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(NBC News) -- As the nation's college students prepare to head back to school again they're faced with a typical bill for textbooks that approaches one-thousand dollars.
And that's just for an average load.
Now, there's a cheaper way.
What the Internet has done for everything else, it is now doing to the high cost of textbooks.
Here's a secret. Most university bookstores charge full price for textbooks. But the internet can save college students hundreds of dollars through sites like campusbooks.com, which is a giant search engine for finding cheap, really cheap books. Sometimes 200-percent cheaper than retail.
Then there's this outfit, Freeload press. It promises to revolutionize textbook costs by giving them away, online. Already 100 plus major textbooks are available for free downloading here as an e-book. Read it on your computer or print it out as you need the pages.
What's the catch? None, except there's some online advertising. You can also buy hard and soft covered books, Typically, because of the ads, for under $30, a whole lot less than the $200 often charged by college bookstores.
It takes up to two weeks for most books bought online to arrive at your door after ordering. With the e-books, we're talking instant gratification.
