<p>My son has his NSC this week and in reading the materials it looks like textbooks can be reserved at the bookstore during the conference. I am wondering if this is the best way to purchase textbooks or if it is preferable to order from Amazon or use another avenue either local or online purchase textbooks. I am also wondering if renting textbooks is reccommended. BTW he is a civil engineering major.</p>
<p>If cost is a concern, ordering books online is the best option. The school bookstore will charge nearly double - but is convenient. I have ordered off of amazon for years and never had a problem. They have a 30 day return policy, free shipping, it is great. If you don’t have an amazon prime account or looked at the amazon accounts for college kids, I recommend doing so. For a year you will get free prime membership for registering under a .edu address. Renting is also a good option if you’re going to keep up with the books, not trash them, and remember to turn them in on time. Renting is sometimes the cheapest option if it is a new book and there are not many used, or the used price is nearly the same as the new one! I have rented books and purchased used. I have found that if I purchase used I can resell and break even at the end of the semester!</p>
<p>For me, if I don’t have to, I don’t buy at the bookstore. Some books you don’t have a choice, but most you can buy elsewhere. This applies to all levels of education - my girlfriend is in law school and she never buys her books at the bookstore unless there is no other option.</p>
<p>For the first year you should be able to get everything from Amazon or Half.com. You can google “tamu bookstore” and look up by course#/section# to get the ISBN that you need. I wouldn’t order anything but the required texts. My son is in ChemEngr and he never needs the optional books.</p>
<p>The first semester we saved about $600 buying used from Amazon Marketplace. You have to be careful when you order! There’s no returning those like you can with new books on Amazon. We did mess up once by ordering a Chem book that wasn’t needed (the online book was included in the electronic homework package) but that was an $80 mistake out of the $600 saved. </p>
<p>Agree with SEoOEZ0o, Chegg (rental) is another good option! They ship VERY quickly so you can wait to order after the first class and still have the books by the second week of school.</p>
<p>I am fairly certain even if you buy on amazon marketplace they have to accept a return within 30 days. I sell my books back on amazon marketplace all of the time and as a seller we are required to accept the return within 30 days or it screws up our metrics. So, sorry to hear that you bought a book and were not able to return it! Maybe they have recently changed the policy? </p>
<p>Either way, anytime you buy online read the return policy pretty carefully. I’ve never used half.com, but have heard lots of others using it. I used to use chegg a lot, but now some schools offer the rental right out of the bookstore for a comparable price.</p>
<p>SEoOEZ0o, You may be right. I remembered some explicitly saying you could return and this one didn’t. I was still elated at our total savings, so I just didn’t bother with it. The downside of Marketplace is that the seller ships, so sometimes it’s not super-fast.</p>