For those buying college books

[kimara3]

My son will be going to college in two years so this thread caught my eye. It's been many years since I was in college. Don't they sell books at the college book stores anymore????

They do, but they are typically more than three times as expensive as you can find on some of these websites. Even the book store's used prices are way more expensive.

If I ordered the books my daughter needs for next semester through the bookstore, I would spend between $400 and $500. By doing it online, its a little more work, but I will spend under $200.

 

[seetheworld]

Wow, thank you everyone! Priceless info here!

 

[2luvmickey]

When DS 21 was a freshman, he bought his books at the university bookstore. He taught himself a lesson in Economics and began buying used books, or trading with classmates that had the class another semester.

This past year, he started buying and selling his used books on amazon.com and he broke even. He even got me hooked on buying used books.

This fall, DS 18 will be following his brother to the same school. Hopefully, big brother will teach him the ins and outs of used book buying.

Many colleges are affected by lost income of books and are now offering book rentals at their bookstores. It may be worth looking into. My son even received a discount coupon from his school's bookstore.

 

[My3kiddos]

Any experience with textbooksrus.com?

I have purchased thru them and sold to them with no problems at all. Their buybacks are super quick!

I haven't purchased from, but have sold to Bookleberry.com and they give the most by far (and usually you can find a code for an additional 10%)! I actually made more on some of my books than I paid for them.

I have used amazon, ecampus (the warehouse is a couple miles from my house but I had a bad experience last time and won't go back), textsbooksrus.com, alibris.com, abebooks, and ebay.

 

[ajk912]

You guys are really lucky that your ISBN numbers match and you can get the books cheap. It seems like my college always requires the newest addition, which is hard to find cheaply, or the used editions don't come with MyMathLab (which can be a good resource) or you have to pay $60 to use it if you don't buy the newest edition, or who knows what else. I looked and none of my 4 books are able to find cheaper, unless I want to take a risk and get an older edition, or not quite the right bundle pack. I don't really want to do that, I pay too much for these classes to get the "well, maybe it's good enough" book.

The markup at the bookstore isn't too bad, not a 300 percent markup!!! Ours are maybe $20-$70 a book markup, but then you can sell it back at the end of the semester, so unless they have too many of that book you will make most of your money back.

 

[ajk912]

So when do you find out which books to buy? My son is a freshman in the fall and we haven't received a book list yet.

Go to his college's bookstore's website. Most likely, you can do a search by class and find out the required books there. You can either place an order with them, or find the info and then take that info and search other sites and see if you can get a better price. Even though they give titles and authors, it's the ISBN number that is important..editions change frequently and you don't want to get the wrong edition in many cases. If he's taking the class online, you definitely want the right edition. If it's a class where it's mostly lecture and you only use the book for studying at home, the wrong edition might be fine. But if he is actually USING the book for coursework, you probably want the right edition.

 

[JCMHutch]

Since I work in higher ed: as of July 1st, colleges are required to post book information on their websites as part of course registration so the book information should be there. This info includes title, price, edition & ISBN. If your college does not do this, it is not following the new Health Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) federal law.

Check all options, including the school's bookstore. Most bookstores are offering text rentals in the store and the prices are competitive with online. Additionally most students can use financial aid in the bookstore to pay for renting.

 

[Tink9295]

Tink,
I go onto the university's website and find a link to buy books or a link to the bookstore. Then you can usually find a link to order textbooks. I have seen it done two ways from there. Either you would have to go through and enter each class, then they should give you the titles and ISBN numbers. Or, sometimes when you click order textbooks, it will automatically list all of the required books for the classes he has registered for. After you have the titles/ISBN then go to one of the mentioned websites and search for the books. I have never had a booklist sent, and if you wait until he starts classes and gets the syllabus it will be too late to order the books this way. Good luck!

Thanks for the into Kimara 3. I went on the college website and found the books he needed and then checked a couple of sites. I can save lots!!!! If I waited for him to figure it out or to tell me I would have spent a lot more. Thanks for the info everyone!!!

I love this board!!!

 

[Tink9295]

Go to his college's bookstore's website. Most likely, you can do a search by class and find out the required books there. You can either place an order with them, or find the info and then take that info and search other sites and see if you can get a better price. Even though they give titles and authors, it's the ISBN number that is important..editions change frequently and you don't want to get the wrong edition in many cases. If he's taking the class online, you definitely want the right edition. If it's a class where it's mostly lecture and you only use the book for studying at home, the wrong edition might be fine. But if he is actually USING the book for coursework, you probably want the right edition.

Thanks!!! You guys are awesome!!

 

[tinkerbell615]

My DS either used half.com, amazon or bought the books from the university book store.

My DD just received her list of books for the fall for her program. The only problem... The letter she received says to wait to order them until the university website has them all listed to make sure that none of the editions, etc... are changed. The bad thing about that is... by the time they list them on their site it might be too late to get them from other places.

I was doing a little research and her books (minus two I can not find online) are going to run approx $650.00!!! Are you kidding me!! We definitely need to find the least expensive place to purchase them. I just don't like the idea of having to wait. I would love to do it now.

Thanks everyone for all of you information. After doing this for five previous years with my DS. I am still learning new things!

 

[Cjmuma]

I personally found some great deals on abebooks.com most of the time I could get my books for half price or less, sometimes just a dollar or 2!

 

[DisneyShannon]

I bought all my college books from half.com. very good site. I once got a english book for something like 4 or 5 dollars. I know amazon.com sells books, but not so sure about textbooks.

 

[quentina]

Don't forget about Ebay...I average $30.00 a book, most of them still sealed.

 

[SSRJen]

I always bought my books from Half.com and sold them using the same website when the semester was over. I usually ended up making back all of the money I spent, and sometimes a little more if the books were in higher demand the next semester (I always listed by book a couple dollars under the cheapest currently listed, so it would sell).

 

[ZiPaD3doDAH]

I have NEVER payed full price for a book.

I RENT THEM.

It's alooooot cheaper & when your done with the book, you dont need to go through the hassle of trying to sell it online.

go to chegg.com or google 'rent college text books'

 

[decaff38]

Tink
Go to the university website and find the bookstore link. You should be able to put in the courses and sections and produce a booklist. They do usually send out a book list anymore.

 

[decaff38]

Bought nursing books for 2 daughters ( Junior and Senior) on Amazon, Half.com, and Ebay. Couldn't imagine buying them at the bookstore. Paid about a 1/3 of the asking cost for each. Only one left to find cheap. Will sell the one's they do not keep back when they are done! Only 2 years left for book buying!! Although I kind of like the hunt!

 

[dznyacct]

I am searching for DS's books for the Fall and am finding that there are International editions available for his Physics and Math classes. They are soooooo much cheaper , but my concern is how exact they are to the US editions. Like, are the homework problems the same and in the same order ? That could really bite him in the %*## if they weren't . Thanks for any experiences that you can relay .

 

[tolemommy]

Thanks so much for this wonderful thread. I am an adult student returning to college this fall to finish my BA in Education. Great tips on how I will be able to save $$$ on my required college texts. You all ROCK!

 

[mommylovespoly]

I just completed my BA this spring as an adult student, and I have tried all of the methods described here and many are great, but my hand's down favorite was using an eBook. SO much cheaper, absolutely no question of shipping, returning, or resell to worry about and... the books are SEARCHABLE. I found the eBook incredibly easy to use and paid about $30 for a $100 book. Not all my books were available this way, but I really liked it. I used Coursesmart dot com. You are allowed to print portions of the book as well, and there is an option to download it to just one computer or to have it available to you online so you can access it anywhere-- that was my choice for just a few dollars more.