Cheapest Way to Get ASU Engineering Textbooks (Fulton Schools)

Stop Paying Full Price for Fulton Textbooks

If you're in the Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, you already know the deal: tuition is expensive, parking is a nightmare, and somehow your intro circuits textbook costs $280. That's not an exaggeration — Nilsson and Riedel's Electric Circuits runs well over $200 new at the campus bookstore.

Here's what actually works.

Check ASU List First

The ASU List is a free student-to-student marketplace built for Sun Devils. Engineering textbooks come up constantly — EEE 202, CSE 110, MAT 265, CHM 113. Search by course number or title and you'll often find someone in your major who just finished the class and wants their money back.

Listing is free, buying is direct, and there's no third-party cut. A lot of ISTB 4 regulars have made it their first stop before every semester.

The ISTB Buildings Are Your Best Resource

ISTB 1, 2, 4, and 7 all have bulletin boards and student lounges where people post "textbook for sale" flyers the old-fashioned way. It works. But ASU List lets you do the same thing digitally — reach more people, filter by title, and not worry about your flyer getting torn down.

Also worth checking: the couches outside the engineering advising offices. Students leave books there constantly — sometimes free, sometimes with a note and Venmo handle.

Real Options by Course Type

Math-heavy courses (MAT 265, MAT 266, MAT 267, MAT 343):

These textbooks get reused every single semester. Older editions are usually fine — check if your professor specifies. Stewart's Calculus 8th vs. 9th edition is nearly identical for most courses, and you can grab an older edition for under $20.

Lab courses (PHY 121, CHM 113):

Lab manuals are trickier because they get written in. Try to find a classmate who was unusually tidy. ASU also sometimes offers digital lab manuals through the course page — check before you buy.

Upper-division engineering (EEE 334, EEE 350, CSE 360):

These are where the real savings are. Not as many students cycle through them, but ASU List and Facebook Marketplace (ASU textbooks groups) regularly have them. Give yourself a week or two before the semester starts to find a deal.

Open Textbook Library and MIT OpenCourseWare

A lot of Fulton courses — especially in CSE and EEE — align closely with courses taught at MIT, Stanford, and Georgia Tech. MIT OpenCourseWare posts syllabi, problem sets, and sometimes full textbook alternatives. It's not always a perfect match, but for supplementing an older edition you already have, it's solid.

The Open Textbook Library (opentextbook.site) has peer-reviewed engineering texts that are genuinely comparable to paid versions for some intro courses.

Interlibrary Loan (Yes, Really)

ASU's Hayden Library offers interlibrary loan — you can borrow a textbook for a semester through the system. It's not glamorous and the wait can be a week or two, but for a $300 textbook you only need for eight weeks? Worth it.

Also check if your professor put a copy on reserve at the library. It's free, you can read it there, and sometimes you can photograph what you need.

What Doesn't Work

Renting from the campus bookstore sounds good but the math rarely works out. If you have even a 30% chance of keeping the book (which you should — engineering references are actually useful), just buy used and sell it afterward on ASU List.

Amazon rental is better, but watch the return deadline carefully. Missing it by a day costs you the full price.

The Move: Buy Used, Sell Right After Finals

The smartest Fulton students treat textbooks like rentals they control. Buy used on ASU List or Facebook at the start of the semester, take care of the book, then relist it on ASU List a few days before finals when demand is highest. You often end up spending $15–30 on a textbook that retails for $200+.

Timing the resale matters — more on that in another guide — but the window right before finals and the first week of the next semester are your best shots.