<p>I was planning on ordering my textbooks online. How long does it usually take for it to arrive?</p>
<p>Depends on where you're getting them. The site should tell you.</p>
<p>If you pay regular shipping, then it can take up to 10 days. I was hit or miss with overstock.com. The earliest, for me, was 4 days.</p>
<p>Be careful with half.com/ebay... be sure to read the sellers feedback comments and that they have a good rep, because I ordered a book for a class from ebay two weeks before semester began and didn't get the book until a month after the class started. It was crappy, because we used the book a lot in class, and I looked like the most unprepared student alive! I pulled an A in the class, but had to rely on "neighbors" more than I am comfortable with.</p>
<p>I have always heard if you order them online August 10 is the last day to buy if you want to be guaranteed to get them by the last week of the month.</p>
<p>For those not keeping score, tomorrow is the 10th. Order those badboys now!</p>
<p>if you get them through the bookstore @ school, see if you can get them boxed up and kept at the school...usually colleges have some sort of 'books in a box' program.</p>
<p>you are honestly, almost better just getting the books at the book store, especially used books. That way you can ensure the quality of the product and you dont have to worry about delays. In my experience, our bookstore doesnt really overcharge so if i were to order them online im really only saving 20 bucks for all my classes combined, and its not worth the hassle of getting them online</p>
<p>I sell used books on amazon. The rules for book sellers is: ship within 2 days of sale, and the book is set to arrive between 3-5 days usually within the continental united states and over a week for hawaii.</p>
<p>my bookstore massively overprices its books, but to keep us from ordering online they do things like use the absolute newest edition of every book or add in self-published titles you can't get anywhere else.</p>
<p>for example, my quantitative analysis book was $138 from the bookstore and $77 on amazon.com. Too bad amazon had none left, or I would have been all over that. Otherwise, it was too new and NO other sources had it available. So the bookstore managed to take me for $65 that I didn't really need to spend.</p>
<p>Last year I saved about $400 over both semesters buying books online. This semester I saved about $100. It can be worth it, it just depends on the books you're trying to buy.</p>
<p>Our bookstore WAY overcharges, and engineering books are never in-stock used anyways because everyone keeps them. Look online and order early if at all possible. Why not save yourself some money? I save hundreds a semester and have the peace of mind of already have finished book buying for the semester right now with school not starting for a couple more weeks.</p>
<p>I buy/sell all my books on half.com. The seller gets 3 business days before they're supposed to ship your book, but this isn't really enforced - once I was waiting for a book halfway into the term and then found out the seller didn't even have it and they cancelled the order. If it's shipped by media mail it usually takes about 5 days from shipping for it to arrive, so in total about a week and a half from when you order it to when you get it. If you pick expedited it'll take 2 or 3 days for shipping so you might get it in less than a week. I've actually had better luck on half.com with student sellers than with the big book companies.</p>
<p>When all the books were finally sold back I've ended up spending about $150 total on books for each year...it would have been less if I didn't buy them all from the bookstore at first.</p>
<p>If you are lucky enough to know which textbooks to buy, then fine. Many people are caught up in the initial semester daze. EFOLLET is the number 1 bookstore in the country, but they never update their website. If you check the site, you see your class is there, but "no textbook info". Of course there is, but they don't want you to know that, so you can buy your books online.</p>
<p>"I don't need the book yet" "That isn't due until October". "Or that isn't due until December". I love when you get a really good on-line deal, then at checkout, it says 2-3 or more weeks, which is usually the latter period. Then you end up stressing yourself out to get all the reading/work done.</p>
<p>you can always email your professor and ask for the textbook list. This is very common for those who want to order ahead, since the lists typically arent released by the bookstore for a few days before classes start</p>
<p>Media Mail can take up to a month to arrive. This is because it's not a priority for the post office to move, and is only sent when there is room on the truck. Most books purchased online from individual sellers are sent by this option. If you need it immediately, then purchase expedited shipping.</p>
<p>A book arriving later than you expect it to does not neccessarily mean that the seller is incompetent, just that the postal system is taking its time.</p>
<p>I plan on ordering my books today...going to shop around online and see which places have good deals. I'm heading off to college on the 21st...should I have it shipped to my house or my college? hmmm</p>