It’s that time of year again the first week of the quarter, the several days where we achingly pay off our fees per unit. To top it off, the rising fee of our textbooks only helps catalyze the process of emptying our wallets even quicker. Some students will be paying as much for their textbooks as they did for their classes.

For some, the De Anza Bookstore is their go-to for all textbook and back-to-school purposes. But little do they know, the books they need may be available at other locations for half the price. 

We are in no way encouraging you to avoid the bookstore at all costs. You can hardly put the bookstore to blame; professors of De Anza College are required by the textbook companies to require the latest versions and editions of textbooks. Consequently, the De Anza Bookstore has no choice but to sell the latest editions of textbooks. 

Usually, at this point someone would urge using the Textbook Annex in the Oaks shopping complex as an alternative to the bookstore on campus. They say the textbook prices might be cheaper, or they sell the used books instead of the new ones. 

Instead, we urge you to find someone, not a name on the Internet or a book-swap co-op, a real flesh and blood person who you can hit in the face if they call your mother fat, and buy or sell the needed book from/to them.

Or, if you are an introvert, you can always check out the book from De Anza’s main library. But supplies are very limited and you can’t guarantee you’ll have it during finals week.

If neither sounds appealing, utilize the De Anza College Bookstore’s Rental Program. According to the website, this program “allows students attending De Anza College (with a current valid DASB card the opportunity to rent selected textbooks for approximately 1/3 of the retail price.” 

At the end of the quarter, when the students have made the most of these textbooks, they simply have to return the textbooks in their original condition to the bookstore. 

But whatever you do, don’t buy your book new. You’re just perpetuating the cycle.

Martin Towar contributed to this article.