The Fight for Decently Priced Textbooks

With the fall semester closing in, many students are finalizing their schedules for the coming year. With a new semester comes the realization that school supplies are needed; binder paper, printer paper, printer ink, pencils, pens, and most importantly textbooks are essential. The majority of classes offered have requirements of at least one textbook, although depending on the nature of the class sometimes several books are necessary.

With fees increasing at SSU and other CSUs, high textbook prices can often be the last straw when it comes to tight budget of the average student. Student loans can take some time to pay off as well. That is why every cent counts to a college student and the phrase “starving college student” is a harsh reality.

There are several ways to cut textbooks costs that go beyond the SSU bookstore. One popular option is going online for textbook needs. Sites like Amazon, Half.com, and Chegg provide low price options for book rental and purchase of new and used books.

Being an SSU student myself, I thought I would demonstrate the process of shopping around for a particular textbook. I am minoring in psychology, and so far my psychology textbooks have proved to be more expensive than other subjects. For this reason, I am going to investigate prices for “Understanding the Psychology of Diversity” by Bruce E. Blaine.

At the SSU bookstore website my psychology textbook, which next to the title reads REQUIRED in bright red letters, is priced at Used: $41.25 and New: $55.00. The SSU bookstore is owned and operated by Barnes & Noble so we can assume that the prices are similar at the Barnes and Noble Website. It is also important to note that some textbooks are available for rental through the SSU bookstore, excluding this particular psychology text.

Looking at the same text, same ISBN number at Half.com the lowest price to own is $30.80 and the rental price is $20.34 for a 125 day rental. Half.com separates the books being sold into different categories based on the condition of the text: brand new, like new, very good, good and acceptable.

Chegg is a service that specializes in the textbook rental, although you can purchase textbooks as well. One of the great things about renting a book from Chegg is that the signature orange box that the book comes in, you can save and use to mail the books back to Chegg. All you have to do is go into your Chegg account and print out the shipping label and take it to a nearby UPS store and it is absolutely free. Chegg is also environmentally friendly and plants a tree somewhere in the world with every purchase. According to their website, to date Chegg has planted over 5 million trees and counting.

When I searched for my psychology textbook on Chegg, the book costs $38.95 and $35.49 to rent.

There are numerous online sites that you can use to do similar searches including Amazon. Depending on the textbook, you may be able to find an eBook version if you have the capacity to do so; if you own a Kindle or similar device.

Sonoma State Students also have the option of looking for their textbooks at which according to an article in the Press Democrat, “will soon be moving to Rohnert Park’s Wolf Den Plaza, but will not be taking its food concession along.” The move across the street will make comparing prices at North Light with that of the SSU bookstore a matter of taking a short walk across campus.

The last advice I can give for students searching for their textbooks is that the cheapest option if you are not able to afford purchasing or renting is the library. Many professors put copies of their textbooks on reserve at the university library for students to use for reading and homework assignments. Even if you plan to get the book when you have the funds, knowing that you can go to the library and get your assignments done in the meantime is a good backup plan. And depending on the class, sometimes you can check out your books from the campus or local library as well.

However you obtain your textbooks for the fall semester, remember that for almost any class you are better off with a textbook then without.