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Back-to-school season can be a stressful and depressing time for most college students. Trading in beach parties and hot hunnies for jam-packed classrooms and overnight cramming sessions is never an easy transition. And considering how professors pack their syllabi with tons of reading material, the notion of having to search and buy textbooks on a college budget just makes heading back to class less exciting. Fortunately, today’s undergrads can save themselves the headache of boxing through overcrowded campus stores (or Barnes & Nobles) and spending rolls of quarters on photocopies by doing their shopping on the Internet. Thanks to online retailers like Amazon and Campus Books, students can search through huge libraries and purchase, rent, or download textbooks at nearly half the original cost. So don’t be like the other 30 classmates in your Economics course procrastinating till the last minute to pick up their books. Do the math and get a jump start by browsing through The 5 Best Online Textbook Stores.
AbeBooks
Website: www.abebooks.com
This online marketplace offers a huge library of new, used, and rare textbooks at up to 50 percent off the retail price, and has a 30-day satisfaction guarantee policy on all purchases. Utilize the advanced search engine to look up course readings based on the publisher, max price, binding, published date, and more. Buyers can also partake in the sellback program, which lets users (what else) sell back books and ship them out free of cost courtesy of complimentary shipping labels. At the moment, AbeBooks is the most popular international textbook seller, providing service for six regional websites: North America, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the UK.
Chegg
Website: www.chegg.com
Labeled as the Netflix of textbooks, Chegg lets students rent schoolbooks for an entire semester, quarter, or up to 60 days, while providing a prepaid UPS label to ship them back. Rentals range anywhere between 30-80 percent off the original price, with a majority falling around the 50 percent bracket. There is a 30-day “any reason” return policy and free return shipping, too. iPhone owners also have the privilege of renting and viewing textbooks on their handset with the Chegg smartphone app. On top of that, the company is working closely with the American Forests' Global ReLead campaign to prevent deforestation: planting one tree for every rented book. Sweet.
Alibris
Website: www.alibris.com
Alibris specializes in selling new, used, and out-of-print titles through the assistance of third-party vendors. The site has one of the most unique and easy-to-use search engines, as well as the best customer service found on any online textbook retailer. A number of payment options can be used to purchase books, including all major credit cards, Google Checkout, and Paypal. Shipping options include standard, overnight, and expedited, plus discounts are given to buyers who purchase more than one item from the same seller. And like Chegg, it promotes a 60-day money-back guarantee policy. Once the semester is complete, you can sell back your textbooks directly to the site, which then compensates you via check or PayPal, or put it up for sale on the marketplace.
Campus Books
Website: www.campusbooks.com
Claiming to have "nearly every textbook available for rent," Campus Books stores over 8 million college books and snatches prices for new, used, rental, and e-books from over 40 online textbook vendors. One of the site's biggest highlights is that it offers insurance (for a fee) to cover any damage, loss, or theft accidents. You can even look for deals on the go with the free iPhone and Android smartphone app. Students can also take advantage of free shipping, as well as the company's 15-day grace period and 30-day return window.
Amazon
Website: www.amazon.com
The world’s largest online retailer just so happens to be one of the largest textbook outlets on the Net. Besides selling new and discounted books through its third-party marketplace, Amazon features its own textbook section that offers up to 80 percent on rentals and purchases. The retail giant has a special student program called “Amazon Student,” which blesses members with discounts and promotions, plus six months of free two-day shipping with an Amazon Prime account. And if viewing textbooks on your laptop screen wasn't satisfying enough, Amazon has announced plans to use its Kindle app to push e-textbooks, giving you the opportunity to view textbooks on your smartphone and tablet. Ahhh, the days of hauling heavy books in your Jansport are almost over people.
