How to Find Cheap Textbooks for ASU Online Students

ASU Online Is Huge — and Textbook Costs Are a Real Problem

ASU Online is one of the largest online university programs in the country, with over 70,000 students enrolled. If you're one of them — taking classes from Phoenix, Flagstaff, Denver, or anywhere else — you face a textbook situation that's slightly different from your on-campus counterparts.

You can't swing by the Brickyard to check the bulletin boards. You can't grab someone's leftover copy from the ISTB 4 lounge. But you still have solid options.

ASU List Works for Online Students Too

ASU List is a free student marketplace, and plenty of ASU Online students use it for buying and selling course materials. The platform doesn't require you to be on campus — sellers can ship directly to you.

Filter by course number or textbook title. Message sellers directly and ask if they'll ship. Most will — just factor in shipping cost when comparing to other options.

Your ASURITE ID Is Worth More Than You Think

Every ASU student — including online students — has full access to ASU's library system with their ASURITE login. That includes:

• Digital textbooks through the library's e-book collection
• Course reserves placed by professors
• Interlibrary loan requests
• Free access to databases that have textbook content (especially for business, social science, and law courses)

Before you buy any textbook, log in at lib.asu.edu and search the title. You might find a digital version available for free.

Open Educational Resources (OER): Legitimately Free

ASU has been expanding its use of open educational resources — free, openly licensed textbooks that professors can assign instead of commercial texts. If your syllabus lists an OER textbook, that's a good day.

For courses where OER isn't assigned, check:

• OpenStax (openstax.org): peer-reviewed free textbooks for intro bio, chemistry, physics, economics, psychology, statistics, and more. ASU professors increasingly use these.
• Open Textbook Library: similar catalog, different selection
• MIT OpenCourseWare: not textbooks per se, but course notes and readings that can supplement or replace a commercial text

What to Do About Access Codes

This is the hardest part for online students specifically: many ASU Online courses are built around publisher platforms — MyLab, Connect, MindTap, Achieve — and access codes are non-negotiable if the homework is graded there.

If you need an access code:

1. Buy it directly from the publisher's website (often cheaper than through the campus store)
2. Check if the access code includes a digital textbook — it usually does, which means you don't need to buy a separate print copy
3. Sometimes you can get a two-week grace period at the start of the semester while you figure out financial aid

Renting Options That Work for Online Students

Chegg: Good rental selection, ships quickly, reliable return process. Use it for courses where you definitely won't need the book after the semester.

VitalSource and RedShelf: Digital rental platforms — no shipping, immediate access. Good for courses where you just need to read specific chapters.

ThriftBooks and AbeBooks: For buying used, these often have better prices than Amazon and ship just as quickly.

Timing Matters Even More When You're Remote

If you need a physical book, order it before the semester starts — not after the first day of class when you realize the professor is assigning readings from day one. Give yourself two weeks lead time.

For digital access codes, purchase immediately. Delays in digital access hurt you more than delays in physical books because professors often open assignments in the first week.

Facebook Groups Still Work

ASU has active Facebook textbook buy/sell groups even for online students. Search "ASU textbooks" on Facebook. Online students participate, and some sellers specifically note they'll ship nationwide.

For online-specific programs (Thunderbird Online, W. P. Carey Online MBA), look for your program-specific Facebook groups or Slack channels — cohort-based programs have strong textbook sharing networks.