College textbooks

[Night Elf]

Do your students prefer physical textbooks or ebooks? At orientation they talked very briefly about ebooks but I honestly don't remember what they said. Will instructors share that information with students or are we supposed to just know where to find them? I'm not sure where to find textbooks except in the campus bookstore. I've heard of renting them, but I don't know anything about that.

[regentrude]

My college students are split on the issue. Many prefer physical books for reading, but all appreciate the convenience of an ebook for carrying around campus and looking up homework problems. I suspect that part of the allure is also that they acquire their ebooks not always through legit channels and get them for free.

 

Instructors will announce which book and edition they require for the course. Students can choose to purchase from the bookstore or elsewhere. Often the bookstore website lists alternatives for purchasing - ours offers a price comparison with various online sources. To the best of my knowledge, the only legitimate source of ebooks is through the publisher. Many publishers bundle the ebook access for free with purchase of a new textbook.

Instructors do not provide info where to find a book (unless it is a rare out of print book). We assume that students are capable of using Google.

[Pawz4me]

My DS prefers physical textbooks.  For his first semester we bit the bullet and bought everything he needed from the student bookstore.  They had a program where they'd grab your schedule info from your student account on the university website, get everything together for you in a box and all you had to do was come by and pick it up. They even had pick up times in individual dorm lobbies if you didn't want to stand in line at the bookstore.  It was costly, but for a first time college student we thought it was worth the price.  Now he finds his books used (online, usually from Amazon) or from other students who have the book to sell.

[Night Elf]

If I use a rental place or Amazon, isn't it possible to get the wrong textbook even when looking it up by isbn? Like when sellers don't pay attention to which textbook they link their ad to? I just looked up one of the textbooks and the rental fee is so much lower than buying the book. $41 rental versus $153 purchase. That's a big difference. I just want to make sure I get the right edition. Although I do like the idea of just using the campus bookstore but good grief it's expensive. If I use the bookstore, what percentage should we expect to get back when selling it back to the store?

[Butler]

Don't forget to factor in the money your student might get from selling the book after the class. Mine have oftentimes come out ahead by buying and selling their books compared to the cost of renting them.

 

Edited it to add: they never buy from the campus bookstore, online is always cheaper. And selling either online (Amazon textbook buy back, craigslist) or on campus to other students always has a greater return.

[Peach]

I think it would depend on the nature of the book too. My husband was fine with ebooks for math classes since he was doing problems on paper and would likely refer to the pages only a few times.. I am a history major and have to have the physical book since I tag so much in my reading to go back to later when writing papers. Physical books are so much more convenient for marking passages with post it flags, using the index, etc. 

 

I do the same as Kinsa outlined above. Our campus bookstore is non-profit and often their prices are cheaper or equal to an online source. The campus store also has used copies of most books too. Amazon is great to find used copies, as long as the ISBN matches. You can rent through Amazon as well, which I did for some of the 100 level classes that I knew the books wouldn't be keepers. There are a lot of other sites too that sell/rent. If you have a student that loves to highlight tho, renting isn't an option - most places expect the book back in the same condition they sent it. For rentals, there is usually an option to but it later if you decide you want to keep it. 

 

It can take a little time to comparison shop but when you're talking about the crazy prices of textbooks, it's worth it. The only issue I found with used is that shipping is much slower. For the classes I register for in April for the upcoming Fall, not an issue but sometimes, the turnaround when you register for spring classes at the end of fall semester can but it close. 

[Luckymama]

My graduate and current junior both prefer physical books to ebooks. They will use an ebook if it is just "suggested" or (in dd's case) it's something she can get for free for her Kindle.

 

I've been buying textbooks for eight years, beginning when ds was a freshman in private high school. My process:

 

--get the title, author, edition, and ISBN from the school's online bookstore

--check with the student if the book will be a keeper or if a rental is fine

--note the new, used, and rental prices for both the official university bookstore and the other bookstore just off campus

--check amazon first searching by ISBN (I have never had any problems with amazon's policies. I have been able to return books from private sellers when the book description has not matched the book condition.)

