Where/how get college texts?

[sandellie4]

I have a dd going to college so we're in the throes of buying college textbooks. Some professors haven't announced their textbooks yet, which I'm worried is just going to make the books difficult to get used. Is this common, professors waiting until the last minute or until classes begin? And where are the best places to buy used textbooks? And is it any cheaper to rent some of the textbooks, and if so, where do I go to rent textbooks? I'm so confused!

 

Sandy

[Kendall]

My son used amazon used, addall.com used, ebay, amazon new, and we bought a few at the college bookstore because the price was close or it was an item only they had. He saved quite a bit. He did make sure that he was not buying international editions. Most of the professors had the book list to the bookstore by mid July. Yes, I think this is really late to be posting book titles, though I do know they can change at the last minute even if they are posted earlier.

[regentrude]

Often the instructors need to get their textbook lists to the university bookstore before the beginning of Summer break so the bookstore can order - that means that most instructors should have their textbooks picked.

If the course website or the instructor's website and the school's bookstore do not have any information about the textbook, I would suggest to contact the instructor directly by email.

It would also be a good idea to ask the instructor whether the specified edition is absolutely required (the bookstores often can not order others than the current edition) or whether an older edition of the same title would suffice. This can save a LOT.

Used textbooks can be bought for instance at amazon marketplace, or at abebooks.com. Renting is cheaper than buying the new book, but buying an older edition is usually the cheapest bet.

Also, she might ask students from previous semesters whether they would like to sell her their books directly without going through the bookstore.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

My dd's college has an online classifieds forum where students buy/sell/rent/share/trade books. Ask around....

 

My dd (a junior) just made $80 renting out books this week. All of the arrangements were made through the classifieds forum or facebook. She rents out books that are for "gen.ed." classes. She has made $20 on the same book for three semesters. She would have only made about $30 if she sold it back to the bookstore.

[Pretty in Pink]

My books were listed at the beginning of July when I registered. I think books are normally listed early, not late. That is unusual. Have you contacted the professor?

 

I am renting my textbooks this semester from www dot campusbookrentals dot com. The prices weren't great, but it costs me just half of buying used.

[creekland]

Here's a thread on the college board that many of us chimed in on earlier this summer.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194834

 

I'm EXTREMELY pleased with the used books I was able to find. I'm not sure what's out there for options now. The least expensive decent used ones were going quickly when I was shopping. You never know when someone will list one though. Happy shopping!

[K-FL]

I've used bigwords.com for my dc. It's a search engine & it does have the rental option. What I do is go to the cc bookstore (online) to get the ISPN & then I can compare the prices. Watch the shipping time to make sure you can get it w/in a reasonable time--usually not shipped media mail.

[Chris in VA]

Lighting a fire to get ds to order his books tonight.

We are checking the ISBN thru the campus bookstore (listed online--all he needed to know was the course number and instructor's name, and the time of the course), then looking them up on http://www.cheapbooks.com

If shipping comes out cheap (it won't; it's too late...), he might be able to save some $ over buying used at the bookstore. If not, well, it's his $.

[Terri]

DealOz is a great search engine to find the cheapest textbooks available on 500+ sites.

[sandellie4]

Thanks for all the responses! We have all of the textbooks, although apparently one of the professors, who hasn't listed any textbooks, likes to name the textbook on the first day of class.

 

Sandy