School can be one extremely expensive thing, so how can we fix one of the biggest expenses: books? Buy cheap. So, where do we find that out? Thankfully the people at LifeHacker.com did a little bit of work for us.
They made a collection of some very good places. You can view their post here. Though they forgot some important tibbits of information. Sure you can buy cheaper at those places, but what about other options?! How about being creative? Here are some real life past college experience tips.
The Library
Don’t count on your school’s library to have your text book in stock, especially if it’s for a popular class (or a core class). The library DOES stock some of the books, but not many. There are exceptions of course, some (ie: most) colleges have bigger/better than mine did though they still won’t stock enough copies for everyone. Best bet is to try the local (non-school) library or the head library of a nearby major city, if there is one.
What you CAN do though, is ask for them to ship the book to their library on loan from a different library. Many libraries have such programs and will be more than happy to accommodate you, just give it a little bit of time 
.
My recommendation is that you either try a major library, like the Chicago Public Library main building, or if you don’t find it in your schools library to look for other options.
Other People
This has to be the single best way to get books for extremely cheap. Upperclassmen are more than happy to dump their, now, old and useless books and make a few bucks while doing so. How to find them? Ask the teacher from that class!
Teachers sometimes keep in touch with old students, so it’s pretty much a sure bet they’ll know someone who can either loan you their book (for free) or sell it to you for cheap. Also, try asking department heads or officials … they also work with a plethora of students and sometimes even have books on reserves themselves!
You can also post a Wanted ad in the paper and around school stating you are looking for a book to buy. Also let people know, someone is bound to know someone! Don’t be afraid to ask, most people don’t bite (hard).
Older Copies and Versions
Many “new” textbooks are exactly the same as the old ones with the exception on a ONE new added page or some rather small insignificant change. I have been told on several occasions by professors to just get the old edition because a) it costs less and b) the new “version” is exactly the same but they moved the chapters around (really, not joke. They did NOT change a thing except move stuff around).
So try looking into a old version. But used books NOT … I repeat used books NOT from the school book store are a very good way to go. School books stores ALWAYS markup everything by … well, way to blood much.
Hope that helps. Any questions feel free to ask. College books were a pain and I’ve dealt with them a lot. I’ll be more than happy to assist.
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