College students learn quickly that tuition isn’t the only thing draining their wallets.

So when one finance student bought a $300 textbook only to find out the professor was giving away a free version instead, he thought returning it would be simple — until the campus bookstore refused without proof he’d dropped the class.

However, bookstore management severely underestimated just how badly this student wanted that cash back.

Keep reading for the full story!

College Book return

So one semester in college, I was taking a finance class.

I bought the book ($300) a couple days before the class started at the campus bookstore.

Soon he figured out he didn’t actually need the textbook after all.

Two days later, I had my first class, and the professor announced that we didn’t need to buy the book. She was giving out a free PDF of a different, similar book.

Wow! Saved $300 bucks, I thought.

So after class, I went to the bookstore to return it.

But the bookstore decided to make things harder than they needed to be.

Well, the store clerk said, “I can’t return it now that the semester has started unless you have proof of you dropping the class.”

I explained the book wasn’t needed anymore and that the professor was using a free version of a different book. I even talked to the store manager.

And the problem is enrollment is closed, so I could drop the class but not re-enroll. And if I didn’t take it this semester, it would set my schedule back a year.

So this student decided to read the fine print.

Oh, I was mad, so what did I do? I started sorting through school policy.

Turns out, you can actually enroll into any class late with professor permission.

Luckily, this student was pretty close with his professor.

So what did I do? I went to my professor (super chill lady! Awesome class, by the way) and explained how I was a poor, starving student and needed to return the book.

She was like, “Let’s do this.”

So the next day I tried to return the book again. No go.

So he decided to give the bookstore what they wanted.

I then dropped the class online on my phone in front of them.

Then said, “Look, I dropped the class,” and got my $300 back.

Then said, “Hold on, I need to re-register for my class. I have a permission slip from the professor,” and used their computers to register!

Hahaha, the manager was kinda dumbfounded.

Looks like the student won this round.

What did Reddit think?

It’s great when your classmates look out for you.

Buying college textbooks online has proved to be much more cost efficient.

This commenter shares a clever plan from someone they knew.

This user has a hot tip for broke college students everywhere.

In some classes, you may not even need the textbook.

When life throws an unfair rule your way, you just have to read the fine print!

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.