--if I cannot find a book on amazon or if the prices there and at the bookstore are insane, I search elsewhere by ISBN (there are many websites now which aggregate all the used book marketplaces)

--if the price differences are negligible, I purchase from the official university bookstore or the other bookstore off campus

 

We are price- and condition-conscious. My kids prefer books with no to little highlighting. I read the descriptions carefully and eliminate any seller that uses "canned" language in the descriptions. I also purchase from sellers with high feedback ratings, above 95% wheneve possible. Even then, I still read feedback comments from the past three months.

 

I know some have their students purchase their own books. It just works out easier for me to search (since I've been doing this for so long, I am very quick now---dd20's books for fall took me all of 45 minutes to research and purchase). We also don't have kids flying to school!

[regentrude]

And definitely check with the instructor whether the current edition of the book is a must, or whether an older edition might be acceptable as well. Sometimes we cannot require an older book through the bookstore because they cannot guarantee a supply of enough copies, even though the older book may be perfectly fine.

A quick email to the instructor may save a lot of money.

[regentrude]

 

For one of my son's upcoming classes, we HAD to buy a new copy of the book because the prof wanted each student to have the e-text access code.  Apparently this is online-only material in addition to the material found in the book.  Because access codes are non-transferable and void if used, you are forced into buying a new copy of the book.  The good news is that we were able to buy it about $50 cheaper from amazon than from the campus bookstore, but it was still $$$.

 

Sometimes it is possible to purchase the access code separately from the publisher. That could be cheaper than buying a new book with the access code; it depends on what deal the bookstore/professor managed to negotiate with the publisher.

 

[elegantlion]

I prefer physical books because I hate reading off a screen. I also write in my books a lot. 

 

DS wants physical books this fall too. Our bookstore is about the same price as Amazon ( just checked this morning). A few books will have used copies at the bookstore, which they do sell at a discount. 

 

We both have time in our schedule this fall to run to the car and trade out books to avoid carrying everything all day. 

 

 

 

 

And definitely check with the instructor whether the current edition of the book is a must, or whether an older edition might be acceptable as well. Sometimes we cannot require an older book through the bookstore because they cannot guarantee a supply of enough copies, even though the older book may be perfectly fine.

A quick email to the instructor may save a lot of money.

 

:iagree: This advice has saved me between $300-$400 in the last two years. I found previous editions very cheap on Amazon and politely e-mailed the professor. In the three cases I've done this, they've all said yes to previous editions. Yes, that much money saved on three books. 

 

The only caveat to this is that page numbers might not line up. It can be annoying if page numbers not sections are listed in the readings. 

[AngieW in Texas]

My 19yo always gets physical books because she doesn't like having to read off of a screen. Her campus bookstore offers rentals, so she rents when she can unless the text is one that she thinks she might want to keep.

 

My 17yo has always gotten physical books, but she is thinking of switching to ebooks because of her back problems. She already needs to carry her laptop to class for taking notes (accommodation for her dysgraphia) and carrying around the textbooks as well would just make her backpack heavier. I'm going to encourage her to go ahead and try the ebook version for fall semester at the cc, so she'll know whether or not that will work for her before she goes away to college.

[Pegasus]

A couple cautionary comments. As mentioned, sometimes the course requires an online code to access part of the course materials.  In our experience, the code alone is often almost as much as the new textbook bundled with the code.  If you buy the textbook alone online somewhere, hoping to save money, it can end up costing you more if you then have to buy the code.  

 

We've also run into institution specific versions of common textbooks. It is so painful to pay full retail for this special version when plenty of inexpensive versions are available online.

 

DD sometimes doesn't know who her instructor is going to be until classes start, so that she can't confirm what versions can be used ahead of time.  By that time, it is tough to find and purchase the books online because they often have assignments due the first week of classes.   

 

 

[TechWife]

Keep in mind that many, many, many math textbooks now have an online component that must be purchased. The student does all of their work online and it is automatically graded, the prof. approves the grade and then the grade is posted. So, even if you have a physical book that you can purchase inexpensively, the online access must be purchased and it is costly and the same price for everyone (the codes are only used once, so there is no way to purchase a "used" online access code). 

