<p>Is it a good idea? I don't really understand how it would work since you can still change your courses at orientation, so then would I be stuck with books that I don't need if I change my classes in August? Any insight/advice is appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>You can probably return those books that you don’t need to the Dukestore if you change your mind. A few things to keep in mind though 1) always keep your receipts 2) never tear open any shrink wrap or packaging unless you don’t plan on returning them. The Dukestore is strict about their policies. </p>
<p>Lastly, BDD for books is not a great idea because it’ll probably be 40%-50% more expensive than if you’d gotten your books online especially if you had lots of classes (like the sciences) that require big hardcover books. First semester freshmen year first, my roommate spent about $700 on books through BDD, I spent about $400 buying everything except one “package” on amazon (I probably should’ve ditched that chem book package too). We were both engineers so had about the same number and types of required books.</p>
<p>Ok, thank you. I knew that the computers through BDD weren’t good, but I didn’t know if the high prices were for the textbooks, too. So what about the microfridge thing with the microwaves, fridge and freeze all in one? Would you not recommend that either?</p>
<p>Nope, it’s really not recommended if you plan to keep your fridge/microwave for longer than one or two years. I believe the combo is about $120/year. You can get a mini-fridge for about $150 and one with separate freezer/fridge for about $200. A microwave is about $50-70 if that. So split with your roommate, each bring one and keep it at the end of the year. In the long run it’s cheaper to buy. </p>
<p>These things were all designed to have a built in cost of convenience. Shop around to see what the store prices are and then decide whether that added convenience is worth the price to you.</p>
<p>I would say you don’t really need a microwave, as the one in the dorm is probably fine–as long as you’re not going to use the microwave too often, in which case it might be worth it to have your own. But most people use their microwave maybe once or twice a month–the dorm one would be fine for that. A fridge/freezer would be fine except you usually cant fit anything legitimate into those freezers except maybe an ice tray. Also look for used stuff on craigslist in durham/raleigh. A lot of times you can find good stuff for cheap on there.</p>
<p>I’ll just echo what SBR said about not buying books through BDD. I use half.com for essentially all of mine. I’m not an engineer but can usually get my 10-15 books per semester for less than $100 on there. Order somewhat early, though, because they sometimes take a long time to ship.</p>
<p>I’ve found that there are basically three ways to purchase textbooks, all having their pros and cons. I’ll run through them, but for the most part I agree with SBR and p_hp. </p>
<p>Blue Devil Delivery:
Pros:
- Convenience! I purchased my textbooks through BDD first semester of freshman year, and it was extremely easy. You give them your credit card number, student ID, and your preference for new/used books, and they literally put them all in a box for you to pick up on East Campus on move-in day. It’s all done for you.
- Return Policy: The Duke bookstore will accept returns for a full refund during Drop/Add, so if you change your classes you can return your books (provided you haven’t ripped the shrink wrap off a Chem textbook or something).
Cons: - Cost: Duke sells books at list price for the most part. There are plenty of places that you can get your books at less than list price if you’re willing to look
- You don’t know what you’re getting: If Duke doesn’t have anymore of a certain book used, they’ll give you (and charge you for) a new version. If you particularly dislike highlighting and underlining in your books, you won’t know how used your used books are until you go and pick them up.</p>
<p>Buying Books at the Duke Bookstore:
Pros:
- You get to check out your books first: If you wait to get to campus before purchasing your books through Duke, you’ll get to see the condition of your books and know how much you’re paying before you pay for them.
- Same return policy
Cons: - Same high prices
- Chaos and long lines in the bookstore during orientation week</p>
<p>Buying Books on Your Own:
Pros:
- Cost: For second semester, I got all my books NEW on Amazon for less than I would have paid for all USED books at the Duke bookstore. You can save hundreds of dollars buying from independent sellers on half.com and Amazon Marketplace.
Cons: - Return policy: depends on the seller, not always the best
- Independent sellers: I haven’t had any bad experiences, but some sellers can take awhile to ship your books and you can’t always be 100% sure that the book matches the description online. You have to make sure that it has all the things you need (access codes, CDs, etc). </p>
<p>So basically, take a look at what types of things you value most: cost, convenience, being able to return your books, etc. and then make a decision from there. Keep in mind that you can use a mixture of these too: buy some at the bookstore and others online. If you are buying online, I would recommend ordering them as soon as you have registered for classes just to make sure you get them on time. Once you know what classes you are taking, you can see what books you’ll need here: [Duke</a> University Bookstore - Textbooks](<a href=“http://dukebooks.collegestoreonline.com/textbooks]Duke”>http://dukebooks.collegestoreonline.com/textbooks). Hope this very very long post helps!</p>