For UNLV students paying tuition seems to be only one part of the puzzle when students are confronted with an outrageous textbook bill that ranges anywhere from $100-$500 dollars on average.

SwapYourTextbooks.com is a website that was founded by Aaron Francis, a former student of the University of North Texas.

"As a college student myself, I know how it feels to spend $400 on textbooks, then receive $100 back," said Francis. "I then watched in awe as my classmates purchased the books I just traded in. SwapYourTextbooks.com was created on the basis that students should come together and benefit from each other."

Members will place the books they have into their SwapYourTextbooks.com Inventory. The student then searches the database to locate the books they need. Students are asked to disclose the condition of their books, and members rate each other based on reliability and speed of shipping.

A credit system has been created so members can trade a book for a book without being restricted to one person. Each book will be valued at one credit. This allows members to value books solely as credits and trade freely with students nationwide.

According to survey data collected on the University of North Texas campus in May of 2005, an average college student will save an estimated $615 a year quoted by the swapyourtextbook.com.

BIGWORDS.com is another Web site that offers textbook savings to students.

In a BIGWORDS press release Aug. 16 the Web site reported that more than 75 percent of their customers return.

According to the press release the Web site offers students books 35 percent less than average textbook prices. The site also offers savings on school supplies, music, DVDs, and games to campuses nationwide.

As Web sites are being created to assist college students with the price of textbooks, some UNLV students have their own methods of guarding how much they spend on textbooks.

Jennifer Nader, who is currently pursuing her master's degree in Health Promotion, has always been reluctant in buying her textbook before the first day of class. The drawback of her route is that if she decides to wait until the first day of class the odds of getting a used textbook drops.

Nader believes that only after meeting the professor will she be able to decide whether or not she is going to need to buy the book. After receiving the syllabus and looking over the course work, this allows Nader to get an overview of what will be expected of them throughout the semester.

"It may not always be as clear," Jennifer said. "But after talking with the professor, they usually will give you a hint to how much of the text book they will want to use."

Carlena Pablo believes in ordering textbooks online.

Pablo usually goes to Barnes and Noble or Rebel Books to retrieve her literature.

In addition to using these online websites for ordering her textbooks, Pablo also uses the website ratemyprofessor.com. The purpose of the Web site is to educate students on professors and how they conduct themselves in a classroom. It can be described as an underground description of your professor and how much class time they will devote to using the textbook.

Students are now able to use Web sites to save money and know what to expect from their professor.