How to buy your textbooks cheap!

The first semester of my freshmen year in college, I spent $600 on textbooks.  And honestly - I might have used them a few times for reference.  Here are a few tips that you can use to avoid spending $600 (or more!) on textbooks for college!

• Register for your classes as early as possible.  Find out what books you will  be using.  Be sure to get the name, volume/edition of the book, the author, ISBN# of the book, and the price.  Search online for your book - google.com, Barnes and Noble, Half.com, Abebooks.com are all good resources for price comparisons. 
• Consider renting your books for the semester.  Check out campusbookrentals.com.
• Check local bookstores for used books.  Many times, a professor will request that you read a novel of some sorts, not just a textbook.  You can save a ton if you do not purchase at your campus bookstore.
• Look on campus for people that took the class in previous years. 
• Buy used books on campus.
• Resell your old books to purchase new books.  Try to resell a book early in the semester if you do not for see needing it after a certain date.  This will up your resell $ amount.  Also, consider posting to resell on Craig's List or eBay.
• Find out to see if any books are optional.
• Consider electronic, downloadable versions of the book.
• Do not forget to include shipping costs in your book if you are ordering it online!  You may end up spending MORE money than expected.
• Consider the time frame when ordering books - you want to make sure you have the book in time for class.
• Try ordering your books in between semesters - when people are trying to get rid of old  books but before they start purchasing new books - prices are much lower.
• Check out your school library.  They may have an extra copy that you can check out (not for the entire semester, but if you have to read a novel or other small book, this would  be perfect!)