<p>I know there have been threads about this subject in the past. However, I am looking for recent experiences with online purchases. For example...textbooks.com? I have twins and would really like to save a few dollars if I can. Any feedback would be most appreciated!</p>
<p>I’ve had a good experience order from Amazon Marketplace. I received a used book for $12 bucks. I probably saved over $50.</p>
<p>Make sure you get the right edition and version of the book. International versions are often much cheaper, but unusable because the homework problems are numbered differently so you don’t know which ones are actually assigned. Plus chapters are placed in different orders, etc.</p>
<p>I’ve had good experience with Amazon as well.</p>
<p>I use Barnes and Nobles (membership) and Amazon. Barnes and Nobles sometimes does 15% coupons which work on textbooks but they usually don’t send them out just before classes start.</p>
<p>[Compare</a> Prices on New & Used Textbooks, Cheap Textbooks - GetTextbooks.com](<a href=“http://www.gettextbooks.com/]Compare”>http://www.gettextbooks.com/)</p>
<p>I’ve found this webpage to be a pretty good at comparing websites that sell books. Just throw in the ISBN.</p>
<p>Using ISBN numbers, I use half.com and amazon. In our state (maybe it is a federal requirement now?) colleges and U’s have to give the ISBN number of the required texts. With science textbooks ranging from $125 to over $200, with multiple texts for one class, and separate texts for labs, I have saved ALOT assisting D with textbook purchases. And now, D knows how to sell used texts to the U bookstore: she has a good idea when to take the $50 they offer and when to pass on the $12 offer–both for books that cost $130. And when there are still books left, I resell on Half.com and Amazon.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. Is there anything you would recommend staying away from? I have seen some great prices on half.com from new sellers. Do you tend to stay away from sellers without a track record?</p>
<p>I buy any books I can online. I’ve never had problems with older additions or international additions, either. If worse comes to worse you can always go into the library and print the page with the homework questions. I mainly use Amazon Marketplace, but sometimes I use ebay.</p>
<p>I’m really surprised that anyone still buys books from the bookstore by choice. The only books I ever get from the bookstore are the ones where they package them in such a way that I have no choice. Unfortunately my college have been using unethical (in my opinion) tactics to force people to buy books from them. The last several semesters I have been forced to buy all my science books from them because they are making the custom lab manuals only available as part of a package that requires you to buy the brand new addition of the textbook.</p>
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<p>On ebay I do, but on Amazon Market Place I don’t. That is because Paypal and eBay tend to be really slow at settling disputes, but Amazon is very good about this. It is pretty much impossible for a seller to use Amazon to make a quick buck and then pack up shop and disapear. Amazon holds funds of new sellers for 60 days, and has a good reputation for being on the customer’s side in disputes.</p>
<p>I have no experience with half.com. I’ve never found their prices to be very competitive, especially once shipping is factored in.</p>
<p>what about textbooks.com? Does anyone have experience with them?</p>
<p>I am unfamiliar with textbooks.com but we have used Amazon, ebay and [rent</a> books book rental college at cheggs.com](<a href=“http://www.cheggs.com%5Drent”>http://www.cheggs.com).
Cheggs is a textbook rental company. Worked well to save us money with science textbooks.</p>
<p>Amazon Marketplace, eBay and directtextbook.com are my favorites. </p>
<p>I actually bought a new calculus book online for about $80 bucks and just returned it the other day for $109, which was nice.</p>
<p>Another good thing to consider is buying the International Edition for certain books or buying the older version of the same book. *I would advise double checking with the professor to make sure that the older version is basically the same as the new version.</p>
<p>I have used textbooks.com and half.com very successfully. Textbooks.com offers a guaranteed buyback program for certain titles. When you search for the title, it will tell you if it is part of the program. Guaranteed buyback gives you back 1/2 of the value of the book’s original price. It even was in effect on a used book I bought from them. I paid the “used” price and got back 1/2 of the “new” price - a very good deal. Plus they pay for shipping both ways. I have had excellent customer service with them. They don’t always have the best price/deal, so then I check out half.com.</p>
<p>I have bought and sold books on half.com very easily. I only have 2 feedbacks, but have completed many more transactions than that. Many times, people just don’t bother to leave feedback. A few feedbacks for a seller doesn’t bother me because that is probably a college student just trying to make a few dollars by selling their textbooks from the semester.</p>
<p>I have had very good experiences buying books on half.com.</p>
<p>I use Amazon, and only use sellers with a really good feedback rating. It seems worth it to get a 150$ textbook for 40$ from a reputable dealer instead of trying to save another ten bucks with a shady/new one.</p>
<p>DS uses half.com. It’s been pretty good. He’s sold books through them as well.</p>
<p>Always verify the ISBN because the pictures of the covers don’t always match up with the edition. If you are in doubt, check with the seller to make sure.</p>
<p>nunya, thanks for the tip on verifying with the seller if in doubt. You just saved me from a mistake!</p>
<p>As a seller on half.com and amazon.com, I often get asked for a picture of the cover and inside page of a book I am selling. I have perfected taking the pic with my iphone and emailing. I love reselling my D’s books.</p>
<p>Thank you for starting this thread. We had not considered the option of online book purchases. I used a test book and priced it on Amazon, B&N, half.com Texbooks.com, and textbooksrus. For this book Amazon was the clear winner with the new price with free shipping being less expensive or equal to the used books on the other sites and also in the Amazon Marketplace. (The Amazon price matched the B&N member price). I also saw a used paperback “international” edition of the book which stated it was exactly the same text as the hard cover version for about $33.00 on one of the sites. This looked like it could be a good deal until I went to Amazon Marketplace which had a starting price for this same paperback edition at about $3.00. I don’t know if this generally holds true but I am wondering if others have tested this out as well and what they have found. I am also wondering if anyone has experience with textbooks.com. It would be great to have this narrowed down to one or two sites, shopping around could take a while.</p>