Introductory microeconomics is often treated as a first-step course, but its ideas rarely stay there. Concepts about incentives, markets, tradeoffs, and efficiency return in business, finance, policy, and later economics coursework. That is why the decision around ISBN 9780357722862 deserves more care than a simple race to the lowest first number.

If you only need the buying answer

The cheapest short-term routes are short and quarter rental, around $46.16 to $48.59, followed by digital at about $68.99. The current new print listing is $83.98, which is still lower than semester rental at $97.18, far below used print at $210.56, and dramatically below the sampled new market at $322.32. So this is a split case: rental wins for the absolute cheapest short-term path, while print is a strong ownership route if you want to keep a clean microeconomics text.

Price comparison

Store	Format	Condition	Price	Link
Merybook	Paperback	New	$83.98	Check price
Rental	Short / quarter rental	Temporary	$46.16 – $48.59	Check rental options
Digital access	eTextbook	Access	$68.99 – $94.99	Check digital option
eCampus	Semester rental	Temporary	$97.18	Check rental option
eCampus	Paperback	Used	$210.56	Check used market

What this price means in practice

This is not the cheapest print-versus-anything case, because short-term rental is clearly lower. But the current print listing still does something important: it gives you a clean ownership copy at a price below semester rental, below the visible digital ceiling, and far below the broader print market.

That matters if you think the book will continue to be useful. Microeconomics often does, especially for students moving into business, policy, or later economics classes.

What this book actually teaches

Principles of Microeconomics teaches the logic of markets, incentives, elasticity, consumer and firm behavior, and the way economic reasoning organizes choices under scarcity. Its real value is not just that it explains graphs. It helps students learn a way of thinking that tends to return in many later settings.

That is why some students benefit from keeping the book. A text like this can remain useful as a reference even after the original course has ended.

Who should choose rental, and who should buy print

Choose rental if your only goal is the lowest short-term price for one term.

Buy print if you want a clean copy to keep for later economics, business, or policy work. At the current price, print is a much better ownership route than the broader market suggests.

Sources checked

Sources checked: Merybook listing search for ISBN 9780357722862, eCampus used and rental pricing, and sampled digital-access pricing. Pricing reviewed April 19, 2026.