<p>I was looking at the textbooks I'd need when school starts and I chose only the required books that were used, and I found I'd have to pay nearly $700 for textbooks! I know that textbooks are VERY expensive, but I was wondering if anyone knows any websites with textbooks at a cheap price in decent condition.</p>
<p>There are lots of sites. Amazon, of course. Try textbooksrus.com, abebooks.com.</p>
<p>If you want books quicker, be aware of where the booksellers are located. Also, look at the ratings and how much business they do.</p>
<p>Also, when should I buy the books? I don’t want to buy all the books and find out that the professors don’t want all those books…</p>
<p>That is the rub. What our family did was bite the bullet and pay for books from the bookstore the first semester. If you want to order online, wait until about 2 to 3 weeks before you will leave for school. Some books will come very fast, others not. You can return books that will not be used and get a credit, but then you may have to buy something at the bookstore.</p>
<p>Our laws in Maryland have changed so that colleges have to post book requirements well before the semester starts. I do not know about NY laws.</p>
<p>Perhaps a Binghamton student can comment on how good professors are about using books and that would help you with your decision.</p>
<p>Amazon.com for sure. I’ve gotten plenty of books cheaply there. Also check Barnes and Noble (the regular site) and Borders when they have their textbook sales. Borders is having one now I believe (I got some email about it…). If you plan on buying A LOT fron B&N, it might make sense to purchase a membership so get more discounts throughout the year. It helps for the second semester. </p>
<p>If you choose to use the bookstore, you will get the books in the right editions. With Amazon or others its up to you to ensure that you buy the correct one (I didn’t for one class and it was a pain…). Sometimes you will have no choice but to buy from the bookstore if they show “CLASS 123 BUNDLE” which will have no further detail if you want to buy early. </p>
<p>As far as buying early, generally it has paid off. There was only one class where he changed the syllabus significantly as far as books, and I didn’t mind since I liked the book I had bought in error and it was a good read (note: He changed the book list because we ran out of time… Too much time on a particular other book, this was an English class). Another class I choose not to buy a book early and it turned out that we needed it (he had originally designated it “Recommended”) and I could not get the book in time…</p>
<p>That was my Amazon horror story: I ordered the book in March, about 6 weeks before I needed it. It was in-stock when I ordered it. Two weeks later when I was expecting to receive it, I get an email saying they were back-ordered and It would most likely be another week. It wasn’t. I never got the book. I used the reserve book in the library instead but i was still annoyed…</p>
<p>Ah well, Amazon is generally all right.</p>
<p>Sorry Double Post…</p>
<p>Also about ordering from online:</p>
<p>If you order from the bookstore online, all you need is your Binghamton ID and you can pick up the order right from the bookstore. Much easier than having mailed somewhere and then needing to schlep it to school. </p>
<p>Ordering from Amazon and other online places… I would just have it delivered to your Binghamton Mail box, and again all you need to do is give your ID and your Box number to receive your packages…</p>
<p>I’ve found the best format for ordering online is:</p>
<p>caemin
BU Box 1223
Binghamton University
4400 Vestal Pkwy E
Binghamton NY 13902</p>
<p>Works everytime.</p>
<p>Thanks MD Mom and caemin!</p>
<p>Yeah, I was wondering where I should have the books shipped if I ordered them from Amazon. I wasn’t looking forward to bring 10+ books up with all the other things I’m taking with me. But mailing it to my Bing mailbox will make life SO much easier.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely double check the editions before I buy anything. I know how that can screw things up…in my English class last year we read Siddhartha and we had two different versions so the pages didn’t coincide and the translations were a tad different… But I’d rather take my chances than spend close to $700 for books I’ll only use for that semester, really.</p>
<p>Also, caemin, how early do you think I should order the books? I’ll probably get most of them from Amazon (I’ve been looking and a lot of the used books look really good and are being sold for like half the price, or at least $10 off the list price of a new book).</p>
<p>About 2-3 weeks early should suffice and you’ll leave enough time for Free SuperSaver Shipping (best part of Amazon XD). Chances are won’t need them the first day unless an emial is sent out instructing you to have done a certain assignment, but other than that you should be good.</p>
<p>Edit: Where you pick up packages and where your normal, letter mail is delivered are two different places. Normal male goes to your community mail box, packages go to a central hub found in the old Union. The mail box number is the same but the addresses are different. If I was mailing a letter it would go to:</p>
<p>caemin
BU Box 1223
(Binghamton University, COMMUNITY NAME)- This is optional but helpful… I always include it.
