In a given year at college, textbook expenses can cost several hundred. However, many students save money by buying used textbooks or selling their textbooks after they finish their classes. The easiest way to buy used textbooks is just to find someone who has already taken the specific class you need the textbook for and buy it off of them. This way, you not only get the textbook at a discounted price, but also immediately. If you don't know anyone who has taken the class previously, looking online is another good option. There are a lot of websites out there that will allow you to compare prices on any given textbook. By searching "cheap college textbooks" on google, you can probably find a listing of different prices at various places. I personally always check on Amazon.com, Alibris.com and Cheapesttextbooks.com. (However, only cheapesttextbooks.com allows you to compare prices.) Also, looking through your school's version of craigslist is a good idea. Normally people will list the textbooks they want to get rid of fast, so the price may be more discounted and since the sellers usually also go to the school, there's no shipping fee involved. Finally, buying used at a college bookstore is also an option, but it may not be as discounted as other places.

If you choose to get your books from an off campus location, via mail, it’s probably a good idea to order your textbooks ahead of time. Professors will often put in their textbook orders with the bookstore ahead of time, so you can normally get a hold of a given course’s textbook list by going to the book store and asking. Some professors will also list their required readings on their class website, which you can also use to find out a course’s textbook listing.