Christina VarvisThe fall term is fast approaching and professors have begun releasing their course syllabuses. If you’re unlucky enough to have a list of textbooks you need to purchase for your classes, you have a choice to make: buy them early or buy them late.
Buying textbooks early
Maybe it’s just because I’m a chronic planner and hate leaving things to the last minute, but I firmly believe buying textbooks early is the way to go. Having to buy textbooks at all sucks. It’s always way too expensive and after paying my tuition, my bank account is hurting.
But if I start on my textbook shopping well before classes begin, I can hunt for some good deals. Edmonton has several used bookstores that present the opportunity to find textbooks at a lower price. It takes a little extra work to track down a good deal, but that’s why it’s important to get started early.
And if I have no luck at bookstores in Edmonton, there’s plenty of places online to look too. Whether that’s Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, or other sites, there’s lots of options. Once again, time is of the essence when getting a good deal. If the seller has to ship the book to you, it might take a couple weeks.
Of course, there’s a chance that after the first couple classes of a course I’ll discover that I hate it. But if I drop a class and have already bought the required texts, I can resell them and get my money back.
Besides, if I get some of the books ahead of time, I can get ahead on some of the readings. Even if it’s just skimming a few chapters, I can get a sense of what I’m in for.
— Leah Hennig
Buying textbooks late
I cannot begin to talk about the hundreds of dollars that I’ve spent on textbooks that I didn’t need. Buying textbooks early isn’t awful, but buying them later might give your wallet a much-deserved break.
To start, you might not even touch the textbook. Sure, my professors occasionally told us to look at it for additional information, but do you know where I can also find that information? YouTube, buddy.
In the case that you do need the textbook, there’s a chance that professors will provide a free online copy of it themselves. Once a professor told me that the required book was available online for unlimited access at the university library. This was the first day of class and after I had already bought it. In that case, he only listed the book in case students wanted a physical copy.
I might have returned that book, except that I bought the cheaper e-book version from the bookstore which was non-refundable. Amazon also no longer allows returns on e-books that have been read past 10 per cent, meaning that the book might just haunt you for the rest of time.
But let’s talk about the worst case scenario. Say that you waited until the semester began, realized that you desperately needed the textbook, and were promptly told that the book was sold out. At that point, you can ask your classmates where they got their textbooks from. There’s a good chance that you’ll find out the cheapest source without having to scavenge the internet or Edmonton bookstores yourself. Most professors will give a small grace period where they provide or avoid the early chapters of a textbook, so you’ll probably have the time to get it.
Save yourself the money and consider buying textbooks late.
— Nitasha Baig
