UBC textbooks can be found at:

The UBC Bookstore. If you have money to throw away, buy new textbooks here. You can also save money by renting new textbooks from the UBC Bookstore, although I haven’t done this myself.

Discount Textbooks at the University Village Marketplace. Although the textbooks here are second-hand, most of the books on sale are relatively more expensive than what you would find online.

Facebook groups are the best place to find used textbooks at great prices, so join these groups right away! Most of the textbooks I ended up buying last year came from Facebook. The two largest groups are “UBC textbook 4 sale” (22,000+ members) and “Buy and Sell – UBC text books” (12,000+ members).

Kijiji and Craigslist. Some of the sellers on Kijiji and Craigslist live far away from UBC campus. If they don’t plan on delivering the books to you, you might have to travel a considerable distance to get the textbooks you have agreed to purchase. Turn to Kijiji and Craigslist when you cannot find the textbook you are looking for on Facebook.

If possible, check the public library for textbooks before buying.

See if your friends own any textbooks that you need. If they’re nice, they’ll sell it to you for a reasonable price or let you borrow it for free. 😮

How much should I pay for a textbook?

All things considered, this comes down to you and how much money you are comfortable spending for a specific textbook on your booklist. You often end up saving tons of cash by buying used textbooks online that are sold at discounts of 30% or more. Sometimes, these discounts can be higher than 80%. Although different sellers can sell the same textbook at different prices, small differences in price ($5 to $30, depending on the original price of the book) are often irrelevant because these books are being sold at noticeably lower prices than buying new.

However, if you are interested in getting the BEST deal, comparing multiple postings and waiting for bargains to surface will help you maximize your savings. This approach isn’t for everyone, as it might take extra time and energy to find the right seller, and you might get your textbooks later than expected. Hunting for the best bargain is not recommended for textbooks that are hard to find in the first place.

Best of luck!