<p>Any way of figuring out if your getting the exact book you need for class? I already got one wrong book but luckily they let me return it. I feel safe buying them from the school bookstore because there right there but I dont think its really worth it since the prices are so much more expensive.</p>
<p>ISBN #'s....if they match, you should be fine.....</p>
<p>those numbers don't work though if your bookstore sells the custom edition (certain chapters). Email a professor about making getting a non-custom edition of a book and then look by the EXACT title and author (and edition if you want, though slightly older editions usually work).</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses guys. About the ISBN number, some books are only available online and of course they don't give you the ISBN number. So what would yall recommend?</p>
<p>"those numbers don't work though if your bookstore sells the custom edition (certain chapters). Email a professor about making getting a non-custom edition of a book and then look by the EXACT title and author (and edition if you want, though slightly older editions usually work)."</p>
<p>I've never heard of/seen this happen</p>
<p>I would recommend waiting until classes start and then buy them online. I did that last semester and saved a few hundred instead of buying them new from the bookstore. Plus, this way you can get the syllabus from your professor and see exactly what book you will be needing, if any.</p>
<p>pianoisland: So would you say I would be ok if I didnt have a book the first day of class?</p>
<p>You'll be fine without the book on the first day of class. If you really need the book, the bookstore usually has a return policy of like 2-3 weeks where you can return a book without penalty.</p>
<p>In most cases, you won't need the book the very first day of class - and sometimes not even during the first week, particularly if your school has a lot of students actively "shopping" classes and doing drop/adds. </p>
<p>If you do need the book right away, most professors will put at least one or two copies on reserve in the school's library and you can go there to do your reading assignments.</p>
<p>elpope, I'm no expert but when I emailed my professor he told me the book the bookstore was selling was a custom edition (selected chapters we would only be using). So ya, it couldn't be found by its number. By the descriptions of the other books at the store, I assumed this was fairly common.</p>
<p>If there is any confusion, I seriously suggest emailing the professor. My professor even clued me in on which older editions would still work but are significantly cheaper.</p>
<p>O, and most people on this forum seem to agree you don't need your books right away.</p>