 

My son't school has a textbook rental program. He will go to the bookstore, an employee will pull the books he needs and he checks out and leaves. it is $135 a semester and includes all non-consumable books. It does not include consumable lab books, work books, art supplies or computer access codes. It will save us hundreds of dollars. 

[Lanny]

Textbooks should ONLY be purchased using the ISBN number.  I have seen, frequently, when looking for textbooks for DD on Amazon, that it would cost more (for someone in the USA) to Rent a textbook, than to purchase a Used textbook described as "Good" or "Very Good" by the Seller, that they could later resell. I try to get books listed as "Very Good" for DD whenever possible and Amazon Condition Guidelines for books listed as "Very Good" do not permit highlighting, writing or underlining on the pages, but some large sellers in their descriptions will indicate that their books listed as "Very Good" may have marking on the pages.  Normally, a used textbook will not have a Valid Access Code and one should assume that the Access Code will not work. Earlier this week, I ordered a Web Development textbook for DD (normally used in university courses but I would like her to take it from TTUISD as a 9th grade elective) and it had a Valid Access Code.  Sadly, the Seller had an inventory problem and had shipped it to someone else. After they printed the USPS Shipping Label and notified Amazon that it had been shipped to me.  They refunded my $ and yesterday I purchased a "Used - Very Good" copy from a company in the Thrift Books family, but without the Access Code.  DD finds markings on pages very distracting.  Normally, the same Seller will have the same prices on AbeBooks as they do on Amazon, but months ago, I saw 2 textbooks listed on AbeBooks, by the same Seller, for several dollars less than they listed the books on Amazon.  I have purchased 2 textbooks from people on eBay and they saved us a lot of $  The Feedback ratings I am most interested in are those during the past 30 days.  After the experience this week with the order from a small vendor that wasn't fulfilled, I suspect there may be fewer fulfillment problems if one buys from huge vendors.  That said, we have purchased quite a few books from small vendors without issues, until this week.  That seller had about 75 feedbacks on Amazon in the past 30 days.

[momofkhm]

I asked my dd about this yesterday.  If she is going to read the assigned pages but then study from her notes, ebooks would be fine.  But if she will need to study from the book, she wants a physical book.  She definitely wants a physical book for all math and science classes.

 

 

[Lanny]

Sometimes, you can buy a textbook listed as "New" for less money, or slightly more money, than one listed as "used".  The one listed as "New" might have a school stamp or remainder mark, but that isn't a problem for us.  We have purchased several textbooks listed as "used" that had never been read. Once, we received a Textbook that showed on the cover that it was a Publishers Sample or something, to an Instructor or school. I don't believe they are supposed to sell those on Amazon, but it was OK with us, because we live overseas and it would be incredibly expensive for us to ship books back to the USA, to resell them.   I have seen books listed that said a corner was cut off, so those are probably Publishers Samples or Remainder books that are probably not supposed to be resold.  I saw one Feedback where someone had Rented a textbook, claimed that it was sent back in "Good" condition and then the rental company, after receiving the textbook, said it was in bad condition and charged their card $135, the cost of a new replacement book.  I have purchased from very small vendors with only a few feedbacks during the past 30 days, sometimes multiple purchases from the same vendor, without issues. With small vendors, I always send them a message on Amazon, to be sure they are there and will respond. I did that, last week, for the Web Development textbook for DD, to someone in Florida with a total of 50 feedbacks on Amazon. He'd listed it in "Like New" condition. He never replied to me, so I didn't know if he was sick, had been in an accident, or simply would not answer simple questions. I did not purchase from him.  The experience this week, where a Seller cancelled a sale, because they'd shipped the book to someone else, was a first. We have, so far, never received a book with the wrong ISBN number. Quite a few of the books have been in better condition than the seller listed. With popular items on Amazon, you can have CamelCamelCamel.com notify you when your target price is reached.  I do that.   Last month, we had a financial gift from God, but the robot from CamelCamelCamel.com apparently had looked at that book BEFORE BetterWorldBooks came in and listed it for one cent plus shipping.  Fortunately, for some reason, I looked at that web page several times that day. The book had been $38.80 or more, for 6 months.  BetterWorldBooks came in and listed it (Very Good) for one cent plus shipping. We bought it and it is "Very Good" or better. The next price the day we bought it was $38.80...  It had been used by one student for one school year.