PO Box COMMUNITY BOX
Binghamton NY 13902</p>
<p>caemin, you’re a life saver. Thank you so much! :D</p>
<p>I have been book shopping the last couple of days and the easiest thing to do is just put the ISBN in the Google search bar. Many booksellers pop up.</p>
<p>No problem Cloudyafternoons!</p>
<p>I use [BIGWORDS.com</a> | Buy Textbooks | Sell Textbooks | Used College Textbooks | New College Textbooks | Textbook Price Comparison | Cheap Textbooks | Cheapest Textbooks | Compare Textbook Prices | Textbook Buyback | Textbook Price Bot | New and Used Music |](<a href=“http://www.bigwords.com/]BIGWORDS.com”>http://www.bigwords.com/) It compares lots of used textbook sites (Amazon, Half, etc) and shows you who has the lowest price.</p>
<p>Another question about textbooks…do you start using them on the first day of classes? I haven’t ordered mine yet. I know, I know…I shouldn’t have waited this long 
but I was planning on using my surplus loan money to buy the books, and now I found out that I don’t get that money till the end of the the first week of classes. I really don’t want to wait till then but, considering my financial situation, I think I might have to.</p>
<p>Also…I’m taking one of those freshman seminar classes (it’s Do Judges Follow the Law) but there’s no list of textbooks for it. What do I do?</p>
<p>There is a group on facebook: BU Textbook Buying/Selling Central. Students post up books for sale and the prices are VERY VERY reasonable compared to the bookstore (which you shouldn’t buy from unless you absolutely have to) People meet up on campus after msging each other on this group. I’ve actually done this twice and it saved me soo much money. I bought a Biotextbook from someone for $100. Bookstore was $180.</p>
<p>And you shouldn’t worry about buying textbooks this early on. You might be switching up your classes or some teachers may not even require these textbooks on the list.</p>
<p>So it’s okay if I don’t have the textbooks right away? I won’t get in trouble with the professors if I don’t have my books till the second week of classes, will I? I was going to buy most of my books from Amazon anyway, haha.</p>
<p>if you need a book sooner than amazon can get it to you, there is an alternative to the campus bookstore. there is a bookstore right off campus – Mando – that sells textbooks, generally for less than the bookstore (don’t know how they compare to amazon, but they’re usually cheaper than the bookstore). its right on bunn hill road just across from campus (one of the side exits).</p>
<p>also for anyone who doesn’t already know - amazon is offering free two day shipping for college students – you have to register for it (there is a link at the top right hand corner of their website) and it doesn’t apply to amazon marketplace orders – but it can be a great way to get a new book from amazon very quickly.</p>
<p>when you get the class syllabuses you will have to decide whether you want to wait on the books or get some quickly so as not to fall behind. since not all books are used immediately, you will be able to take your time on some, but you may want some more quickly. only you will be able to decide how long to wait for which books.</p>
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<p>I say this as a prof at another college (not SUNY-Binghamton): In some courses—particularly math courses, some science courses, intro language courses----there will be homework assigned the first week that will come from the text book used for the course. If you wait until the second week of classes to get your text for a course like this, you are, in essense, starting the semester out behind in the class. One week of instruction is typically about 1/13 of all the material in the course and you’ll be very surprised at how far behind you can get in a math course during that first week.</p>
<p>Thank you robinsuesanders! Since I’m taking both a math and language course, I’ll order those books for the first week of classes, and wait a bit on the others. Thanks again!</p>
I know about Bonavendi. It is a comparison website. You should get the best prices ther.