Where To Get Discounted CPA Review Books

CPA Exam is an big-ticket investment no matter how you look at it, and won't it be great if we can get the CPA review books at a discount? Let's take a look at where we can locate the discounted books and the percentage of discount we can expect.

Discounted Books vs Old Books

Please note that when I am talking about discounted review books, I do not necessarily mean study guides in earlier editions. I strongly encourage CPA candidates to get the latest edition because the small changes can make or break your chance of passing success, given the passing score is high at 75.

With that, let's see where we can get our hands on discounted books in the latest edition:

1. Official Websites

Yes, did you know that simply by purchasing online, you can get a good discount off retail price? You may not realize, but these course providers are happy to skip the revenue sharing with the book stores if they have a chance, and pass the benefit in the form of a discount to you.

For example, a Lambers guided review DVD is priced at $499.95 at retail price, but is now selling online at $299.95 -- a 40% discount!

2. CPA Exam Forums

If the CPA review books of your choice are not discounted on their sites, you might want to check out the CPA exam forums where successful candidates may be willing to sell or even give out course materials for free.

Please note that some forums do not allow active solicitation in this nature, but if you get lucky you may be able to identify a past student and the two of you can exchange emails and privately arrange the transaction.

While it is almost certain that you will get a good price out of it, the flip-side is that there is no protection on your part in terms of the condition of the course materials (this is especially the case for software with expiration dates), or that the seller will actually keep the promise and send you the materials at all.

3. Amazon

If this is your concern, then you should check out Amazon because it is an excellent platform for both new and used books.

At the time of this writing, Amazon is offering a very attractive price reduction on many popular CPA review books, including a whopping 37% discount on new Wiley CPA books in the latest edition.

For Becker CPA review books, there are quite a number of past students selling the latest edition via the Amazon platform. The good thing about buying used books on Amazon vs privately negotiated purchase is that there is a certain amount of protection on your side. You can also contact the seller and ask for the specifics such as condition and expiration dates by conveniently clicking the "ask the seller" link on the site.

To get the lowest price for your favorite study guides, please go to this page on CPA Review Books where I list out the cheapest option in each category.

For guided review course, please take a look at the CPA exam review courses comparison. Good luck!

Stephanie shares her experience in planning, studying and passing her CPA exam on her first attempt at IPassTheCPAExam.com.