Well I bought my books the other day and WOW was I in for sticker shock. My anatomy and physiology book alone was $110.00 US used and it is beat and abused. I have 7 days from Drop and Add to return these books so my question is: Have any of you purchased your text books from another source especially online? Have you ever had any problems doing this? I know exactly what books to look for and what edition (ISBN #) and have found several NEW copies for way less than what I payed at the college bookstore. (I know there are alot of 'teacher's editions' out there to avoid)
Anyway, any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!! :thumb:
~Jen
Jen,
My husband is taking his Master's at UB right now, and he's learned the hard way in the past as well - he bought the books new, and OUCH! Since then, each semester he goes to some sort of fan-dangled book sale that the university puts on each semester where you can sell or buy used books from the previous semester. WAY cheaper, and nothing wrong with the books. He's even found that he's not had a problem using books that are perhaps one edition early than the newest (they usually change 2 or 3 words and make a new edition out of it, haha). That's just the experience he's had.
Good luck!
Jen, I've purchased a number of my textbooks from Half.com. I have nothing but good things to say about the speed of deliver and quiality of the texts. Also, check around the campus area because there are often bookstores that sell for less than the "official" bookstore of the college/university. I hope this helps!
-Jenna
I've also used the amazon and barnes/noble online stores to buy textbooks used and they are about 20-30 percent cheaper than the campus bookstore. Good luck!
I used to go to the main branch of my county library, request all the required text I could find listed in my syllabi, and just check those books out over and over again until the semester was over. However, that might only have worked for me because I was in writing & literature courses, where required text was often in the form of novels, novellas, collections of poems, short stories, etc., not thick, technical textbooks.....but I guess it could be worth investigating? :wink:
The university library will have all of the books you need. Try checking them out over and over, but they will likely be recalled. I have photocopied what I need from the books. It's not the most honest thing to do, but it is much easier on the wallett.
Check Amazon too, though I find it gets cleaned out quickly. So you should try to find out the books you need in advance of needing them. Additionally, I would recommend holding off on buying books. After the first couple of weeks you can find out what you really need (some profs dont even assign readings from books they tell you to buy, or some summarize the chapters anyway).
Good luck beating the book store![/b]
Thanks for all of the information...I really appreciate it. At least I know now that there are other methods of getting my books.
Damn bookstores anyway.....
EBay is another option. You may not find all the books you're looking for but those you do generally sell for much less. I would recommend contacting the seller prior to bidding though and let them know you need the books soon.
A lot of times, the reason for high book prices on campus bookstores is the slowness of the professors in deciding what books they want to use for their classes. My UWM professors sometimes don't decide on the course books till a week from the start of class, which means rush shipping and a limited window of high demand the publishers can take advantage of. Thank god for the internet is all I can say :roll:
Even pricy bookstores are cheaper than a university bookstore. The only way you get screwed is if your prof wrote the text and has it specially printed - often they cost the most.
highwaygirl28 Wrote:Well I bought my books the other day and WOW was I in for sticker shock. My anatomy and physiology book alone was $110.00 US used and it is beat and abused. I have 7 days from Drop and Add to return these books so my question is: Have any of you purchased your text books from another source especially online? Have you ever had any problems doing this? I know exactly what books to look for and what edition (ISBN #) and have found several NEW copies for way less than what I payed at the college bookstore. (I know there are alot of 'teacher's editions' out there to avoid)
Anyway, any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!! :thumb:
~Jen
i bought every single book in my first year and it was danmed expensive. So instead of buying go to the schools library...they should have a copy of the text there, or at least previous additions...and sign them out for the semester....it will save you tonnes of cash.