A new acim be new, shiny, free or any notes or marks, and will probably cost a little extra. For most schools you should be able to buy used books for most of your classes unless they adopted a new book. Some instructors will either have one of their own books published or have a book with one of their journals in it. In this case, those instructors will probably make that one of the required books since they would also make some money off of it.
The great thing about buying your books, new or used, is that at the end of semester, you can sell your books back, hopefully. I say hopefully because selling your books can actually do more damage than help. You will probably run into the book store telling you that they have adopted a new edition of that book and won’t buy back the old ones. They may also tell you that even though they will be using the same edition but have already bought back all the copies that will be needed and won’t buy yours back. You do always have the option to sell your books online; surely someone will want or need your textbook.
Renting your books can help get rid of the sell back situation. There are many websites that allow you to rent your books for a set period of time, normally for the semester. Your college may also offer this option as well, so check with the bookstore or college to see if you can rent instead of buy. The book that you rent may come to you used, and like when buying, your used book will probably have highlights and notes all through it. However, no matter if it’s a new or used book that you rent, most places that you rent from allow you to write and highlight in the book as well. So, if you thought that you could only do that in a book you bought, think again.
When it comes to saving money while in college, it may seem difficult to do, but there are ways to do so. Now, whether or not renting will save you money over buying your books and selling them back may just depend. Just remember that when you buy your books, you may not be able to sell them back, but when you rent, at the end of the semester, you just ship them back and it’s a done deal.