I am an incoming freshman and I have read a lot of articles and threads and there are mixed answers. Some say to do it early while others say to wait and see if you need the book. With buying it early, you have it all ready to go but the list could be wrong or you end up not using it and waste money. On the other hand, if you wait and you really do need the book the first week you don’t have it and sometimes books take a long time to come in.
Also I’m wondering where I should buy my textbooks. My school’s bookstore prices are expensive but they also list options that compare prices. Im thinking of renting them through amazon because it is so much cheaper but I noticed some books I need to have certain access codes and I’m not sure if renting the books would come with those codes. Has anyone used Amazon to rent books before?
I agree that the answers are mixed. One of my friends told me to get them sooner because they tend to be cheaper, while another one of my friends said to wait because in some cases the teacher won’t require the book. I ordered one of my books that were cheap book through my bookstore, but I’m waiting on the others. College students get amazon prime (which has two day shipping) free for 6 months I believe. So if it comes out that I do need those books I plan on using amazon prime so I can get my books cheaper and to me ASAP.
Hi
You might want to check and see if your university has a textbook exchange facebook page. Mine does. We can sell, buy, give away and exchange textbooks.
I usually order mine ahead of time from amazon, usually used. I also compare prices to our bookstore because occasionally it’ll be cheaper there. Sometimes there are also special editions/lab manuals that are only available there. I also usually order ahead of time for stuff from the bookstore, and take advantage of the option they have to have it held and you can pick it up in person when you get there. I personally like keeping my textbooks to reference in the future, so even if the book isn’t used a lot for the course, it’s worth it for me.
You don’t have to get them all in one place. Some things like lab manuals or school specific texts may only be available through the bookstore. Be sure to double check access codes if they’re required for anything, often times you can buy them directly from the publisher.
I would recommend renting as many of the books as possible instead of buying them. You will save a lot of money. Check if the college library has a copy of the book. http://www.chegg.com/
Yes, generally, the ISBN needs to match. It changes as versions are updated.
Mine ended up renting many text books, worked well. (The one exception to this was some brand new versions were sometimes not available yet, through the rental co, were on backorder.) At the end, you mail it back. Some used texts were available in the bookstore, but you need to be early. Then their college started using a rental service, greatly simplified things. They could return books there, at semester end. The shop knew everything needed and pre-arranged.
I bought them hs texts direct from the publisher and while it worked well, it was a pain to manage. Imo, you want as much one-stop shopping as you can.
Of course, depending on your major, you may want/need to keep some.
If possible, I would recommend using sites like Amazon, Chegg, Better World Books, or Half.com to order textbooks as they are significantly cheaper than buying them in the bookstore. If not, then I would rent from the bookstore or buy/rent a digital copy since they’re usually cheaper than physical copies.
Used/rentals on Amazon, and also check if students from your university have set up a student book selling/exchange group on facebook. My university has one and typically students on there are way more willing to sell super cheap because they’re more desperate to get rid of their books. A plus is that there’s no shipping costs involved, downside is that it has to be an in-person exchange, so you’d have to wait until you moved onto campus to pick up the book, or the seller might decide to take someone else’s offer instead.
If an access code is asked for, I would wait a couple days before purchasing one to confirm if you really need it or not, unless a student who took that class tells you that you need it for sure.
90% of the time you can find cheaper options than the bookstore
If you can find a PDF version for free online...download it
I’ve had 3 different cases where the professor said to get the textbook before the semester began and then they never mentioned the book again…so now I wait until I KNOW they’re going to use it before I buy the book.