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I'm sick of this. Guys, I love Baylor, but these prices are ridiculous. Why the heck should I be forced to pay $320 for a textbook that I'll never actually use? It's robbery, somehow - this has to be illegal.
A lot of my friends (at Baylor and elsewhere) complain about the same problem. Rentals aren't too cheap either, and few students are willing to wait out the first week of classes to see if they actually need them (or few should be - I'm looking at us, Business Majors).
Anyways, I wasn't planning on sharing some of this information because it would directly take from Baylor's Bookstore revenue. I'm completely over that moral debacle now, so now you receive...
A lot of my friends (at Baylor and elsewhere) complain about the same problem. Rentals aren't too cheap either, and few students are willing to wait out the first week of classes to see if they actually need them (or few should be - I'm looking at us, Business Majors).
Anyways, I wasn't planning on sharing some of this information because it would directly take from Baylor's Bookstore revenue. I'm completely over that moral debacle now, so now you receive...
THE 2 TIPS YOU NEED TO SAVE A TON OF MONEY ON TEXTBOOKS
1. Get Talking.
You know what's annoying? Having to get out of your comfort zone and talk to people you don't know.
You know what's more annoying? Dropping an extra $80 on a freakin' workbook and then finding out your sophomore friend was trying to sell it online (not saying I've experienced this, but...you know...).
Some universities have official trading sites for students to swap books with minimal charge. Baylor does not - we have a Textbook Exchange page, and Craigslist. Good 'ol Craigslist.
Though most of you will likely start using the resource I'll cite below, this tip is important to consider for a few reasons:
So try trading with a friendly neighbor. Talk on Facebook or ask your advisor for names of students farther along in your degree program. I'm sure they'd be happy to help.
You know what's more annoying? Dropping an extra $80 on a freakin' workbook and then finding out your sophomore friend was trying to sell it online (not saying I've experienced this, but...you know...).
Some universities have official trading sites for students to swap books with minimal charge. Baylor does not - we have a Textbook Exchange page, and Craigslist. Good 'ol Craigslist.
Though most of you will likely start using the resource I'll cite below, this tip is important to consider for a few reasons:
- If you're in a traditional major, often an older student with the same required classes will have all those books. Talk to them and see if you can buy the whole bundle - saving both of you time in gathering up separate pieces.
- If you handle it in advance (such as the semester before), you can handle it without any shipping costs. Score.
- You're supporting a Baylor Bear. And not the Baylor Bookstore.
So try trading with a friendly neighbor. Talk on Facebook or ask your advisor for names of students farther along in your degree program. I'm sure they'd be happy to help.
If you are (a) Unable to track down other students or (b) Quarantined with a deadly virus, the following resource will help you tremendously. Most of you are probably thinking, "I use Amazon Prime anyways, so I save way more money than the Bookstore, Nathan."
True, true. But you might be really excited to find out that there's more...
True, true. But you might be really excited to find out that there's more...
2. BigWords.Com
Just click on the site and see for yourself. For those of you that need a summary:
BigWords is a textbook search engine conglomerate that constructs a list of the ISBN's or title selection of any given student's account. Then it cross-references the following:
- Online pricing
- Online rentals
- Bulk Purchase Discounts
- Bulk Shipping Discounts
- Seasonal Promotions
- Retail and Resale Value
Then it selects the books' best combination of purchases from any collection of stores and then gives you the links to instantly purchase them with those discounted prices.
Long-story short, it has been shown to save approximately 65% of what users spend at the Baylor Bookstore and 35% of what they would save by using Amazon.
A friend of mine just sent me a text today showing me his story:
BigWords is a textbook search engine conglomerate that constructs a list of the ISBN's or title selection of any given student's account. Then it cross-references the following:
- Online pricing
- Online rentals
- Bulk Purchase Discounts
- Bulk Shipping Discounts
- Seasonal Promotions
- Retail and Resale Value
Then it selects the books' best combination of purchases from any collection of stores and then gives you the links to instantly purchase them with those discounted prices.
Long-story short, it has been shown to save approximately 65% of what users spend at the Baylor Bookstore and 35% of what they would save by using Amazon.
A friend of mine just sent me a text today showing me his story:
So that's it! Go and save tons of money on textbooks. I really understand what it's like to feel screwed-over by textbook prices, so I hope this helps - no need to thank me. :)
Well, actually if you DO want to thank me, one way to help would be to Share my work with friends who would actually LIKE it. You can also Subscribe by liking my page.
Well, actually if you DO want to thank me, one way to help would be to Share my work with friends who would actually LIKE it. You can also Subscribe by liking my page.
PRIZE CONTEST:
The Money-saving spectacular
I'll be awarding a Memeify (defined: an over-the-top edit of your profile picture, probably with a space ship and robotic bears) in a drawing next week! Here's what you gotta do:
That's all - I enjoy having y'all here. Let me know what I should continue writing about!
- Take a screen cap with your savings from using BigWords.Com
- Tweet or Instagram the image @BoyMeetsBaylor
- Show me how much you saved!
That's all - I enjoy having y'all here. Let me know what I should continue writing about!
Nathan Elequin is a 2016 graduate from the Baylor Business Fellows, Interdisciplinary Core (BIC), and Honors Program. During his four years at Baylor, he sought to encourage and inspire students to take the leap of faith, discovering new friends and adventures during their life-changing experience at Baylor University. Now he is studying Instructional Design and Development at Syracuse University (MS '18) with the hopes of developing software for classroom learning.
I hope this brings you encouragement and prepares you for some of the best years of your life. Whether you are a student at Baylor or anywhere else, I would encourage you to share this poem with them to give them some fire as they begin their journeys.
I am excited for all of you. Sic 'em.
I hope this brings you encouragement and prepares you for some of the best years of your life. Whether you are a student at Baylor or anywhere else, I would encourage you to share this poem with them to give them some fire as they begin their journeys.
I am excited for all of you. Sic 'em.