Textbook Shopping Advice

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

ODS will be a college freshman in less than 2 weeks.  

We are shopping for his textbooks.  He needs hard copies due to his dyslexia and hearing issues.  He would, ideally, prefer new books without prior users' markings.

The most expensive of the lot are his books for Math, Psychology, and French.  The remainder are an assortment of smaller paperbacks.  

Obviously, while convenient, the college bookstore is $$$$$$$.  It is a B&N-run store -- can I use my B&N card at college bookstores?

I'm checking Amazon, of course, and half.com.  

Any other sources for hard copy textbooks either new or in really great used condition?  

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I got a lot of my textbooks used oneline via Barnes and Noble.

[Abby Normal]

There is nothing wrong with used- especially if you can put your hands on it first.  You can usually find a decent copy (not too many markings) on it for a whole lot cheaper than new. It's harder the first term, but once you get to know people you can make connections with people who already have the class and are willing to sell their book. They get more than what the bookstore would pay on buyback, and you can get it cheaper than a used one in the store.

[saveinla]

I have tried 3 or 4 websites including B&N, but none of them delivered or they would cancel my order after a week or sometimes even 2. After trying out a lot of the websites, I have stuck with Half and Amazon as they are the only reliable ones for me - for at least the past 3 years. You can get used books from Amazon and if you message the seller they can tell you the condition of the book.

I use Swagbucks to earn Amazon GCs and also use my Amex points - so I usually get my text books close to free. 

Chegg is another good one that I hear about.

[Sharon]

My DD was one who also needed textbooks with few to no markings because of a reading disability.  We got most of hers through Amazon and yes we bought new.  Amazon seemed to pay the most for returned textbooks.  I also was doing swagbucks for the amazon gift cards.  We would get a nice credit going and then return her books at end of term.  It made the cost of the next term less painful.  Were we would get burned was the books that were published by the university.  Those seemed to only be available at the bookstore for mega $$$$$.  On some of those books she would get to the bookstore as early as possible and paw through every used one there to see if any would work for her and if not then buy new.

With her troubles reading it was not worth saving a few bucks just to buy used.

[myrrh]

I used to use addall which is a site that compares multiple stores and gives the best price. Can't hurt to try.

www.addall.com

[busymom]

We totally price shop. Some are cheaper at the college bookstore, & some are cheaper on Amazon. We've been averaging about half & half since DD has been in college.

[Regis]

If they're books that aren't going to be kept after the class, consider renting from Chegg.

[beergut]

It might be a longshot, but for the paperbacks, I'd check the university library, and go through inter-library loan if needed. Checking them out is cheaper than buying. 

[teen persuasion]

DD3 rents most of her textbooks, then returns either at the B&N bookstore or by UPS.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I know a lot of people in the first year of my drafting course rented a very expensive text ($160) that was on the list.  I broke down and bought it, and it turned out that it has been used every single trimester in some way or the other so far. and I've already been informed that I need to use it next year.

I looked into renting it, and it was around $50/semester.  Even paying full price for it at the bookstore (I looked into going online and the price wasn't any better), I made out over renting.

I guess my take home message is that you need to really look at the class it's being used for AND what's going on down the line.  Could the book be used as a reference text for more advanced classes?

BTW.....do pay attention to the edition.  Same text as I mentioned above, some bought earlier editions that missed information that was put in later ones.  I know I loaned my book out more than once so that others could get the info needed.

[973beachbum]

One other thing that is more new are student access codes.  If you know ahead of time that you need the access code then they are telling you you have to have a new book.  They can be online or hard copy but you aren't going to be get the access code from a used one.  My belief is this is to keep the students from being able to buy things used online.  But there really isn't anything you can do about it.

If you know the prof doesn't require the access code then you can try and find one online at B&N or Amazon type places.  We bought plenty of text books over the years and we got lots that were listed like new and we were never disappointed, especially with the price.

Whatever you end up doing good luck!  I know from experience it is an exciting and frightening time.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

you know ahead of time that you need the access code then they are telling you you have to have a new book. They can be online or hard copy but you aren't going to be get the access code from a used one. My belief is this is to keep the students from being able to buy things used online.



Or it will come with some disk that the college will insist is required and then you never use the darn thing.  LIke my microbiology textbook.

Fortunately IWCC paid 50% during buyback so I wasn't totally screwed.

[973beachbum]

Drama DD had those disks with the access code and they had to register it with the college so they could get their grades.  And they could only be bought from the college book store.  Nothing on the disk or from the code was ever used other than to register with it.  But it was necessary to get it from the school or they couldn't get a grade.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

It's all a racket.   My biology professor was pissed at having to purchase a new textbook, the only real difference was they changed the page numbers.  She couldn't refuse to use it, the bookstore made all teh teachers switch every time a new copy came in.   They'd get in trouble if the bookstore got wind that they were encouraging kids to buy the older edition.

[973beachbum]

DH get pushed to do things like require the access codes and disks ect. .   So he just laughs and says I use Excel to do my grades and am always the first prof period adjunct or not to hand in their grades so no I won't use your access code linked thing to do them.  In his case he isn't a real employee. He is an adjunct that probably makes min wage or less.  In his mind he is doing charity work so what can they really do to him other than tell him they don't want it?

He also doesn't outright say it but he could care less if a student came in with the old textbook.  All he does with the text book is give out homework that he doesn't grade anyway.  And he only gives out the ones that are already answered in the back of the book so they can check their answers.  What does he care if they have an old book with different homework problems?

