<p>I was wondering if buying Used Books for literature is really that bad? I would only save $20 buying used.. should I just go ahead and buy them new?</p>
<p>What about the thicker textbooks such as the ones for math or sciences, do you recommend buying those new or would used be alright?</p>
<p>bump bump bump***</p>
<p>One thing about used math books is that they tend to be different editions, so the order of problems may be shifted. [Yay money-grubbing!!] Email your professor to check whether the edition matters or if a certain edition is also acceptable.</p>
<p>I don’t see any issue buying used literature books.</p>
<p>I’m a big fan of buying used books through Amazon. They have a feature where you can find out the quality of the book, how many books the seller has sold, and how that seller’s been rated by other buyers.</p>
<p>I know it may not seem like you’re saving a lot but I promise–it adds up. Also, Amazon has a student discount thing going on where you get free shipping!</p>
<p>One final note: be very careful when you’re buying used science/engineering books. You don’t want to have them all highlighted/written in, and you want to make sure you’re buying the correct edition. You can always email your professor in advance to see what books you need, to get a head start on things.</p>
<p>No offense to you personally UMCL13GRL, but last time I used Chegg I didn’t get my books until about a month into classes. I ended up buying the books out of necessity anyway. I know its an isolated event, but I had to rant for a bit.</p>
<p>Thank you! I will keep this in mind when I register for my final two classes. :)</p>
<p>“One final note: be very careful when you’re buying used science/engineering books. You don’t want to have them all highlighted/written in, and you want to make sure you’re buying the correct edition. You can always email your professor in advance to see what books you need, to get a head start on things.”</p>
<p>Wouldn’t you want them highlighted/written in? Might be useful…</p>
<p>^ Personally, I wouldn’t want that. Just because the previous owner highlighted their books doesn’t mean they were intelligent or knew what they were doing. Besides, if you want to do your own highlighting, it’s pretty hard to get rid of the old.</p>
<p>There’s no real problem with used books. I ve been in school 3 years and professors know that compnaies change edition just move problems around and thats really it. so you might need to check problem numbers with a friend. I have also had a few professors who wrote the HW in a syllabus with both current edition problem numbers as well as the previous edition ones.</p>
<p>Upper division math textbooks tend to be very cheap compared to the lower division math ones, so its no point in buying used upper division math books.</p>
<p>^ I’ve never actually bought an upper-division math textbook. Always borrowed them from the library :)</p>
<p>When do you suggest buying textbooks, do you need them for the first week? Should I wait until classes start to buy them?</p>
<p>^ Depends on the class. Science and math courses tend to get right to requiring you to do homework and reading asap. Most other courses like history, econ, ect. you can prolong buying books or not even need to buy them to do well.</p>
<p>
Wait until you know your final schedule. At my college most professors (math + sciences included) don’t expect that we have the textbook until the second week of class because everyone is adding and dropping classes in the first week.</p>
<p>Also, free two-day shipping (or one-day shipping for $3.99) from Amazon helps to get your books fast and probably cheaper than from the bookstore.</p>
<p>amazon is a rip off. You can’t use 2 day unless you buy their overpriced new stuff.</p>
<p>It isnt worth buying textbooks for any of your ‘bull— classes’ - you know, those classes that your school just makes you take to satisfy requirements and stuff?
The ones that you should actually consider buying are the ones that are directly related to your major, that you might need later on for reference.</p>
<p>That is true. I think I will end up buying the economics book new and going to the bookstore downtown to get a better deal on everything else.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>not always true. there are some used vendors that the transactions are fulfilled by amazon and are eligible for free 2 day shipping. You jut have to check for each of the books you are looking for.</p>
<p>I spent $40 on all the books and software required for three classes. Thank you India :D</p>
<p>I’m buying mine off of Amazon. Only one textbook and one novel are cheaper (or about the same price) new on my college website so I already ordered those too.</p>