Save money on school books

2026-05-23

The simplest strategy is to choose the store that offers the best price and not settle for the option suggested by the school, or at least not without checking it first. That decision alone can give us a discount of between 10% and 20%, depending on the case.

This is the basic and easiest step. If we want to save a little more, we can do it easily by combining the best prices from the two best stores. However, that adds the extra cost on our side of placing two orders, paying for two deliveries, and possibly registering with two stores, which can add a few minutes to the process. It will not be as quick as buying everything from one store, but the effort will probably be rewarded with an additional 2%.

But the savings multiply when we include used books in the purchase. This decision can triple the savings, taking them from 10% (simply choosing a better store than the one suggested to us) to 30%.

Used books have less stock than new books, so prices are more volatile. If we see an option we like, the recommendation is to complete the purchase in that same session without delaying it, since it is still a second-hand market.

The last lever for saving money is to sell last year's old books (only textbooks and reading books, not workbooks) through a second-hand app. There are surely other parents one school year below in the same situation, nearby. This can take some time (photographing the books, posting the listing, meeting the buyer or preparing the shipment), but it can bring us an additional 20% to 30% (depending on the number of books, their condition, and how lucky we are finding a buyer).

It may not be for everyone, but it is something we may even enjoy and in which we should certainly involve our children because of the different values we pass on through this action. By leading by example, we show them the value of books, the importance of taking care of them, and that what no longer has value for us may still have value for others. Objects can have many lives and do not have to become waste once they have served their purpose for us.

By simply uploading your materials list to lolalist, you can find the best store, see the price you would get by combining the two best stores, or see how much you could save by including some used books, all on the same screen.

If you are thinking about buying some second-hand books, you can see their advantages in detail here: Second-hand books: savings and educational value