<p>Have some of you thought about buying books yet? I wanted to try to use half.com or amazon.com but I am worried because the uga bookstore doesnt give you alot of info about the book you need for each class(ie. no ISBN so i know I am getting the right book). Are you all going to just buy the books in Athens or try to save money and buy online.</p>
<p>Well UGA is kind of tricky in that sometimes you have to order the UGA edition of the book which is usually only available in Athens. Other than that, you can try your luck online but I wouldn't be in such a rush to buy books. Sometimes even when a syllabus says a book is needed, you do not really need the book and so you just waste your money.</p>
<p>Okay well Im gonna wait it out then.</p>
<p>I bought my books from the UGA bookstore for many reasons.
1) Amazon did not have any of them that I needed (they had one but it was the same price)
2) I can return before August 25 for a full refund
3) They had more used book options than the off campus ones in Athens</p>
<p>^^I bought mine off campus. Today people were trying to find books and most were sold out. The off campus stores seemed to have way more used books than on campus.</p>
<p>I've heard that Baxter Street, IBX, the Off Campus Bookstore, and the official UGA bookstore are all owned by the same company- thus, the prices and policies are essentially the same, it's just the selection that's different.</p>
<p>Waiting to buy textbooks after the first class is a toss-up. I haven't had a professor yet who expected the class to have textbooks by the first day of class. Sometimes things that the bookstore lists as "required" are actually only "recommended" and sometimes they're completely wrong or specify the wrong edition. However, waiting until after classes start means all the books are going to have been bought already, so it'll be much harder to find them and you'll probably have to rush them in online. It's really up to you.</p>
<p>^^Yup, I got the bonus of my english teacher telling us that we didint need one book so im heading to baxter st. today to return it.</p>
<p>I happened to see this post because my daughter is looking at UGA for next year. I also happen to work for the company (based elsewhere) that contract manages the campus bookstore, as well as one off-campus store (not all of them, as someone reported). I've been in the college store biz for 25 years (yikes) and here's what I know:
1) You're not going to get the used book selection online...and you're unlikely to find all the course materials you need that way. Simple reason--the campus store must order everything professors want, whereas the online sellers can cherry pick the biggest sellers and those that are easiest to get. In other words, you're not going to find that import for your French class online or the book by a more obscure publisher. Your college store HAS to carry what you need.
2) You don't have to worry that the materials in the store are wrong because you don't see an ISBN on the info. cards. The profs submit their orders to the store and those ISBNs are verified. (On the other hand, you can't be sure with half.com or any other online seller that's not affiliated with the school.)
3) The best way to save money is to buy used and sell back your books. If you do this, you can cut your costs by up to 65%.
4) The instructor determines "required" or "recommended" status...if a "required" book turns out not to be needed, it's not the bookstore's fault, it's the instructor's. The bookstore orders based on what the prof submits.
5) Finally, contrary to campus myth that has been around since I was in college and grad school, the bookstore is not gouging you on textbooks. The margin on textbooks is ludicrously small...we make more profit, item by item, on licensed apparel.</p>