Do You Buy Discounted Texts?

[mstrohm]

My family has used discounted college textbooks extensively, but we have only had experience on half (book store of EBay) and amazon.

I have written an article at thriftytimes.com on saving money with used textbooks but since my family does not have experience outside of the two sources above I am wondering about your experience. I would like to know which company you ordered from and if the experience was good or bad.

Thanks!

 

[emilina22]

i have always gotten mine from school casue they actually have much better deals on their half off books than online...i only get new books when i have too...
but i didnt get all 3 history books off amazon for a sweet $15 !!!! yay for me

 

[alfrodull]

I always shop around at multiple places, but for me Amazon tends to be the cheapest. (This semester it was 4 books from Amazon, 1 from Half, 2 from the campus bookstore.)

I've ordered from smaller websites and not had any problems, but their selection tends not to be as good and their prices remain about the same.

 

[Mrs. Luther073082]

I buy them used at campus. I'm scared to order used online because you can't see what condition they are in whereas on campus you can finger through it and make sure it has all the pages and such.

 

[LostUntilSaved]

As of this fall, I won't have to pay for my text books anymore.

 

[alldogsDONOTgotoheaven]

I've only used half.com and amazon as well. I haven't had any problem with conditions of textbooks though. I just make sure to buy books that the condition states "like new" or "good", look at what it says about the condition of the book, and make sure I buy from someone with a good reputation. Most of the books I've gotten have looked practically new or only been slightly worn and I've saved $75-$100 a semester. Sometimes, if it's a brand new book or a book that's hard to find it's not worth it buying it online and I'll just get it at school. Like I was searching for one text this semester and online it was like over $100 and at school it's only like $66 new...don't know why such a huge price difference.
I've searched on sites that show you different prices on different sites and amazon or half.com are usually the cheapest since so many people sell on there. I know it's secure too and so far I haven't had any troubles. Just make sure you order them a few weeks ahead if possible to have them in time for classes.
I wish I would've bought books online in undergrad but I didn't have a debit/credit card so I couldn't really. I received $300 a semester per books but it would've been nice to save some money and used some of that money for other expenses (like my $115 a year parking permit...bleh).

 

[smile]

This semester I'll just be buying them from the campus store. Sadly the books I need I'm guessing not a lot of people have because the prices on Amazon/half.com aren't any better then at the campus store. *Sigh*...there goes $400...

 

[Fed]

Yeah, I usually go to ISBN.nu and search for deals there. Or my roommate and I try to divide up which textbooks to buy.

 

[T0M]

I have bought only few of my school books, because we can borrow most of them from the school library.

 

[MusicWarrior]

I always bought dicounted used books. Fortunately for me there was a used bookstore called the bookmark that opened across from the community college I went to. Unfortunatly they really aren't what you are talking about because the are an outlet that has been established for that college by its alumni. So far I have no complaints on this practice.

 

[khakigirl]

I use BIGWORDS.com, which is a really neat search engine for textbooks. You can find the cheapest book price (for new OR used books) and then they subtract coupons and discounts, and add shipping. I save an average of $50 per textbook using this website.

 

[jelvenko]

I got all mine at the campus bookstore because then I could look through them and make sure they weren't all marked up or anything.

Also, I'm a little bit leary of getting them online. I have a classmate in my math class who got her book on halfprice.com. Except it was the wrong one for the class. SO yeah, I prefer to get them on campus because then I KNOW that I'm getting the right books.

 

[alphacheese]

I always get mine on amazon. I got a hardcover psychology book last year for $.01 !!! No joke! It was like $90 at my university bookstore, and they didn't even have a hardcover edition. I paid $3 shipping for it. Hard to beat a $3.01 text book

 

[Matt.9:22]

I buy mostly from amazon.com and half.com. I work at a bookstore so sometimes if the text is a regular book, I can get it at work with my employee discount. Sometimes, I trade books with friends or I may buy one if I know somebody who previously took the class if they have the book. If I HAVE to buy it from the bookstore, I buy it used. I rarely buy new books from the bookstore. But on our campus, the bookstore is a monopoly and a huge rip-off. I'm not sure how they keep from being brought up on racketeering charges. Lol.

 

[CavFan]

I don't buy used books. I have OCD and have an issue with buying used stuff. I know, it's a mental thing.

 

[BoxBunny]

I buy them used at the bookstore if they have them, but new if they don't. I'm impatient about waiting for my books and scared that I might need them before they arrive otherwise I would totally use Amazon.

 

[seamonster]

I buy either at Amazon.com or just borrow from the library.

 

[JolieHeart]

My limited experiences with buying books online have been good. Amazon and half are where they were purchsed. My niece has sold some texts online and she has been pleased with the transactions.

 

[savedandforgiven]

I bought two of my books this year off of facebook...and then I just met the person in real life to pay for it. easy enough!

 

[khakigirl]

Yeah, I like buying from people on campus too, because sometimes they'll give you powerpoint slides, notes, or other stuff that they used during their class. It really helps when it comes time to study for tests...if I study for tests. I'm really bad about not studying.