 

ETA: We have purchased several Novels for DD, from Amazon, for Kindle, for her English courses. Generally, she prefers traditional books she can hold in her hands, but she says the Kindle Books are OK for the Novels.

[Annie G]

Our kids prefer physical textbooks. We've had good success with Amazon, especially buying used books. Never received the wrong book.  We've rented a dozen or so from Amazon and it was super easy and cheaper than the school's rentals. When it's time to send them back you get an email to remind you, then you print a postage paid label, slap it on the box, and drop it off somewhere that takes UPS packages. For us it's the Staples a mile away. 

 

 

[Peach]

I've used Amazon rentals for a few I knew I wouldn't keep and it was a breeze. One of them arrived with some bent pages from slipping around in the box, so I emailed them about it. I got a reply back within an hour or two that they had noted it on my account so I wouldn't be charged for the damage when I returned it. I was impressed :)

[Tree Frog]

My college students are split on the issue. Many prefer physical books for reading, but all appreciate the convenience of an ebook for carrying around campus and looking up homework problems. I suspect that part of the allure is also that they acquire their ebooks not always through legit channels and get them for free.

 

Instructors will announce which book and edition they require for the course. Students can choose to purchase from the bookstore or elsewhere. Often the bookstore website lists alternatives for purchasing - ours offers a price comparison with various online sources. To the best of my knowledge, the only legitimate source of ebooks is through the publisher. Many publishers bundle the ebook access for free with purchase of a new textbook.

Instructors do not provide info where to find a book (unless it is a rare out of print book). We assume that students are capable of using Google.

 

This describes my dd. She now purchases the texts she can in loose leaf form, keeps the bulk of the book in her dorm and carries only the chapter(s) she needs. She's not a fan of the ebooks.

[ThisIsTheDay]

Physical textbooks. 

 

I take the ISBN and look at them new or used on Amazon, used or rented at the college bookstore, and rented through Chegg.com.

 

Chegg has been EXCELLENT; we've been very happy with their service.  The condition of the books is guaranteed.  If you don't like it, return it free of charge.  They provide free UPS return shipping at the end of the semester, and you can extend your returns for a few weeks if necessary, also free of charge. One semester, they gave me a courtesy call to remind me to return the books, which I greatly appreciated.

 

In the beginning, I searched every possible site for used books.  A lot of the books were posted in various sites by the same sellers, and it became evident that it would be best to limit my searching.  I also quickly realized I didn't want to rent from a variety of places.  It's too hectic at the end of the semester to try and figure out which books go where, and the most I can handle are returning some books to the college bookstore, and sticking the others in a box to send back to Chegg.

 

The one caution of course is math books, which has already been mentioned several times.

[flyingiguana]

My kids just go with whatever is cheapest.

 

Sometimes the professor will give a link to the e-book.  Sometimes a professor may let the class know that an older edition will be fine (and sometimes that it's not).

 

There also seems to be a lively trade in book borrowing going on.  My daughter has lent out several of her books to people taking classes she's already finished.  

 

In the freshman year, my kids were anxious to have their books ahead of time.  However by sophomore year, they were taking a more wait and see attitude.  If we found a textbook cheap, we might go ahead and buy it, but if all the copies are expensive it's sometime better to wait.  Some professors have a habit of asking students to buy a ton of books and then use none of them.  After the student has been at the school a year, they may have a better sense as to which professors are likely to do this.

[Night Elf]

Rental seems cheapest but I'm skeptical. The American History book ds needs is $15.99 for rental to December 19th. Buying used is $57.79. Could a decent rental book really only be $16? This is through Amazon. Can I be sure they won't ding me for a bad condition even if we don't do any damage to it when we get it? In other words, can this be a scam to get me to pay a full price for a textbook?

 

The instructor tried to help me find an ebook but the publisher only had the 2-volume set as an ebook, not just the 2nd volume we need. I appreciated her assistance in finding out that information for me. But for the 2 volume set, it would have been $90 for that ebook.

