The Best Bookstores at Penn State University Park
Different from the high school days, students need to purchase their own textbooks for college classes. There are several different methods students can use to purchase textbooks including bookstores, student book exchanges, or sometimes extra copies will be available from your professor. There are also several online bookstores that where books can be purchased for a fraction of the cost that might be found on campus. Here at PSU Moms we have the inside scoop on buying text books including where to get the best prices and what to watch out for when buying and selling books.
Book Stores in State College
There are two major brick and mortar book stores at the University Park campus that can provide almost any textbook for any class offered at Penn State. The Student Bookstore is located at 330 E. College Avenue and will also have every book required for classes at Penn State University Park. The Student Bookstore is also a fun place to visit because the inside has tons of Penn State merchandise, school supplies and gifts. There is also a good selection of officially licensed Penn State clothing and football merchandise
The on campus Student Bookstore located on the bottom floor of the HUB building offers not only text books but the largest selection of novels, puzzle books, self help and educational books as well as an impressive selection of clothin. A little known fact by some new families to Penn State is the bookstore on campus is actually run by Barnes & Noble. You can buy your student a Barnes and Noble gift card to help them pay for their text book expenses.
Getting the best value when purchasing college textbooks
When deciding on where to buy your books near campus there is not really a significant difference in price among the main bookstores, but it is always good to comparison shop.
Make sure your student checks around the counter and on the outside of the bookstore buildings to see if there are any special sales.
Every now and then during high volume book buying weeks, you can find promotional coupons worth as much as 10% off. Other deals might include buy one textbook and get a second half off or buy a book and get a Penn State shirt.
The College Book Buypack Period
The main difference between the bookstores lies at the end of each semester, also known as the 'buyback period'.
Selling your books back is not only difficult but you are somewhat at the whim of what the bookstores want to pay. We have found through polling our members that on average, The Student Bookstore on College Avenue pays the most amount of money for your used textbooks at the end of the semester.
have your student check around each bookstore for promotions during this time as well. A popular coupon we have seen is $10 extra on any buyback.
One tip your student must keep in mind is that once a bookstore buys back a certain amount of books for a class they might stop buying them completely. Make sure your student does not procrastinate during the buyback period or a $50 book can easily turn into a $0 book or a dust collector on a shelf
The BEST place to buy books for college
The hands down best place to buy books for the smart shopper is from online used book sellers.
You can find used books online for a fraction of what they cost in the on campus bookstores.
Some excellent places to start are the usual secondhand online retailers like eBay.com and Amazon.com.
The only thing you need to watch out for when buying online is edition numbers, lots of times professors will use The same titled textbook each year but upgrade the eiditon.
Other professors will use the same edition year after year and this is where buying online can lead to deep discounts. A hidden trick of the on campus bookstores is they will charge the same retail price for old books when the professor decides to use the same edition as last year. Sometimes these books can be found online for as little as $1.
Make sure you student buys textbooks early so they can get the best price. It is not uncommon to be able to buy a book for under $20 online that the on campus stores are charging $100 for. Buying online is your best route if it is at all possible.
PSUMoms Discount Student Textbook Tool
Now that you are aware of the most popular options to buy student textbooks give our new discount textbook tool a try! It is powered by Campusbooks.com and searches several sites on the internet to get you the best price on the exact book you are searching for. Visit the PSUMoms Discount Student Textbook tool and start saving today.
