Textbooks can cost a fortune but savings is possible.

Last year, 26 percent of college students spent about $600 million on books over the Internet. Students at NIU can trade in their books at the end of the semester for cold hard cash at the Village Commons Bookstore or the University Bookstore or trade their reading material with other students on the Web.

Freshman design major Dan Lucianek said trading books would be better than NIU’s “buy back” system.

“VCB and the campus book store offered me $15 for a brand new $75 book that I only used a couple of times,” he said. “I just kept it to use for reference.”

To begin trading textbooks students first need to register at www.cambire.com. Then they can type in books that they need and ones they’re willing to trade.

If the site finds a trading partner the student will receive an e-mail and transaction notification, according to Cambire.com.

After the student has found the books he or she needs, bidding can begin. Sometimes students trade other books and pay money to make up the difference.

Volvick Derose, an electrical engineering graduate student attending Johns Hopkins University, developed the site from his own personal experience with textbook expense frustration.

Derose said Cambire.com has created a forum for college students across the United States to come together and help each other save money and exchange their textbooks.

“As a student I spent hundreds of dollars on textbooks that were used for a few months then put on a shelf for good and it was with this in mind that I developed Cambire,” he said.

Senior history major John Kuehl said the trading system sounds more effective than selling books back for barely anything.

Devilyn Orseske, a junior time arts major, agreed with Kuehl.

“I would definitely use Cambire.com if I could trade and get cheaper prices,” Orseske said.”I would definitely use Cambire.com if I could trade and get cheaper prices.”