<p>So I'm going to get textbooks soon for this autumn quarter of my first year. Everyone I've talked to says to buy the books from the UW Bookstore, since they have great deals. They do, but has anyone either borrowed books from the library or found somewhere else that lets you rent or buy used? Seems like some of the books are made specifically for UW, and aren't sold on Amazon or EBay or anywhere else. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>frankly, the book store is not cheap and there is no doubt in my mind that you can get better deals. you can shop around and compare prices. I just bought a book for $15 with shipping. The exact same one costs more than $50 (used) in the U book store. Also E books are cheap. Amazon and eBay have good deals. Make sure to check the ISBN number just to make sure you got the correct text book. If you want to, write down the books that you need, and i will be more than happy to help you find good deal. </p>
<p>I forgot to mention that i did borrow fro UW library many books. I normally request the ones from other libraries to minimize recalling it</p>
<p>I agree with elyan11, the bookstore is expensive and I try to only use as a last resort. I have good luck with Amazon and even going to Half Price Books. The use of the library checkout is sometimes useful and often times Professor’s put the text on course reserves so you can check it out and read it for a couple of hours. Also, I have learned to be patient and wait until the first day to be certain the books listed are required. I have found that sometimes the texts needed are far less than what are listed.</p>
<p>Thanks Jsmith210 and elyan11 for the quick reply. I was just a bit nervous when I realized that two of my courses required textbooks, and I haven’t even looked into that yet. </p>
<p>@JSmith 210: So it’s OK to wait til the first day of class to see if the books are required? It says so on the textbooks section of MyUW that they are required, and to ship it to you will take at least a week.</p>
<p>@elyan11: These were the books that I am worried about.
General Chemistry 142 (7 E 12) (Custom), ISBN 9781285109886, author Zumdahl. I can’t seem to find it anywhere else but the UW Bookstore, no E-book either.
2 P/S V.1 Calculus Single Variable (Custom) (7 E 12) W/ Webassign, ISBN 9781133292838, author Stewart
Calculus, Enhanced Multi Term Webassign W/ Ebook Math 124 Series, ISBN 9781285858265, author Webassign (it says this one is a digital option)</p>
<p>Also, one more thing. I’m taking CHEM142 and MATH124, and these classes also required some other stuff, like safety goggles, lab coat, for chemistry. On MyUW it says that they want specific brands for these stuff, like UVex goggles and Fashion Seals lab coat. Are the professors OCD about brands? Can you get away with just any lab coat or pair of goggles?</p>
<p>Again, many thanks.</p>
<p>Unfortunately with custom books, you may have difficulty acquiring them elsewhere. Sometimes you can get them from the original print company and bypass the UW completely to save a few bucks, but it can be a pain. Considering that it looks like you have specific software that might be required for assignments, you may just want to suck it up and spend the money at the bookstore. Also, you can always email your professor or TA for the purpose of clarification. </p>