Today, I was going to talk about Revlon Lash Potion Mascara. But I’m not. (Come back tomorrow for that gem, probably.) Because I’m angry, and when I’m angry, we have to talk about that.

University textbooks.

I’m already snorting in frustration.

University textbooks cost a fortune and a half. There is no reason why I should have to sell a kidney to get a book for my physics course. You’ll notice when I listed off the classes I’m taking this year, physics wasn’t there. I was planning on taking it, but dropped it because (among other things) the book cost $250. What. The. Hell.

Professors want their students to do well, if for no other reason than it makes them look good. Logically, this would mean that they would want to use the best textbook possible. But I’m sure that the more expensive a book is, the less likely it is that I, or other students, will think to buy it.

It’s crap. It’s just crap. If I purchased at the campus bookstore every single book that my profs wanted me to have, I would spend $1200 this semester. Just this semester. Next semester would be an entirely different story.

My roommate bought two textbooks yesterday for $273 total. One was a paperback, the other a hardcover, neither was what I would call a thick book (for a textbook). Maybe 300 pages, max.

The fact is that your prof often doesn’t give you a lot of choice in whether or not you buy a book. I am taking a class where 25% of my mark comes from take-home quizzes straight out of the textbook. T makes me feel like I am buying my grade, because I am. The difference between an A+ and a B- is that textbook.

So, I mentioned that my books would cost $1200 if I bought them all. I think part of that is because the campus bookstore is trying to screw us all over. Everything there is immensely overpriced but incredibly convenient. Their book buyback program is a joke. At the end of the semester, you can sell your books back to them for part of the price. They once offered me $8.45 on a $200 calculus book. Yeah. If I do the logical thing and purchase my books off of Amazon, it becomes more like $700. Still a lot, but considerably less.

This year, I’m doing okay in terms of textbook costs. Using a combination of the tips I listed below (plus some free hand me downs), this semester will probably run me about $200 in books, many of which I will not be able to sell back. I have decided that’s reasonable, but I’m still upset with the idea of how much they cost.

I’ve read more than a couple articles on the subject, and they all say roughly the same thing: the reason for the cost hike is book resellers. Every time I buy a book from one of my classmates, the publisher isn’t getting my money, so they have to keep the price high for that first time someone buys it because that person is really buying for me as well as themselves. This makes that student want to sell it even re, and it’s a vicious cycle.

So what is a student to do?

Buy those books off of Amazon unless you absolutely must get them from your bookstore. (There is a special place in hell for the professor who requires the book they wrote to be used.)

Buy used from other students who bought their books for way too much money. Help each other out. First years often don’t think to buy books used and are cheated out of hundreds of dollars for it.

Trade. This usually only works in upper years, but you can trade textbooks of roughly the same worth with someone else in your program. I’ve done this a couple times and have always been happy with it.

Try using an older addition. Your prof can tell you if it really isn’t going to work (unless they’re a jerk). The International Edition is perfectly acceptable to use, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Best of luck!