Dylon Harrison
Staff Writer
Buying textbooks is an expensive part of the semester for every ISU student, which leads to students in every department trying to find the best deal possible.
There are typically three different ways to get the required textbooks for the semester: buy the books new, buy the books used or rent them.
In addition to the options of buying or renting, there are also a few sources from which students can obtain their textbooks.
The most obvious of these is the university bookstore. However, students also commonly get their books either online, on websites such as Amazon or at ISU Textbook Exchange, the used bookstore near campus.
The university bookstore is the most up-to-date resource for each required textbook and materials.
This, combined with easy online ordering, makes the bookstore the preferred way for many students to get their books.
There are also certain titles that are new and customized for ISU, making the bookstore the only place to get them. Another benefit of buying books through the university bookstore is keeping the money paid for them local and having it put towards the ISU community.
A downside to the university bookstore, however, can be the cost of the books. Of all the options, this one is typically the most expensive. For rentals, if a book is not returned on time, the student is charged the full retail price of the book.
Many students also choose to get their textbooks online. This can often be cheaper than buying or renting from the university bookstore. It also adds the convenience of having the books delivered to wherever you live.
Books bought online do come with some risks, however. The books come from individual sellers, so there is no way to guarantee the legitimacy or quality of the books being ordered. There is also a possibility that the books will not be shipped by the time they are needed.
If rentals are not returned to Amazon on time, renters are also charged the full retail price. Amazon additionally charges fees for any damage done to the book throughout the rental period.
Textbook Exchange is another major source of ISU students’ textbooks.
This is a very cost friendly option. Last year, of the 1,600 titles required for classes at ISU, Textbook Exchange was able to either charge less or within a couple dollars of the university bookstore and Amazon for about 80 percent of them.
In addition to being a cheap option, getting books there also helps to support a local business.
They also adjust their prices as much as they can in order to compete with Amazon. If a student finds a better deal on Amazon, Textbook Exchange will occasionally match the price.
However, not all textbooks and other needed resources are always immediately available at Textbook Exchange.
They also can’t always beat Amazon’s prices, particularly when it comes to rentals.
Textbook Exchange does have a more lenient rental policy than the previous two options, though.
They offer a grace period on late returns, and if a book is not returned they only charge the replacement price, rather than full retail.
