College text books: what, where, when, how?

[Tistal]

your best bet: wait until the professor says they need the book. I've bought books countless times before classes started, only for the professor to say on the first day: "Don't buy the book, we don't use it." Or "The book on the syllabus or website is wrong, get this one instead." Many professors don't require the book the first week- but if you can't get your books in time, the library will always have a copy that you can use (but usually not check out).

This often happens because the department says everyone has to use book X even though book X is terrible. One of the classes I teach sometimes has one of those books. Everyone walks in the first day, and I'm like if you bought the book the bookstore said you needed take it back because it's garbage.

 

[MrsPete]

I also highly advise waiting until you see the professor for the real book list, and I also recommend giving your daughter the places where books are sold, but let her do it. Really. It is a starting skill for the college kids, and a place where mom can cut part of the cord and allow your child to make the decision on what works best for her, by herself.

I agree with this. I can see helping them locate books online for their first semester because although it can be a huge money-saver, it isn't always evident to students; but learning to do things like this is one of the reasons you send them away to college! Similarly, college students ought to be compiling their own lists and outfitting their own dorm rooms. These things should be their projects.

 

[nsmith]

I agree with this. I can see helping them locate books online for their first semester because although it can be a huge money-saver, it isn't always evident to students; but learning to do things like this is one of the reasons you send them away to college! Similarly, college students ought to be compiling their own lists and outfitting their own dorm rooms. These things should be their projects.

You don't what great advice this is and how much I really needed to hear it. DD is VERY anxious about moving away. To the point that she has removed herself from the planning completely. As a bargain hunter and organizer I want all the purchases to be completed and money saved. But I think I will really have to MAKE myself let her do this for herself. I will provide her with the websites and hints and tell her she can take care of it herself.

I did not go away to college so I do not have a point of reference for what is normal.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Awww your daughter is like me..I am terrible with withdrawing when I am anxious (I am letting DH take care of DD's 1st birthday party completely)!

Regardless of who's website or bookstore you daughter uses or when she purchases her books she will absolutely need to get those ISBN numbers somehow. Sometimes they are open with them and sometimes they are not. My school up until recently kept all books behind velvet ropes and you could only go to the shelves with an attendant. Then they started with only putting up partial names of the texts needed, and now finally our instructors are listing required texts with their ISBN numbers in the class descriptions. Tell her to get those numbers somehow (even emailing her professors if she can) because that is what she really needs to make cost comparisons.

 

[hj0519]

DD is going to be a college freshman in a few weeks. She is our first child to go.
I know there is a way to save money on text books but I haven't the first clue where to start.

What classes will she need books for?
Where can I find the best prices?
When can I find out the books needed ?
How do I get them delivered to her college?

There may be other questions I should be considering that I am not even aware of.
Would love to hear about your mistakes and successes on this subject.

I just don't want to look back on this semester and regret that I didn't save the money I could have. I am a budget girl after all.

Your daughter is a college student. She should be able to find out what books she needs herself and how to get them so that she has them when she needs them herself. Give her a budget and let her figure it out.

There are lots of options and it really depends on the school. At my school, the books needed for each class are on the bookstore website sometime before the semester starts. You can buy them from the bookstore or you can buy them from somewhere else (amazon, half.com, chegg, etc.). A lot of colleges now offer renting textbooks through the bookstore as well. I never did it because I liked to keep books as references for later classes but it's a great cheaper option.

Whether your daughter will actually needs the books or not will depend on the professor and the class. I've never had a book listed for my course that I haven't used. I also usually needed books within the first 1-2 days of classes so it made more sense to me to buy ahead of time rather than wait until the first day.

 

[snowy76]

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this, but I wanted to share in case it helps some folks who are strapped for textbook cash. I asked my older DS (he'll be a sophomore) how much his books wound up being last year... found out he didn't buy any

Turns out at his college they have all the textbooks available in the campus library. They can't be signed out, but they can be used on site or photocopied. DS would make copies (for like 10 cents per page) of the readings he needed as he went along. Most of his professors never assigned an entire book so he spent much less than the books would've cost him.

 

[TLuvsD]

Recent legislation has required that schools list the ISBN of required/recommended texts. Check the website, the information may be listed with the bookstore or in the course offerings. It is not always easy to find. Then search for that ISBN. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Half.com are good. Check Craigslist for the area where the college is located.

