Where is the best place to buy textbooks?

[LeftyMom]

I checked what they'd be at the school's store and assuming they have used copies in for all of them (yeahright) I'm out $283.10 before tax. I can't help put think I can do better with one of the online stores, but don't know which to check. Can anybody reccomend one with good prices and service?

Thanks!

[libnnc]

1. I've done Amazon before

I'm not sure if I've saved that much money but it was wicked easy and I got my stuff in good time. Powells Books (www.powells.com) is another source too.

[Nickster]

2. I always get my books off of half.com. Just make sure you have the

right ISBN and read carefully the seller's description. Sometimes you get burned, but mostly I've been saving a couple hundred bucks each semester.

[catmandu57]

3. $283.10 That's all?

No, no, I can understand, when I was in school textbooks were such a racket, I'd pay high dollar for a used text, then be unable to dump it at the end of a semester.
I have several left on my shelves, a Biology 101 book I paid almost $100.00 for that no one would touch at the end of the semester.
Textbook sellers rate just above insurance sellers on my list of scuz.

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

4. ha! I just but 600 down on mine this morning

:silly:

I sucked it up at bought at the bookstore cause theres no tax, but DAMN.

[sir_captain]

22. I've got you beat hands down!

I've got about $2500 budgeted for text books this year. And that's if I don't get all of them.

[Mutley]

5. If you can find a local book exchange nearby

I've always found those to be the best places. You can usually find used textbooks there for cheap.

[billyskank]

6. Isn't there somewhere selling secondhand ones?

From students who have finished their studies who don't need their text books any more. There was a place like that in our student union.

[LeftyMom]

7. That is the secondhand price.

:scared:

[billyskank]

8. Holy crap

Either you need a shit load of books, or... :scared:

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

9. Try Alibris.com nt

[izzybeans]

10. Try half.com or amazon.uk

Maybe a bookseller in canada. The educational market is another "captive" to price inflation here. Textbooks are cheaper overseas.

[eyesroll]

11. For me, it'll actually be the school bookstore.

I did some comparisons, and it looks like going online will save me (at most) $30. Out of about $450-$500. And I'd have to order from three different merchants, and hope that the edition I get is actually the one I need. And I won't buy used sight unseen (since I'll want to mark up my law books my own way, I'll probably have to buy most of my stuff new).

[LeftyMom]

12. It looks that may be the case for me as well

None of the resellers have all the books I need any cheaper than the campus bookstore, so any savings would be eaten up by shipping were I to order from several shops. All to save twenty bucks or so and sweat out that they get here on time and are the right books. It's looking like more trouble than it's worth, although maybe if I get my schedule earlier next year I can snag a few on ebay.

[deadparrot]

13. half.com. nt

[mike_c]

14. I KNOW I'll get flamed for this...

...but I think textbooks are a bargain. I mean, they're references you can use for many years-- think about their value distributed over a couple of decades and the cost doesn't seem so high. Even if you never open a book after you finish the class, the knowledge and understanding you gained will last your entire life-- if it doesn't you should seriously reconsider the total cost of college, LOL. But if you go on to some sort of professional career that is even remotely related to your college studies, you'll likely use those books for years. I went to college 20 years ago and I STILL have most of my textbooks and I still use them as reference books. Some of them were passed on to my daughter and her boyfriend when they were in college. I never sold any of them back at the end of the term, and I'm glad I didn't.

Yes, textbooks are expensive, but education really is priceless. I complained about textbook prices too, but I never really thought the money wasn't well spent. I still don't think so.

Flame away!

[catmandu57]

15. No flames here

I wish I still had all of my books, instead of just the ones I couldn't sell. Back then, I needed every dime, and if taking a bath selling books was the only way to get it, well you know.

[LeftyMom]

16. Well, part of the problem is they come out with new editions so often

For example, a used copy of my Poli Sci book is going to set me back $55 or so. It's a 2006 printing. Meanwhile there's a previous edition from 2004 that's almost cheaper to ship than to buy, since nobody teaches from it anymore.

Have the basics of American Government changed so much in two years that the older edition is obsolete? I kinda doubt it, and I really don't think a little blurb about the '04 election is worth $45 or so to me. I mean, back when I was in high school (not that long ago, I'm only 25) the books we had for German class still talked about East and West Germany. So the teacher lectured about the current government and I think we did some handouts the publisher did to update the books (which were outdated on that subject before the ink was dry) and it wasn't a big deal since most of the book was about the German language and still current. I could understand if it was a class where the understanding of the discipline is changing constantly or there are frequent new developments, but otherwise a new edition every year or two seems like overkill.

[Writer]

17. Lefty, is this graduate work?

If it is, I highly recommend you keep those books because they will come in handy later.

I know money is tight, but it was a thought I had. :)

Otherwise - good luck on your studies!

[LeftyMom]

18. No, this is community college stuff

I could understand if I was buying high level stuff, since it's smaller print runs with no economies of scale, but this is all Intro to (Insert Subject Here) general education stuff.

[Writer]

21. Okay. Well I am defintely recommend half.com...

also amazon used books is a good source. I had one class in which there were several books assigned and it saved me about $50.00.

Good luck! :hi:

[mike_c]

20. I usually tell my students that older editions are just fine...

...with the caveat that they are responsible for reconciling differences in page numbers, omissions, and etc.-- not me. You're right though-- in most fields, newer textbook editions add new information, new case studies, and so on, but the older info doesn't usually change, and that means 95 percent (or more) of the course content doesn't change all that much.

[Kellanved]

28. Actually the German language tends to change frequently

We had just another reform a few days ago.

:D

[WindRavenX]

26. no flames here because I'm a bio major...

...and I WILL use the books over my career, so yes, they are an investment.

However, don't you think 250 for an organic chem book is a bit too much?

[speedoo]

19. Try eBay.

[XemaSab]

23. You try the bookstore

near Espresso Metro? :shrug:

[bridgit]

24. there's a used text book & exchange store out near sacto city college...

on freeport near to where the college meets landpark

[LeftyMom]

25. I didn't know there was one there

There used to be a Off Campus Books over by ARC but they closed. I didn't know there was another used text place in the area other than the Surplus Book Room, which mostly has K-12 stuff.

[NMMNG]

27. If you don't mind the possibility of getting the books at different places

You can try My Simon. It's a comparison shopping site that will automatically compare prices on an item at multiple sites (I've had it bring up as many as 31 different online stores for a single book). Then you can choose the one you want and order from there. It works best if you have the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) for each book as that is unique to the book, whereas titles can often be very similar or even identical.