College students share tips to save money on textbooks

“Looking for CS1371 book.”

“$30 and it’s yours.”

“Selling Chem1310 book (6th edition Zumdahl).”

So read the comments on the Georgia Tech Book Swap Facebook page, one method students are using to avoid paying retail price for textbooks.

Teresa Hu is a junior at Tech, majoring in computer science. In her freshman year, she did “what all the other freshmen did” by purchasing books from the campus bookstore. “I didn’t know any better because I hadn’t talked to any other upperclassmen yet, and during orientation we were only told about Barnes Noble.

“After my first semester,” Hu recalls, “I learned through girls in my sorority that Engineer’s Bookstore on Marietta [St.] is a lot less expensive and just as convenient to get to.”

When it came time to sell back expensive books, Agnes Scott sophomore Louisa Morton felt burned.

“When I first came to school I was doing neuroscience, and my bio book was $200,” says Morton, now majoring in economics and organizational management and public health. “I had to sell it back and it was only $80. I have been careful since then.”

Both women shared their tips on how to save this fall on textbooks, whether buying or selling (so you can instead use your quarters for doing laundry).

Buy used from a bookstore, online or other students: Hu now usually orders books from Half.com or AbeBooks.com. “After I’m done with the course, I’ll resell books for about the same amount I originally paid for them, so it’s almost like borrowing a book for a semester for free.”

Additionally, the websites’ grace period for a full refund on purchases is longer than at some college bookstores, though Hu says a downside is the initial wait: She orders books two to three weeks before classes start.

Use an older version of the book: “For my science classes last year, I would ask my professor if it was OK to get a different edition,” Morton says, “because sometimes you can get a different edition for a lot cheaper.” Buying older versions can save you as much as $100.

Rent from your college or a rental service: “If I’m planning on keeping it, I’ll buy it used,” says Morton. “But otherwise I rent and return it at the end of the semester.

“I was just talking to the woman in the bookstore yesterday, and she said the worst books to invest in are in the language books, because they come out with a new edition every year,” which means you won’t get back much money — if any — when you try to return it, she says. “It’s better just to rent those.”

Chegg.com is a popular rental site (plus, the company plants a tree every time you rent). Also try CampusBookRentals.com or BookRenter.com.

Borrow from the library or other students: “Don’t be afraid to ask,” says Hu. “You can ask friends, classmates and people you’re in clubs, band or Greek life with. I’ve been able to borrow books for a semester from friends of friends many times.”

Do you have other tips for saving money on college textbooks? Share with us in the comments section.

– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter

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Are SMEs struggling with social media marketing?

It seems that many small business owners believe in the power of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter et al when it comes to marketing their business, but don’t have the time, resources, and often the inclination, to make effective use of them.

According to a new poll of 500 decision makers, nearly a third of them said Facebook would be effective in generating sales for their business, but only 5 per cent of respondents said that they are using the site for marketing their business and exploiting it fully.

Similarly, 18 per cent thought LinkedIn would generate sales leads but only 3 per cent are using it to the full. The figures for Twitter are 17 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.

Using social media as a business development tool will not always be the right route for every single SME, but what the research importantly shows is that there seems to be a gulf between those who say that a particularly social media site would be effective for generating leads, and the number who seem to be taking advantage of it.

Commenting on the results, Mark Speed, joint managing director of the survey conductor IFF Research, said: “Powerful marketing of a service or product can bring great dividends but it does require an investment of time and resource. There are some relatively quick wins, such as keeping company websites up to date with information designed to appeal to customers.”

However, the research shows that many decision makers are not taking advantage of these potential “quick wins” either, as 16 per cent of those with a website only update it once or year, or not at all. 

The research found that many companies simply lack the time or resource to market themselves, online or otherwise. Almost one in three (29 per cent) respondents said they are doing less marketing than they think is needed, while in terms of finding more time for marketing, 50 per cent agreed that running their business takes up all their time – meaning marketing is an afterthought.

Speed said: “A substantial proportion of SMEs admit they are not doing enough to market themselves, but there seems to be no easy solution when time is at a premium. And if time’s not a problem, inclination can be. We found that 44 per cent believe marketing is not something they enjoy but feel they have to do.”

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