Everyone wonders: should i rent or buy law school books? The answer: You should be renting textbooks with Amazon Rentals. Never purchase all new books for every class. Except for your laptop, law textbooks will be your most expensive purchase for school. Unless, of course, you follow this guide.
Your professors and many people who wasted a ton of money in law school will tell you to purchase brand new books each semester.
Luckily, this is not necessary. Follow the steps below and you will save thousands (literally) of dollars over your three years in law school.
Four Ways to Get Used Books
1. Rent Your Law School Textbooks
Renting is your best friend. You get the textbooks for a fraction of the cost. The law school textbooks are in new or almost new condition. The rental period only lasts for the time you need it. Check out why you should never buy your law school books.
What if I need to look up one of my 1L topics?
The truth is that you will NEVER look at your 1L textbooks again. The reason is because the bar study programs give you EVERYTHING you need in terms of what law to know. Most likely, your bar exam won’t even test the same general law you learned your first year. This is because it will test more specific rules that have been adopted by the jurisdiction you are sitting for.
Additionally, when you need to look up the law you will simply google it or search on Lexis or Westlaw. You won’t need to look up the holding of a decade-old case that established the early tenets of contract law. The current law always evolves and your first textbooks will be no help in figuring out modern legal precedent.
Is buying textbooks better in the long run?
Absolutely not! You should rent your textbooks on the book list at a fraction of their full cost. Amazon makes textbook rentals super simple. They send you you a reminder and shipping label at the end of the semester so you can send your book back. All you need to do is take your textbook and the label to a UPS store and away it goes.
Will I save more money with used books?
Yes! Renting used textbooks through Amazon during your time in law school will save you hundreds and potentially thousands of dollars on most classes. Seriously, the price of a new edition constitutional law textbook can be upwards of $700. It is even more at your campus book store. A rental fee will only cost a fraction of that. Do the math as you will have 5 to 7 classes each semester for six semesters. The rental savings add up. Be sure to use Amazon rentals to acquire used books.
2. The Library Textbook Method
This strategy isn’t recommended for your first semester because we believe you should get the hang of reading and briefing cases without worrying about textbook availability.
However, once you have the hang of it, the library method works great. Every law library must keep all the required law books on hand for students to rent out. The best part? This is free.
The only downside is that you will have to do all your reading and briefing in the library. And, depending on your law school library’s rules, you may not be able to check the textbook out for class. But, some schools allow you to have a textbook for an hour or two. So, if you can check it out right before class you’ll be fine.
The risk of the library method is that there may be a limited number of copies of the textbook. Someone else may use the method like you. This creates an issue when you both want to check the book out, for example during class time.
Thus, this strategy is for those who know they will do their reading and briefing only in the law school library and at times when other students aren’t also planning on checking out the book.
3. The Borrow Textbook Method
The borrow method requires a friend or roommate with the same classes as you. Essentially, you each split the cost of a rental or purchase and then share the textbook. This is a great method of saving money for law students living with other law students. It works especially well in the first year because everyone has to take the same classes.
The downsides are that you’ll have to work it out with your roommate so that you don’t both do the reading at the same time. Additionally, you’ll want to sit next to each other in class. That way you can share the textbook in the event that one of you gets cold called.
4. The Old Version of Textbook Method
Older versions of textbooks go for a steep discount on Amazon. One way to save is to buy an older version of the textbook. For the most part, the cases from version to version remain the same. However, you will need to be able to check with a friend or the library who has the updated version to see if the reading contains different cases or cases not in your older version of the textbook.
This is a risky strategy because you cannot rely on the same page numbers as the newer version that is listed in your syllabus. Textbook companies change up the page numbering and often swap in (or out) cases to prevent students from doing this exact strategy.
However, if you have a friend with the updated textbook, you can easily get buy an entire semester with just checking to make sure you read the correct cases and finding the newer cases you may not have in time for class. This method can save you potentially hundreds of dollars.
Conclusion – Many Ways to Save Money on Law School Textbooks Compared to Buying a New Book
As you can see there are many different ways to play the textbook game. The best strategy is to rent your textbooks all three years and never step foot in the campus bookstore.
If you want to save money, try one or more of the above textbook strategies. Your best bet is to rent your law textbooks through Amazon Rentals for your first semester. After that you will have a better grasp of which professors and types of classes can work with which textbook strategy. Remember, if you have a roommate or a close friend that is willing to engage with these strategies as well, then you can truly save money renting textbooks.
Be sure to check out our other textbook guide: Why you should never buy new law textbooks.