It’s time to buy books. Buying them through the school is easy, but expensive. Anyone have a favorite online seller where you can save a few bucks? How do people feel about used textbooks? I used a lot of them in college, but I was able to hand select them in the bookstore and see their condition and the extent to which question pages may have been filled in - buying on line, who knows - and if every question page is already filled in it negates the value saved by buying used. Any veteran thoughts on this
another question - when you search by ISBN # are you guaranteed to get the correct edition? Does each edition and update from year to year get its own ISBN?
I was wondering all of this, too, but I jumped in with both feet and bought all of his books on Amazon. (For some reason, the first two years, everything was an e-book.) Searched for ISBN, matched them up, bought used…so far everything has arrived in perfect condition. Hopefully they are the correct editions.
@Korab1 Yes, new or revised editions get a new ISBN, so searching by ISBN should get you the exact textbook you’re looking for.
Used is the way to go to save $$. Usually modern language textbooks are the most expensive purchase since they come with a code for audio learning component so can’t do used.
We’ve done it all sorts of ways…but now mostly on Amazon. I do buy used (but only “Like New” or “Very Good” quality). As for the ISBN…we’ve never had an issue, but there has often been fretting (mostly by me) until the books arrive.
Usually Amazon is good for used books. They rate them as like new or very good. Read the comments - some resellers will say no marking or light markings etc. this is the first year I’ve had trouble with some books not matching ISBN but it was for a few small paperback books for English and history.
There are some other sites you can buy used books.
We’ve also rented books for a few classes.
Amazon
For HS and college, I’ve not had issues with STEM books unless . Foreign language texts can be hit-or-miss because some classes may require a text with an access code. History/social studies texts are the ones that I worry the most about as they may be heavily marked up by the previous owner.
Yes, New editions get a new ISBN #.
English books are the one place where I’d want to make sure that the book matches the one the teacher is using (unless the teacher does not care). Nothing slows down a class discussion faster than trying to find a paragraph/line in a book when everyone else found it a minute earlier.
Another option is (assuming the instructor has no issue) international editions. They are generally the same as US versions, but are often much cheaper.
Throughout college, I have found myself buying on campus and through amazon and chegg. Chegg has had the cheapest books so far. However, I have stopped buying from them as often because my last spring semester, I received a older edition and the page was missing. I thought it was an error, but another peer in my class had the same missing page. It was a very peculiar situation, but I did not want that happening again. By far, Amazon has been reliable, and my bookstore now price matches with Amazon so I get pretty amazing deals on books. Check and see if your bookstore offers that.
From Amazon I’ve never had a book that was in poor condition, or contained excessive amounts of highlighting or writing inside them. Last the pp said, English books are updated frequently as well as history and science books, be careful when ordering from Amazon, they show similar matches along with your edition and you could end up with an older version.
I agree with Amazon. Prices are very good. They even offer used books sometimes.
But for some classes be careful: teachers may require a CD or online code. Especially language classes.
this summer, had good luck at dot coms textbooks along with barnes & noble
Used books. Last year, I searched ISBN on google to find cheapest source that was often not Amazon but some never heard college textbook site. But for next year, DD bought all her books already from other students during the packing-before-summer period…
Last year, using ISBN, I found great deals on ebay for ds’s chem and math textbooks. The rest I got on B&N, Amazon or the school bookstore depending on price, after accounting for shipping. Be careful because some teachers may requrire that some books be new. (examples: language readers, musicianship workbooks) This year, DS has almost all of his books already. Like Sculptorkid, he bought them used from other students.
After reading this, I feel very lucky our school supplies all books needed! Other than the required summer reading books, we don’t have to purchase any!
@RuralAmerica: George School used to have all the books for the kids (and even gave you a cool book bag) and billed you for it…but this year going to an online system. I sort of liked the old way (which was new to us as a transfer family last year). St. Andrew’s included a chunk for books into tuition nugget, so there were no unexpected costs.
My kids are taking a lot of AP classes. This means a lot of college textbooks. Luckily, only three are very expensive. I became overly optimistic after scoring a $327 book for $41 on eBay. I I’m not having as much luck with the other high-ticket items. I didn’t check out soon enough after finding a deal on Amazon and now have been informed that the price has increased by $168.46. Increased BY that amount not TO that amount. And I just got an alert that WW3 is about to start.
Amazon has a very inexpensive book rental program that I have used several times for my own training needs. Worth considering, especially for semester-long classes.
@GoatMama there is great variety in rental prices at Amazon. Last year didn’t rent a Calculus book in the fall (second copy for kid at day school) it was $16 per semester in the fall but in January when schedule changed and it might have been helpful it was $70. I had already bought a copy for around $120 so I’d consider renting for a small amount.
I ended up buying from a mix of school book store, amazon, and other private sellers on line, wherever I could find the best price. Just searched amazon by isbn number and no issues getting the correct copy. Bought new where an online code or cd was part of sale to make sure I had no issues. All the rentals I saw were for a single semester, so I avoided those. The only problem was one book was water damaged in transit. Mail man must have dropped the package in a puddle. A quick email through amazon to the seller and they immediately shipped me a new one no questions asked - they didn’t even want me to mail the damaged copy back.
Thanks for all the input.