[Caroline]

My son prefers physical textbooks to study from. However, many of his math, physics, and chemistry courses have required the online access code for turning in homework. He doesn't rent them because he wants to keep them for reference. A couple have been university specific, some have been self-published by professors. We get them from the bookstore because it is easy. They deliver them right to his dorm. The one set we didn't get from the university bookstore is because we are related to the author. He got desk copies for free with the online access code. Thanks Professor K!

[Peach]

Night Elf, I've rented several through Amazon with zero problems. Even the one that arrived with the cover bent, I emailed them and it wasn't an issue either. Even the return shipping is free and it was pretty painless. As long as they don't mark in the books, you'll be fine. 

[Aretemama]

My kids also prefer physical textbooks whenever possible. We've used the college bookstores for rentals and purchases, used online stores like Amazon and Chegg, and occasionally we've made money by selling a good online deal to the college bookstore when doing returns.

 

And, as others have said, math is where you normally have to have the online code, so that's where you have usually buy new.

[The Girls' Mom]

Book buying for college is almost a nightmare for us.  There are three of us attending the same community college this fall.  Almost all of our books either need an access code, or are a "custom" edition for our school, both of which force your hand when buying.  

 

Also, waiting until you can talk to the professor is a huge pain, because you will often have assignments due by the end of the first week.  Waiting until after your first class sets you behind right away.  

 

Then you end up buying some books you don't even need.

 

 

[Crimson Wife]

One other thing to consider:

 

For one of my son's upcoming classes, we HAD to buy a new copy of the book because the prof wanted each student to have the e-text access code.  Apparently this is online-only material in addition to the material found in the book.  Because access codes are non-transferable and void if used, you are forced into buying a new copy of the book. 

 

This is such a scam! I have to wonder if the professors who do this are getting some sort of kickback from the textbook publishers for using the access code material.

[Tsuga]

I personally prefer to rent physical books. I work in higher Ed and we hate the textbook racket, but instructors aren't paid enough to write their own.

 

E or physical depends on the person, but renting I feel is almost always a better deal.

[scoutingmom]

I personally prefer to rent physical books. I work in higher Ed and we hate the textbook racket, but instructors aren't paid enough to write their own.

 

E or physical depends on the person, but renting I feel is almost always a better deal.

Just one comment..... if your professor did write his own textbook, consider also buying a different textbook (for the same course witb a different instructor, or a similar course) as well. It is horrible to be having a problem understanding something in the lecture, then reading up on it in his textbook to see it explained just as poorly! (BTDT!)

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[creekland]

My guys prefer physical books and we always buy - almost always buying from half.com or Amazon, but very inexpensive books are often less expensive at the bookstore due to postage.  

 

Probably 90% of the time (or more) they can sell the books when they are finished for less than renting would have cost.  Occasionally I find such a good deal that they end up selling their books for more than I paid for them giving them a profit.  Usually they sell them to other students getting ready to take the class, so nothing online is needed.  However, just last week I boxed up a book that sold online for $6 more than I paid for it.  Shipping and fees were $18.  This means it only cost us $12 for a $130 book.

 

Renting has absolutely no appeal to us.  I'd worry about something happening to the book and getting charged the full amount.  If they own the book and something happens, it's no big deal.  And again, renting is rarely (if ever) less expensive than what we do with buying and reselling.

[Night Elf]

He's taking preCalculus. The class requires a textbook and there is an optional web access code. At least I'm assuming it's that. It's called Web Assign New 9/3/13. The bookstore offers it used for $68 or new for $92, but the used is unavailable. I don't know how an access code is used and there is a note that gives deadlines for when to return it. Anyway, it's optional so I was going to wait until class starts to see what the instructor says about it.

 

Renting these textbooks was definitely cheaper than buying them used. I guess because they are intro level classes and not a big deal.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

This is such a scam! I have to wonder if the professors who do this are getting some sort of kickback from the textbook publishers for using the access code material.

 

I used to not like the idea of online supplements, but I was really impressed with how useful it was in my ds's pre-calc class.

