Anything But Standing in Line

We’ve all been there, standing in the line at the Hornet Bookstore, wishing we would not have waited until the last minute to purchase our textbooks.  As we search through the stacks of books there is still a glimmer of hope that there is at least one used book that is left for us to purchase. I used to be in that line my first couple of semesters at CSUS, but now I have learned that there are certain ways to alleviate the stresses of last-minute textbook shopping. 

 

Common Sense Tip

~ This may sound elementary but it makes sense: the best time to buy textbooks is before the semester starts. This is when you will find an abundance of used books. It is amazing how two weeks before the beginning of school can save you a great deal of money and anguish from standing in those long lines.

 

Put In Some Time

~ This tip may not work for everyone but I have found it very useful when looking for textbooks. I usually go to the bookstore with my class schedule and look up all the books that I need on the list that is provided there. I don’t leave it up to the computer to do it. I have purchased a couple of books that I did not need because they were wrongly put on the list. Sure it is a little time consuming, but worth the amount of work you put in.

 

Has Worked For Me Every Time

~ This one has worked for me almost every semester. As an English Major, it is inevitable that you will have many of the same students in your classes.  There are at least a couple of students that you form relationships with that make it easy for you borrow each other’s books. This has proven to be a great way of being able to get around the costly expense of buying the numerous books we need as English Majors. When you buy your textbooks, you can share with each other. If another classmate has taken a certain class before that you are now enrolled in, you can borrow them for the semester.

 

Check Online

~ There are also websites that promise the cheapest textbooks; you just have to be prepared to go through them to see if they have anything to offer you.

Here are a few websites that I have looked up in the past: www.CheapestTextbooks.com , www.alibris.com, and http://www.campusbooks.com/. These are all very user friendly. In order to find the books you need, certain requirements are needed: the title of the book, the authors name and the ISBN number. Not all of these are needed, but they are very helpful in aiding you find the correct book.

 

Hornet Bookstore Website

~ You can also go to the CSUS home page and look up your textbooks under the Hornet Bookstore's website. I found this website not to be very user friendly because of all the information needed in order to get a list of your textbooks. You need your class name, section you are enrolled in, semester that you are enrolled in, and various other small details that make the process time consuming. Like I have stated in the second tip, physically going to the bookstore is more useful to me. 

 

~ I hope that this information can prove to be beneficial to all of you who read it. I know it took me a couple of semesters to figure out a more productive and money-saving technique to purchasing my textbooks. As English majors, I think that we have to buy a fair amount of books, unlike some other majors, and this can be very costly. I hope these tips can help during your college years here at CSUS.