Buying text books- CHEAP?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Florida State University
1

<p>So now that the Bright Futures has gotten rid of the $300 per year for books I am looking for an inexpensive way of buying my required textbooks thru Amazon.</p>

<p>Only problem is that the Fall couses on not listed on the bookstore website yet.</p>

<p>Just out of curiosity I pulled up my Chem 1 class that is being given during the summer and the book they listed was $178.00 USED!</p>

<p>Anyone know when the Fall books come on line. Any chance the department would give me the info on the books they are planning to use now?</p>

<p>Anyhow, I will need Chem 1, Calc 1 and probably Psychology. It will be close to $500 if I have to go thru the bookstore. OUCH!</p>

2

<p>I get all my textbooks supercheap from half.com
I got a $170 textbook BARELY used for $10!</p>

3

<p>Did you have enough time between finding out specifically which textbook you needed and the start of your class?
I worry that if I assume too early (from the summer bookstore list) which books I will need that the prof will switch to a newer/different book.</p>

4

<p>Wait until either you go on Blackboard and GET CLASS SCHEDULES and then push the BUY BOOKS link which takes you to the University bookstore [Locate</a> Course Materials](<a href=“http://www.bkstr.com/CategoryDisplay/10001-9604-11003-1?demoKey=d]Locate”>Official Online Store)
It is nice they now include the precise ISBN number so it is much easier to get the right book on the Internet.
You can also try to search at Bill’s Bookstore [Welcome</a> | Bills Bookstore](<a href=“http://www.billsbookstore.com/]Welcome”>http://www.billsbookstore.com/)
to get the list of textbooks required for the fall for your course and section. You will normally have enough time to purchase them used at amazon.com or half.com to have them shipped and save a lot of money.</p>

<p>We use [Cheap</a> Textbooks, College Textbook - CheapestTextbooks.com](<a href=“http://www.cheapesttextbooks.com/]Cheap”>http://www.cheapesttextbooks.com/) to search multiple web sites for the lowest price available. </p>

<p>Be careful not to buy an international version because sometimes they do not follow the domestic version precisely. For example the practice problems might not be the same as the teacher assigned. </p>

<p>You can also look at e-books which can be half off of retail but if your computer crashes at exam time, you might have difficulty getting tech support to let you download another copy quickly. </p>

<p>Another option is renting textbooks my son never tried this service but one example is [Rent</a> Textbooks for College - Your Textbook Rental Source - Campus Book Rentals](<a href=“http://www.campusbookrentals.com/]Rent”>http://www.campusbookrentals.com/)</p>

<p>Student notes are available for some classes for purchase which might be helpful
[Student</a> Notes](<a href=“http://www.studentnotes.com/indexfsu.html]Student”>http://www.studentnotes.com/indexfsu.html)</p>

<p>Many of my son’s courses required a PRS Transmitter used for attendance and quizzes which you might be able to find used.</p>

<p>Some professors make you pay for a specific web site access for your course or a subscription to the Wall Street Journal for example. You will most likely have to pay full student retail for those.</p>

<p>Students often offer their used textbooks for sale on craigslist or uloop. When you are finished using the books, you can try selling it or you could just get cash from one of the bookstores.</p>

5

<p>Yes, fall is NOT yet listed even when you hit the link to buy books. Keep checking daily. Once it goes live, get the ISBN number and go to amazon.com or half.com. Other than lab books, we have not paid full price for books yet, including Bio, Chem, Psych, and some hefty Ancient Civ and Archeology texts. </p>

<p>Don’t be fooled by a brand new edition just for this year. 95% of the class will show up with the edition for 2008 not 2009, and about all that is different is the cover. The Math dept even lists the assignments based on the last few editions. </p>

<p>And the FSU special editions, if you google, you also can find those on Amazon and Half.com. You may not find them by the ISBN number, but search by title and author, and then scan the book info posted by the seller, you can easily find FSU editions.</p>

<p>We have books, including FSU editions for sale now on Amazon and Half. </p>

<p>At least Bio is usually good for I & II, as is Chem. But search and you will find bargains. And becareful about reselling books to the bookstore at the end of the term. They are famous for giving you $12 for a text you paid $150 for. Once you are there for a semester, you will find lots of students who will buy/sell. You can often get $50 for that same text selling it to a student directly. My D also would trade “use.” She loaned a book out spring from a friend who loaned her a different book. They traded back at the end of the term. </p>

<p>You can save alot of money on books. We had no problems getting books in time. Only once, did we have problems with a seller, and it was for a $5 used book, and amazon refunded the book and shipping prices.</p>

<p>And profs are discouraged from changing books at the last minute. Besides, most just keep using the same text year to year. The only reason they change to a different edition is because the school gets a few bucks off of each book sale.</p>

6

<p>Also, you can find CHEAP workbooks and study guides at Amazon.com and half.com. We found books with extra problems, and study guides for BIO, CHEM etc for $5. </p>

<p>Another tip: tutoringZonecom. They are for real. D had a few chapters in Chem 1045 that was giving her problems. She went to a session and it was like night and day after that. Keep them in mind. You only pay for the sessions you go to. You can go to the first session free. You get lots of instruction at the session and work problems for after. At $25 or so a session, it was well worth the price. Her section/prof for Chem was not listed, but they all follow about the same schedule and chapters, so she went to another and it was no problem. You will see them advertise on facebook.</p>

7

<p>Yes there was enough time. Half.com is powered by ebay, so you can see the seller’s feedback. Most of the sellers whole business is selling discount textbooks so it is very reliable. It takes a week at most to receive your book.
=) I recommend it to everyone, and they are so surprised that I get such deals. I have NEVER bought from the bookstore.
Another one is: abebooks.com</p>

8

<p>Thanks for all the great advice!
Thanks for the heads up about TutoringZone.
I know my friends at UF love it.</p>

9

<p>I used to use: </p>

<p>[AddALL</a> book search and price comparison](<a href=“http://www.addall.com%5DAddALL”>http://www.addall.com)</p>

<p>It’s a search engine that finds the cheapest prices from all the online book sellers.</p>

10

<p>Is it necessary to order your books in advance of showing up for Summer C? I hadn’t planned on ordering in advance. I thought my son could just pick them up when he arrived.</p>

11

<p>WDGLIDE88 - you can purchase the books at the University bookstore or Bill’s Bookstore when he arrives on campus but if you end up buying them NEW, you will find most to be very expensive. Often they do have a selection of USED books but often they are more money than what you can get on the Internet.</p>

12

<p>Sure, you can get any book at the Bookstore, either the U bookstore or at Bill’s Bookstore. But be prepared for the sticker shock. At least with summer, it is only two classes. But a schedule of 5 classes and two labs this past spring for my D would have resulted in a total of $1000 or more if we had not planned ahead.</p>

13

<p>Even if money is not an issue for you, it might be more convenient to order the books online at the University Bookstore or Bill’s Bookstore so you don’t have to wait in line and can pick them up or have them delivered.</p>

14

<p>Thanks all. I only have a week before we leave.</p>