[alabamagal]

Wait until class starts to make sure that you really need them. Sometimes things get put on the list that are not needed by all professors.

[cael]

I did an Amazon rental for my spring class, $25ish bucks and a free label to return it. Worked out great, I would've paid at least $65 to own a copy and as with most textbooks, I probably wouldn't have opened it again ever.

[DagnyT]

My daughter has used textbooks.com. She has purchased both new and used, and has also rented from them. The prices were always much better than the campus bookstore, and the buy back prices were better, also. She rented some through them, but they actually came from Chegg.

[cyanne]

DS is starting college this fall. I want to buy the international versions because they are cheaper but I'm holding off until I know if he will need the damn access codes or disks.

It really is criminal how much they charge for these books. His college estimated $1000 for textbooks and supplies but some of the books are over $200 each. He will be taking 5 classes this semester and at least another 4 in the spring. I suspect that $1000 won't cut it.

[Lizard Queen]

There are a couple of independent college book sellers that sell and rent textbooks for $5-10 less than the college bookstore. If new books with access codes are required, they have them. I've only run into that once, and the access code was for online study guide and all the homework done online. I'm normally cheap, but this particular content was awesome. Being a lifelong student, i never buy study guides. Except, i did the first semester or 2. I bought the study guide that went with the psychology book, and it made that class ridiculously easy. All the tests were based off the study guide material. I could have skipped buying the textbook in that instance.

Sometimes you can find used textbooks with little to no markings. I never hiighlighted in my books, and wrote a minimal amount of notes in pencil if any. Too many years of not being allowed to mark in books...

[xandrose]

Avoid buying from the college bookstore as best you can. I learned that the hard way first semester freshman year. It cost over $700 for that semester. After that I bought used online or bought from other students on campus. And for the most part sold them back at the end of the semesters. There's some depreciation obviously, but after 8 semesters, my net cost was under $150 a semester on average. I kept a spreadsheet and the total cost was $1,152 for my entire 4 years, BS in Finance. (I graduated 2 years ago.)

[luckyme]

Just bought all of DS's textbooks from the college bookstore.   
A few were specifically for the college & could not be found anywhere else.  He was advised to wait until school started, but I have run into that issue w/ DD where she needed the book by the next class, it was harder to find waiting that long, had to pay rush shipping, or pay full price for new one at the college bookstore.

This way we purchased new ones (access codes), used ones, or rented them, whatever was cheapest.  IF the books are not required for class he can return them for full refund.  The prices for the others weren't much more than any of the other book sites like Chegg, Amazon, etc.  Still came to $526.  Hopefully, he can return some when school starts. 

It really does pay to research ALL the options. 

[jlbear71]

Aug 7, 2015 11:50:36 GMT -5 busymom said:

We totally price shop. Some are cheaper at the college bookstore, & some are cheaper on Amazon. We've been averaging about half & half since DD has been in college.

One pretty good option is to rent them.  Only one of the text books that I have rented has too much marking in it.  The person used a purple highlighter.  

And I know that you can do some of your own marking in rentals.  If you use pencil, you can erase any marking that you did.

I know my math and French books were some of the most expensive.  Psych books were up there as a close second.  The only book I would use for more than one semester was the French book.  Everything else was a different book for each class.

The price difference between buying a book with selling it back and a rental is not that much of a difference.

[jlbear71]

Aug 8, 2015 21:15:21 GMT -5 luckyme said:

Just bought all of DS's textbooks from the college bookstore.   
A few were specifically for the college & could not be found anywhere else.  He was advised to wait until school started, but I have run into that issue w/ DD where she needed the book by the next class, it was harder to find waiting that long, had to pay rush shipping, or pay full price for new one at the college bookstore.

This way we purchased new ones (access codes), used ones, or rented them, whatever was cheapest.  IF the books are not required for class he can return them for full refund.  The prices for the others weren't much more than any of the other book sites like Chegg, Amazon, etc.  Still came to $526.  Hopefully, he can return some when school starts. 

It really does pay to research ALL the options. 

And this.  I rented books for a class that ended up being cancelled.  School bookstore took them back but the other seller did not.  There was another class that I bought the books for and then they changed by the time the class started.

[murphath]

Textbooks.com is good.  Get the IBSN (?) number of the book, because that's sometimes the only way to match things up.

Foreign lang. books are expensive because they are usually good for two semesters of the language. And they are sold with the workbook in a package. If the prof has students do the workbook exercises and turn them in, then you're stuck with buying the package. You can sometimes find a clean workbook online, too.

We rented a lot of the g.e. books from the bookstore. That save a ton of $$: $50 per book as opposed to $150 for new. The difference was ridiculous.

We did buy books we knew the kids would need in future: human anatomy, for example, because both DDs went into medical field. They used those books a lot.

[bean29]

Aug 7, 2015 20:04:48 GMT -5 Sum Dum Gai said:

I got my own thread? Sweet! Did you guys have a pool going on why I wasn't posting? The winner is whoever guessed furry threesome gone wrong that turned into an online stalker situation so I went internet dark for a while. If Bob Ross didn't guess that, or something close, I'll be disappointed.

  .  LOL.

Welcome Back. 

[CCL]

Try bookscouter.com. They give prices for multiple sites at once. Chegg usually has good prices on rentals. I managed to buy access codes separately either online or at the bookstore.