 

He was assigned homework sets that corresponded to each class.  Deadline for completion was the day of the next "quiz," which was every two weeks.  

 

If he got the problem wrong, the program told him it was wrong and had him try again.  If he got it wrong three times, it showed him a solution (not just the answer), then gave him the problem again with different numbers.  By the time he worked through the full set, he really understood the problems.  

 

He also had to write out his solutions on paper and hand them in on test day.

 

Quizzes alternated between being online and being in class.  The online tests offered feedback on which questions were wrong (but not a solution) and allowed two attempts.  Each online quiz attempt took about an hour to complete (they were called quizzes, but were pretty tough unit tests).

 

The other "quizzes" were in class, and the final was in class.  

 

What I ended up liking about the online supplement was that he immediately knew if he was doing something wrong.  If he'd had to wait for returned homework, he might have gone a week or more without feedback.  And when he was finally getting it right, he knew that too.

 

I'm not sure if you'd get a worthwhile experience out of a history class supplement.  Often, these seem to be heavy on images and documents, many of which are available elsewhere for free.  And it's tough to computer grade a history question unless it's multiple choice or true false.  

[kiana]

I used to not like the idea of online supplements, but I was really impressed with how useful it was in my ds's pre-calc class.

 

He was assigned homework sets that corresponded to each class.  Deadline for completion was the day of the next "quiz," which was every two weeks.  

 

If he got the problem wrong, the program told him it was wrong and had him try again.  If he got it wrong three times, it showed him a solution (not just the answer), then gave him the problem again with different numbers.  By the time he worked through the full set, he really understood the problems.  

 

This is why I go with online homework a lot even though it raises the cost and they cannot use used books. Instead of turning in homework, seeing "Oh well I got it wrong", and simply moving on to the next assignment (which is how most students do it), they see immediately that they have it wrong and have 0 credit. It also is useful to reduce cheating, since every student at least has different numbers on the problems. They can still have a friend work the homework for them, but they can't just copy their friend's numbers. 

 

Since the online access code includes an electronic copy of the book, I encourage them to save money by not buying the book unless they really hate electronic copies. If they want a reference copy, I encourage them to get an old edition and cross-reference. The differing explanations are actually helpful for someone who wants to understand the material although less useful for someone who simply wants a sample problem where they can copy the template.

[Peach]

I've found the online supplements invaluable for the two classes that used them. One was an art history class that had fabulous slides with all the pertinent info and a much better rendering than book photos, plus a lot more images than the book had. It was amazingly useful in preparing for exams. The other was a French class where the online site had recordings to listen to and it was a great help in getting my ears attuned to listening to spoken French again. 

[Seasider]

My kids prefer actual books to digital books. Bulkier, yes, but easier to learn from.

 

We go to the college bookstore website to get the ISBN's of the required texts, noting the price . Then we hit the internet. Sometimes the bookstore is cheapest, sometimes we find a used copy on Amazon that's cheaper, and sometimes we rent from http://www.campusbookrentals.com for the cheapest option.

 

It usually takes a lot of comparison shopping to make this affordable. Right now I'm researching ways to get this particular college algebra book for my son for less than $300 (!!!)

 

 

Ditto. Having one that's a senior who has refined the art of hunting and gathering textbooks is really helpful for my younger college kids. There are many online sources.

[FaithManor]

Rental seems cheapest but I'm skeptical. The American History book ds needs is $15.99 for rental to December 19th. Buying used is $57.79. Could a decent rental book really only be $16? This is through Amazon. Can I be sure they won't ding me for a bad condition even if we don't do any damage to it when we get it? In other words, can this be a scam to get me to pay a full price for a textbook?

 

The instructor tried to help me find an ebook but the publisher only had the 2-volume set as an ebook, not just the 2nd volume we need. I appreciated her assistance in finding out that information for me. But for the 2 volume set, it would have been $90 for that ebook.

We rented texts for my sister's refresher French courses that she took before beginning her Master's Degree in France. Amazon worked great for us. The three books would have been $600.00 new, we paid about $75.00 in rental fees. She didn't need to keep the books.

 

We ordered by ISBN number. One does have to be cautious, but ours was a positive experience.