Rental
Most students know that renting is always a good option, and can save a ton of money on multiple books. Two of the more common places to rent are Chegg.com and Amazon.com
A student can typically find just about any book that they're looking for on this site. They have relatively decent rental prices and provide an array of other services, such as e-copies, study guides, and other helpful products. I wouldn't recommend Chegg for purchasing, however, as they can be pricey to buy outright. If you're looking to sell some books back, though, can give some pretty competitive quotes to purchase your lightly used books. (They bought a Macroeconomics book from me for over $80!)
Amazon is a go-to source for many things, including textbooks. They typically have most of the books that are required, with decent prices to match. One of the benefits Amazon carries over Chegg is their Prime membership features. If you are part of their Prime program, you get free two-day shipping on eligible items, rentals included. That can be good if you're looking to get a book in a pinch. They typically offer a 6 month free Prime membership to students, and then discounted rates after that time period.
Purchase Used
New textbooks can cost upwards of $300. If you can find the same book that has been used, the savings can be astounding.
Half.com is a website owned and operated by Ebay. It essentially operates the same way Ebay does, but strictly for books. You can enter in the ISBN, title, or author of the book you are searching for, and Half.com will return multiple sellers of the book. The sellers will list the condition of the used book you are buying, and the worse the condition, the cheaper the book ("Good" is typically the lowest I would go in condition; below that you run into torn pages, a ton of highlighting, etc.). The website also provides seller ratings, just like Ebay does, so you know if you're buying from a reputable source. Half.com also offers rental prices, however, they tend to be higher than Amazon or Chegg.
Alibris is just like Half.com, in that you buy from listed sellers, with prices based on condition. You will find many of the same sellers listed on Alibris that you would on Half.com. Their rating system is similar to Half.com as well, although it isn't as thorough (using a 5-star system instead of a percentage). Alibris can be hit or miss on both their prices and availability of textbooks, but they are definitely always worth checking out.
E-Versions
Many textbooks can now be found in a digital format for use on a tablet like a Kindle, for instance. We'll use Amazon's Kindle and Kindle cloud as an example. Instead of purchasing a physical copy of the textbook, you can search Amazon's Kindle database to see if your required textbook is available. By purchasing an e-version, you no longer have to pay the cost associated with the book materials, and therefore just pay for the work itself. Amazon also provides a Kindle rental service for some books. Instead of outright buying the copy, it stays on your e-reader for a selected time period and disappears when that time period is up by using some form of sorcery. The use of this sorcery cuts your cost even more.
There are some downsides to using an e-version of a textbook, however. Many textbooks haven't been "optimized" for digital use, and sometimes pictures, diagrams, and other material can get out of whack in Kindle format. Another issue that can arise is that many e-books don't have page numbers associated with them, but instead have "sections". This can pose an issue if the professor references a specific page number, as you may have to do some searching. Lastly, a Kindle or e-reader version obviously requires some form of e-reader, which is a cost in itself. Then you have to always make sure that the battery will be charged for when you need it. It's a personal choice to go this route, and you have to weigh out the benefits on if the minor savings are worth it.
PDF Formats
PDF formats of textbooks are not something that I particularly recommend, but they can be a really cheap, if not free, alternative to a physical textbook. The problem with these is that there are no correlating page numbers, making it difficult to search. Also, finding PDF formats typically requires torrents or P2P sharing, and many PDF formats you may find will carry some unwanted 3rd parties with it, like a virus, for instance. So if you manage to find a PDF version of your textbook, proceed with your own risk, and know that it may be worth it to shell out some money through one of the other methods.
Other Students
Students who have previously taken the class are an excellent source of used textbooks. After they take the course, they have no use for the book. If they try to sell it back to where they bought it from, they just get ripped off like everyone else. It can be a win-win situation for everyone if you meet them in the middle of what the bookstore would give them and what the book would cost YOU to buy. That way you get a good deal on a textbook you need, and the student gets more money back than what they thought they would.
No matter what method you use to get your textbooks, always try to get the best deal. College textbooks have one of the biggest retail markup around, and it's probably going to stay that way. If you have any other sources for textbooks that work particularly well for you, feel free to comment them to let everyone know! You can now use all the extra cash you've saved towards buying food that tastes much better than what you're going to get served in your dining hall...or beer, if that's your thing.
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