg to make some extra cash, also the quotes you get are online and you can get the price you will get for the books instantly online.

Special touch with your purchase: With every purchase Chegg includes a little gift or gifts which is awesome and I have gotten Red Bull, some nice coupons for major retailers, laundry detergents, Hulu PLUS subscription, power bars, 5-hour energy, etc (I don’t want to break it to you by listing everything).

This is a nice touch from Chegg to get returning customers, can’t tell you how excited I am when I order something from Chegg because it’s always something interesting they send with my order. *Chegg also has great tutoring services available online.

Some Links and Promos worth checking out:

Free Shipping on orders $35+ with code: 35FREESHIP

4. Valore Books

Valore Books textbook rental service is another great alternative and I have been able to get some great deals on books from them. They have a wide variety of books but majority of them are older versions and it will be harder to find new ones.

I guarantee that you will most likely find best deals on older books here (because some professors actually use older versions and understand that the current book system is a total BS).

Valore Books also offers service where you can sell your books and I heard great things about this service because they don’t rip you off like other sites do. They also offer a 30-day money back guarantee and free return shipping.

Have Books You Would Like to Sell?

Get the Most Cash Back on Selling Your Book through Valore Books, you get money within 48 hours

5. Amazon

In this day and age Amazon is a go-to place for 99 percent of purchases and there isn’t something that one might not find on there.

Cheap textbooks on Amazon is just another option for anybody looking for a textbook if you want to buy, rent, or sell. I have used Amazon many times to purchase, rent, and sell textbooks and so far experience has been been great.

Special offer: If you are a student and have the .edu email account you are eligible for free 6 months prime membership which packs the primary benefit of free two-day shipping for millions of items available on amazon along with many other benefits. After that, your Prime membership will still cost 50% off per year for as long as you are a student which puts you at $59/year.

6. Textbooks.com

Textbooks is very simple to use website and after you find your book, you will be able to check out with ease. According to their website they have the most used textbooks available on the web, with prices as high as 90% off from original cover price.

You also have options to rent, sell, and buy. After you spend $25 or more, the shipping is free, but lets be real – you will most likely spend more than 25$ on textbooks for the semester.

Highlight about Textbooks.com:  Textbooks.com offers the best price or price match guarantee. According to their website, if you find a book somewhere where the price is lower like amazon, chegg, etc… they will match the price.

Some Links and Promos worth checking out:

Used Textbooks at Textbooks.com. Up to 90% Off + FREE 2 DAY AIR on $25+

7. Better World Books

I had to include this one because it is for students that care about community. Better World Books is another option for buying textbooks. Better World Books collects used books, saving them from landfills, and also helps with many projects that relate to students around the world. All of that on top of already cheap textbooks.

Highlight about Better World Books: The best part about buying from Better World Books is their book for book promise where with every purchase you make they will donate a book to someone who needs it around the world.

8. Knetbooks

Knetbooks is another alternative for you to check out if you can’t seem to find book on other sites.

Although the prices are on high side for majority of books, I was still able to find few books that were cheaper here than competitors. They offer a lot of coupons which makes it a great deal in many cases. The duration for rentals is between 60 to 130 days.

This Knetbooks stays behind its delivery and is always on time, and the overall process is very easy from the time you order to the time you receive. However, I would suggest making this site as one of the alternatives if you can’t find a book anywhere else because of the prices.

Some Links and Promos worth checking out:

Free Shipping on All Orders

Bottom Line

It really is exciting or at least for a few days because of new peers and new subject starting, but you must still do research and not purchase from the same place you always buy. Take time to shop around and find the best websites for cheap textbooks and find great deals throughout all top picks I listed.

If you want more deals, see my deals page on what products and websites I use throughout my day-to-day life!

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