<p>which sites are the best to use</p>
<p>We’ve ended up buying a lot of our used books through Barnes and Noble’s website: bn.com Other places to check include Amazon.com, ebay.com, half.com</p>
<p>directtextbook.com searches over 200 online bookstores. It includes all the ones from earlier post.</p>
<p>a friend told me about freetextbooks.com- buying ours tomorrow- no tax for under $50- cheaper than half.com</p>
<p>[BetterWorldBooks.com</a> - New & Used Books for Sale, Textbooks, Book Reviews & more - FREE SHIPPING](<a href=“http://www.betterworldbooks.com%5DBetterWorldBooks.com”>http://www.betterworldbooks.com)</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for all the tips! We went through amazon.com for everything, because of the winning combination of great prices, free shipping, and zero hassles. But we’ll certainly check out those other resources as well, for future reference.</p>
<p>Just an FYI - when you’re using some of the sites you’ll find online, be sure to check the ratings of the individual booksellers. The “umbrella” sites (for lack of a better word), such as Abebooks, don’t stand behind those individual sellers. I had a situation for a course this summer where I ordered a book 3 weeks in advance and learned less than a week before the class started that the seller didn’t actually have the book in stock (notwithstanding what was on the website), and had cancelled my order without letting me know. They claimed it was a communications snafu between them and Abebooks. When I contacted Abebooks, there was NOTHING they would do for me - they wouldn’t even exert the influence they must have to get another of their sellers to expedite shipping to something quicker than 3-4 business days. I ended up having to buy a more expensive book and pay for “expedited” shipping that still took 4 full business days - the book didn’t arrive until 2 days after the class started. Their advice to me? Check the individual bookseller’s rating. The lesson learned? Going through some of these companies is no better than buying from an individual on the Amazon Marketplace or half.com.</p>
<p>^^ Beth’sMom – we had fears about that sort of thing. I am always iffy about going through vendors to vendors! That’s partly why we went through amazon.com for everything, even though Abebooks sometimes beat the Amazon prices. “Zero hassles” = powerful benefit!</p>
<p>We’d had a bad experience once before with the third-party-vendor thing, when DH ordered the computer game Civilization II (very hard to find, but Civ lovers consider it the best Civ edition ever). Went through one of Amazon’s third-party vendors. Received confirmation of order but never received the order. (Thankfully, we weren’t billed, but no one ever bothered to let us know the order wasn’t coming.)</p>
<p>Once burned, twice shy. And that’s how we ended up ordering everything from regular old Amazon.com. Still got great prices that way!</p>
<p>I love Amazon and buy almost everything from there. A friend of mine knows the owner of freetextbooks.com-he is a Samford university graduate and is based out of Birmingham. so I am hoping it will be just fine.</p>
<p>@LadyDianeski Civ II is pretty good, but Civ III is much better IMHO. Better graphics, better gameplay, better AI, and greater need for strategic thinking. I<3 the Civ games so much its insane. I’ll have to uninstall it again come school time. </p>
<p>Back to the subject at hand, Amazon and half are the sites that I think are the best for buying books. Always buy from a highly recommended seller is a good piece of advice, even if it costs a little more. Also, take time to rate the seller honestly. Feedback is always important.</p>
<p>MesquiteGirl, will have to tell DH about Civ III. He bougtht something called Civilization Complete, but he thinks it’s too complicated and over-the-top, sacrificing strategy to fancy graphics. But he still enjoys it. Whether he’s playing Civ or Age of Empires, he often gets so absorbed that he’s completely oblivious; the roof could fall in, and he wouldn’t notice. :o</p>
<p>I have to set a timer whenever I play, otherwise I’ll look up and it will be 3 AM!! Then of course, I’ll just play for ONLY five more minutes… it never turns out well. Age of Empires is also a ton of fun. Civ V is the latest version but its very heavy on the graphics and changed a lot of the strategy rules, so I still have not procured it yet.</p>
<p>^ LOL! Another strategy-game addict, I see. I’m not one myself, but I am very familiar with the symptoms. :)</p>
<p>^^
Age of Empires II or III? (personally, the Command & Conquer games are my poison of choice)</p>
<p>Anyhow, Bookfinder.com is easily the best book search site out there.</p>
<p>I’ve only played I and II, III is on my “to-get” list. II is my fav though. </p>
<p>Never tried Bookfinder. I’m mad about textbooks this year because buying 3 books cost me a paycheck and a half. 2 had to be new, and one was used. And I still may have to spend another 100 on my Art History text. Doggone engineering books!!</p>