Good place to buy books for college???

[gt350mike]

Now that I have two boys in college I'm looking at having to pay in the neighborhood of $1000+ for F@*$% BOOKS this semester and the thought is driving me nuts. I've googled a few of their books and most of the searches turn-up Amazon.....that avenue isn't too appealing either.

In the past I've ordered books through Amazon and have discovered that most of their "suppliers" move like pond water.......I've gone as long as three weeks before receiving anything. So, are there any great sites to buy books??? Like everything else, I need to get the books ordered ASAP or just have to deal with writing the BIG CHECK!

[URY914]

I'll check with my wife. She works at a local University and does the book ordering for her dept. She may know some back door.

[gprsh924]

Just ordered a few of my books used through amazon. They got shipped out within 24 hours and should be here in a few days.

[exitwound]

I found that Amazon was quite a bit higher than Abebooks.com , which is another conglomeration delivery service. I also bought one of my books from eBay. It's been 6 days and I haven't received two of them yet, even though I was promised 3-4 day delivery. Classes start Monday. Let's hope I get them today. Instead of buying all my books at the bookstores on campus, I saved around $60 buying some online.

[t951]

bookpool.com is where i used to get IT related textbooks.

[javadog]

Back in my day, there were bookstores near campus that sold used books. You could usually find some in near-new condition.

JR

[gprsh924]

Originally Posted by javadog

Back in my day, there were bookstores near campus that sold used books. You could usually find some in near-new condition.

JR

There still are. However, if a brand new book costs $150 from the bookstore, a used book is probably between $90-$120. That same used book purchased online will likely cost $70 or less.

[gt350mike]

Originally Posted by t951

bookpool.com is where i used to get IT related textbooks.

Thanks for the suggestion, but............Bookpool.com is DOA.

See link:

http://www.rogue-development.com/blog2/2009/04/bookpool-rip/

[javadog]

Originally Posted by gprsh924

There still are. However, if a brand new book costs $150 from the bookstore, a used book is probably between $90-$120. That same used book purchased online will likely cost $70 or less.

True, but he said he's short on time...

JR

[Heel n Toe]

http://www.half.ebay.com/textbooks is the best place I found... I used it when my youngest was in college ('08 grad - industrial engineering) and saved a ton of dough.

It's not an auction... individuals and warehouses just list stuff they want to sell, you type in the title or the ISBN of what you're looking for, and it takes you to a page where all versions of that textbook are for sale. Very reasonable/modest shipping charges. An example:
http://product.half.ebay.com/Engineering-Ethics_W0QQtgZinfoQQprZ52189212

You compare prices and condition which is spelled out (highlighted, some writing in margins, pristine, etc.), then purchase with a credit card.

Sometimes a prof will tell the students they need the '06 edition or newer... or that they need the brand new one (which may or may not be listed... worth looking, though). Sometimes they'll tell them if they're buying used, they need to make sure they buy one that has the CD that came with it originally... or not. Your kid needs to find out these things before you go "shopping."

You post your billing address to the CC you use, and then your kids' mailing address so the books are sent there.

Of course it's up to the individual seller as to how fast they get it to you, but IIRC, they're obligated to ship within 7-10 days. If your boys are resourceful, they can get by until the books arrive.

[Steve Viegas]

http://www.chegg.com

[URY914]

I emailed my wife and this is her reply:

"I order desk copies from the publisher directly for the faculty member to use to prepare for class. I send the bookstore rep the order and he orders from the publisher.



For Emily’s books I normally use Amazon.com, and haven’t had a problem. Brent gave me www.bigwords.com and I’m going to try it this time. It has a unique feature “Book Bag” it will compare prices and try to get the best price from one shipper to save on the cost to ship. Your friend needs a couple of things verified by his kid:



Go to the bookstore and look at the actual book for class and write down:

ISBN # (Found on the back cover of the book)

Edition: 2nd, 5th, etc

OR Publication date: 2004, 2009 etc



Even a picture of the cover helps when ordering, as you can see it online and make sure it’s the most current edition. Unfortunately the publisher changes 3 things in the textbook and they can call it a “New Edition” and they can charge $98 and up for the new book when you can purchase a used one for $35. That’s why I try to get the faculty to milk the old edition as long as I can.



Amy

[onewhippedpuppy]

For the last few years of college (I graduated in 2008) I bought all of my books on Amazon. Look up the book then find the link that says "XX new and used from $YY". Amazon allows individuals to sell their books on the site, but Amazon brokers the sale. I bought a bunch of books that way, saving 30-50%. Their new books are also typically cheaper, but why buy new when used is cheaper yet? I never had any issues with the sales, much like Ebay they have feedback so it's easy to identify problem sellers. Highly recommended.

[Tishabet]

Back in 2002, a friend and I had a startup that centered around used textbook sales where we acted as the "matchmaking" entity but not the middle man. The business failed to take off (for a multitude of reasons) but while writing the business plan we came across an interesting fact (circa 01-02):

Nationally, college bookstores which buy back textbooks in order to resell them as used texts the next semester will purchase the book for an average of 24% of the "new" purchase price. Most of these books were sold new just a few months earlier.

When these books are resold, the average sale price was around 68% of the "new" purchase price.

That's a hell of a profit, no?

[Schumi]

I've never bought any books before classes start with the exception of my first semester in college. Too many professors put down a book on the reserve list and then never even mention the book in class or use it.


I usually wait till after the first class or two until I've felt out weather or not I will really need the book, or else it's a huge waste of money. I've gone whole semesters without buying any books, because I'll just sponge off friends in the class or study gruppes. Not everyone can do that and still pass a class however...

[gtc]

All you need is the ISBN. They are unique for each edition. You can also save some dough by getting a softcover version (same ISBN, but with a suffix), though I think hardcovers are worth the extra money, especially if you expect to save the textbooks.
I always used amazon and half.com.

Originally Posted by URY914

...
Go to the bookstore and look at the actual book for class and write down:
ISBN # (Found on the back cover of the book)
Edition: 2nd, 5th, etc
OR Publication date: 2004, 2009 etc
...

[t951]

Originally Posted by gt350mike

Thanks for the suggestion, but............Bookpool.com is DOA.

See link:

http://www.rogue-development.com/blog2/2009/04/bookpool-rip/

That's a bummer. I had 100% good experiences there.

Oh well. It stinks when a company that treats you well goes under....

[porsche4life]

I bought 3 USED books this semester and it was 414bucks. My roomate gave me the other that I needed. Thats from the bookstore near campus.

[vash]

my wife bought a few from ebay. she sells them on craigslist.

what a crazy racket!

[exitwound]

Also, at PSU, they have a bookswap posting board that you can use to dish off your old books to new students. Facebook also has a PSU BookSwap discussion group for swapping old books too.