<p>D will be starting 2nd quarter in 2 weeks - she's mentioned wanting to try to order online to save some $$$. It makes me a little nervous, just cause textbooks are so important. </p>
<p>Just wondering...how long do they take to receive - from the click confirming order to your front door? Wondering if we'd be cutting it too close...</p>
<p>Also, please share any tips for newbies ordering textbooks online...</p>
<p>Depends on where you're ordering them from. At Barnes & Noble.com, it generally takes about a week if the books are in stock. At Amazon, I'm guessing the same thing.</p>
<p>It's hard to tell about other "non-name" book sites.</p>
<p>I forgot about Barnes and Nobles...I've always had great success and quick shipping with regular orders from them...</p>
<p>usually no more than a week, even from the independant sellers.</p>
<p>S got the international edition of a textbook. I think it took 7-10 days.</p>
<p>Two weeks at the most. Getting your textbooks online, or used, is a great way to save money. I did that myself when I went back to college a few years ago.</p>
<p>I found it depends on how they ship UPS or USPS. I always upgrade to the fastest shipment method if the classes are starting soon. USPS standard mail can sometimes take 22 days to arrive. I also found a site that offers free shipping and competitive buy back pricing. I liked it because of the free shipping and ability to compare prices before hitting the bookstore. JitterBook</a> - Sell Textbooks Online.</p>
<p>Depending on the books and the sellers, it's taken 3-10 days. Usually, if the kid is really going to need it the first week, we don't buy online. But that's a judgment we've made for three books out of 32 college courses so far.</p>
<p>Ok, so she send me her list of books so I can start checking -I told her I'd be happy to shop around since she is busy with final quarter projects and tests. </p>
<p>I feel safe ordering from B and N just cause I've ordered new from them many,many times with no problems. Are there any places you would shy away from? She mentioned some kids looking at half price, ABE books, and maybe PriceCheck??? Any experience with any of these places?</p>
<p>I have spent hours checking and cross checking. In the end, however, I have only ordered a handful of books from anyone other than Amazon Marketplace sellers or Amazon itself. For used books, it seems to have the widest selection and consistently low prices, and its new book prices are usually no more than a dollar or two above the lowest price anywhere . . . and free shipping on orders over $25 makes up for that quickly.</p>
<p>Plus they are quick and responsive dealing with problems.</p>
<p>the greatest opportunity for savings is usually the sites where you can buy used books from independent sellers -- eg. half.com, amazon's marketplace (i think b and n may have a marketplace also, not sure). but these also carry the greatest risk in terms of not knowing just when the books will arrive. read the terms carefully -- often these sites allow the seller to ship within a certain number of days -- ie those are days that can pass before the book even starts its journey. then if you use standard shipping, sellers can use usps media mail - which can be slow -- especially depending on how far the item is going. my d usually tries to order from a seller that is relatively close geographically which seems to help keep the shipping time down.</p>
<p>I was nervous about ordering books online too, but we tried it in August before DS's first semester. We ordered through Amazon Marketplace & picked sellers with very high feedback ratings (96% and above). The sellers both offered expedited shipping which I paid a few dollars more for. We got both books w/i a week. (Check where they are shipping from before you pick a seller). We saved SO much money. We got a new physics book and a new calculus book for less than what the used price was at the school bookstore. It worked so well we will do it every semester.</p>
<p>I would suggest, if ordering from a used book seller, you make sure they offer expedited shipping. It will cost a few dollars more, but then you are basically getting Priority Mail. You can be fairly sure it will arrive within a week from just about anywhere in the country, if it's Priority.
Not all sellers will offer this on textbooks. They are so heavy that it usually costs quite a bit to mail priority - more than they are being compensated for. If the book is expensive, however, they often offer it and factor in the cost in the book price.</p>
<p>My son has ordered books from Amazon Marketplace in the past, and I usually sell back the ones he doesn't want to keep after his classes are over. This has helped with our overall book expenses.</p>
<p>Books ship quickly BUT do NOT use media or book rate. That is like having a carrier pigeon bring your books. It's a lot cheaper...I think they have the books grow legs and walk.</p>
<p>I go on this website BIGWORDS.com. Type in all the ISBN numbers of all the books they need, and it will come up with a list of sellers with various prices for each book. If you don't have ISBN number, doing a search with author and title will get you the right book especially if you have the edition number. Then I turn around at the end of the semester and sell them through Amazon marketplace.</p>
<p>I sometimes buy used ones from the used book sellers on Amazon.com. It can be very cheap that way, but it can take 1-2 weeks due to slow shipping. Buying new ones from Amazon.com, etc. is very fast, if they have it in stock. It's amazing how much you can save if you buy a slightly older edition.</p>
<p>But might an older edition not be a good idea????</p>
<p>Sometimes professors will specifically say you can use an older edition. The biggest problem comes with problems for each chapter, which may be slightly different from edition to edition. </p>
<p>The price difference can be huge, though, sometimes 1/10 the price of a new book. I'll give a real example. </p>
<p>I bought Elementary Differential Equations (4th Edition) by Edwards,
C. H.; Penney... for $11.75 shipping from an Amazon Marketplace vendor. The copy is in near pefect condition.</p>
<p>New, the 5th edition book costs 121.60 at Amazon.com.</p>
<p>Obviously, the student has to know what he/she is buying and what the professors expect, etc. But the savings can be considerable.</p>
<p>The only time I used Abebooks, I got burned by the seller, so I wouldn't recommend it (I got a full refund, but it was still annoying because then I had to go order another book and pay more).</p>
<p>I've bought textbooks off Amazon marketplace, Half, and even eBay - whichever one happens to be cheapest - with no problems.</p>
<p>also Powells
bestbookbuys
we have saved hundreds of dollars buying overstock or used books
Just be sure the ISBN is the same
I also doubt that she will need all her books for the very first day of class, because there are always students registering late changing classes-
Its good to aim for though</p>