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

Once she has her schedule, she can probably pull some of the syllabi from the college website for each course. The syllabi may have the required books listed along with the readings. Start by purchasing the books that have assignments listed.

Please do comparison shop. The books for my course can have a $100 swing depending on where the student purchases each book. And no one site always has the cheapest of every book in my course.

If you're looking for an incentive to get your daughter to get involved in the process, offer her a standard book budget that you know will cover the texts from the campus store. Then tell her she gets to keep the difference between the cost and the budget for extra spending money.

 

[js]

I asked my dd to give me the list of her books, which came with the ISBN numbers for each, along with the Edition and Publish Date.
I was purchasing the books and did a LOT of comparison shopping.
I ended up getting all the books from Amazon. My dd uses her textbooks and highlights and puts notes in them so I wanted to make sure I got books that were like new and with no writing or highlighting.

All books I ordered had no highlighting or writing, one book said it was still shrink wrapped and one book said it was opened once. I just ordered yesterday so we will see when they come in. I saved very close to $300 over the bookstore prices.

Also, I signed my dd up for Amazon Prime, which is free for 6 months with her edu address (I wish I would have done that for HS). My ds is starting HS at a private school and instead of edu he has org so I don't think I can do that for him.

Anyway, the Amazon Prime books have already been shipped and NO SHIPPING costs for them. My full shipping price yesterday was $7 for all her books.

Good luck!

 

[js]

I asked my dd to give me the list of her books, which came with the ISBN numbers for each, along with the Edition and Publish Date.
I was purchasing the books and did a LOT of comparison shopping.
I ended up getting all the books from Amazon. My dd uses her textbooks and highlights and puts notes in them so I wanted to make sure I got books that were like new and with no writing or highlighting.

All books I ordered had no highlighting or writing, one book said it was still shrink wrapped and one book said it was opened once. I just ordered yesterday so we will see when they come in. I saved very close to $300 over the bookstore prices.

Also, I signed my dd up for Amazon Prime, which is free for 6 months with her edu address (I wish I would have done that for HS). My ds is starting HS at a private school and instead of edu he has org so I don't think I can do that for him.

Anyway, the Amazon Prime books have already been shipped and NO SHIPPING costs for them. My full shipping price yesterday was $7 for all her books.

Good luck!

 

[delmar411]

Just get the ISBN numbers and plug them into a search engine. It will pull up comparison sites that will tell you which website has them the cheapest.

Also you'll want to compare costs for DL'ing the book onto a kindle or Nook vs, renting vs buying used. It really does take some time.

Plus when you buy used you have to wait on the person to ship it and then on it arriving. I've had books that arrived during my finals week or not at all. You don't want to order a book on the first day of class and not have it arrive for a month or more. So definitely check feedback if buying from someone online.

And there is often just ONE textbook at the library for a 2hour borrowing session within the library. That's not a lot of time when you are trying to read chapters and do homework.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Better world books sells used and they do not come from individual sellers. I am paying 250. For my textbooks instead of 450 with the different options offered.

I love the idea of offering a book allowance and allowing the student to keep the difference if the find better bargains.

 

[CTcruiser]

DD is going to be a college freshman in a few weeks. She is our first child to go.
I know there is a way to save money on text books but I haven't the first clue where to start.


There may be other questions I should be considering that I am not even aware of.
Would love to hear about your mistakes and successes on this subject.

I just don't want to look back on this semester and regret that I didn't save the money I could have. I am a budget girl after all.

What classes will she need books for?
I have needed books for virtually every class in college. Some will be used more than others... Check the online bookstore to see if she can put in her class and section number to find the book. That's what my school does.
Where can I find the best prices?
NOT from the college bookstore. RENT, RENT, RENT! The first semester is primarily required classes where you will never use the book again. Sure, it may seem like a better value to buy the book for $20 more but you will most likely never use it again or bother to sell it back.
When can I find out the books needed ?
I found out as soon as I picked my classes. Some places are different. My teachers have always been very prompt with posting the book needed.
How do I get them delivered to her college?
I got a school address to use for all 4 years at orientation. I shipped it to that.


SIDE NOTE: If you choose to rent, you can normally return the book within a specified period of time if the teachers calls it optional. If your DD's college uses a site like Blackboard, she should be able to go on and view class syllabi beforehand to see if teachers normally offer an online version of the book or are specific about what's mandatory. I personally buy my books before because I do not like starting class without the materials I need. It's a matter of personal preference.

Hope this helps!