<p>A friend of mine whose daughter graduated from U of Maryland years ago sent her some sites for buying cheaper books, as well as selling them:</p>
<p>" There were some classes where they’d list a book but I’d never actually open it because the tests were based on what you learn in lecture – so after awhile I wised up and didn’t buy the book until I actually needed it for an assignment.** I told him don’t do that freshman year, but once he gets a feel for how college works**. Also, don’t buy books from a bookstore, even if they’re used – buy them directly from other students or buy them used from a site like bookholders.com, half.com, ebay, amazon, campusbooks.com, etc. (Shop around using a site like addall.com)"</p>
<p>Amazon and ebay yeah, everything else, no. I rent most of my textbooks though through chegg.com, almost always cheaper than buying and selling back.</p>
<p>I usually try to look for the international edition of the book before amazon and or half.com, because they are substantially cheaper. I also tend to write a lot of notes and thoughts on my books, so the bookstore does buy back what I try to sell anyway.</p>
<p>My advice; Buy a new book for those classes in your major. They will become your reference material once you leave school. For general ed classes, but used. </p>
<p>My son has found several off campus stores to buy used textbooks at reasonable prices. As far as booksellers, like amazon, they are cheaper than the campus book store; but in many cases, not that much cheaper. This is especially true once you get to low volume books like advanced engineering texts. He was buying thru amazon, but now will check their prices and usually ends up buying at the campus bookstore.</p>
<p>I was somewhat amazed by the initial posting comment “There were some classes where they’d list a book but I’d never actually open it because the tests were based on what you learn in lecture – so after awhile I wised up and didn’t buy the book until I actually needed it for an assignment.” Classes usually list the required texts and the optional texts. The basic idea is that you read the material BEFORE lecture so that the lecture will actually make sense. So it would seem, to me anyways, that you do really need the books. Otherwise it would seem that the classes aren’t very challenging. IMHO</p>
<p>It all depends on how you learn really. I usually won’t buy/rent a book until a week or two in when I decide whether or not I actually need it. A lot of the time I don’t unless homework is assigned from it or if it has tables/formulas that I need to reference.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the major. My daughter plans to go to grad school so won’t necessarily be working in the field of her undergrad major, although they’re related. But, I understand what you’re saying. I can definitely see it for something like engineering, architecture or another major where a student goes directly into a career after undergraduate school.</p>
<p>**HPUck35 said:</p>
<p>My advice; Buy a new book for those classes in your major. They will become your reference material once you leave school. For general ed classes, but used. **</p>
<p>Renting is usually the way to go unless it is something you will need for several quarters. Referral code CC130450 will get you an extra 5% off too (and help out a poor starving college student)</p>
<p>I accidentally bent up the cover of a book I rented once, they never said anything or charged my card.</p>
<p>The policy is:</p>
<p>Please follow these guidelines to keep your Chegg books in good condition:</p>
<pre><code>* Limit highlighting
Do not write in books
Guard against loss, theft, or damage
</code></pre>
<p>If it’s a requirement to write notes in your books, purchasing books may be a better option for you. Books returned with writing or excessive highlighting are considered damaged, and you will be charged the cost of the book minus the original rental fee.</p>
<p>So I guess some highlighting is okay (but really, for me at least if its a book that I need to highlight in so I can reference later, it’s probably one I’d buy, ie. a book specifically for your major.)</p>
<p>^^ Thanks for the quick reply! I’ll pass all this information on to my daughter. She (and my husband) aren’t as apt to research less expensive alternatives for books. Sigh.</p>