klmama Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I just found out that dc has not highlighted or made notes in textbooks this entire semester because of wanting them to be worth more when selling them back at the end. *Sigh* Apparently, we didn't discuss how little that would be, especially on the older edition texts the professors were so considerate to require. Oh, well. At least dc knows now, since next semester's courses will be more difficult. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I highly recommend renting books and buying the ones you will need later. I studied philosophy, so I could buy cheap, but for fields like biology that change all the time, I recommend renting for undergrad. That's not to say NEVER buy a book, but rent first as you save much more, and then if you want to buy, it will be used when you buy it so you don't lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Although the thing I worry about with renting is something happening to the book and then I end up paying way more for it. For example, the book for an upcoming class is $147 through the school. Amazon rents it for $63, but to buy it from them is $245. I assume if you damage the book or lose the book you end up paying the $245 which is a heck of a lot more than $147. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 I highly recommend renting books and buying the ones you will need later. I studied philosophy, so I could buy cheap, but for fields like biology that change all the time, I recommend renting for undergrad. That's not to say NEVER buy a book, but rent first as you save much more, and then if you want to buy, it will be used when you buy it so you don't lose. That's great advice for when the class requires new books. I was willing to consider renting, but all but one of dc's profs chose previous editions to help them save money. Buying them used on Amazon instead of at the college bookstore saved us even more money, and the cost was less than the rental fees would have been. I hope all the professors at this college got the "use older editions" memo! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 That's great advice for when the class requires new books. I was willing to consider renting, but all but one of dc's profs chose previous editions to help them save money. Buying them used on Amazon instead of at the college bookstore saved us even more money, and the cost was less than the rental fees would have been. I hope all the professors at this college got the "use older editions" memo! Except now a lot of profs are requiring access to on-line features that are not provided with a used book. I'm telling you those textbook companies are vultures. LOL 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Dc's math prof had online access required, but even it was to an older edition. It saved us about $30 to use that one instead of the latest edition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Except now a lot of profs are requiring access to on-line features that are not provided with a used book. I'm telling you those textbook companies are vultures. LOL It is literally a racket. I hate it and I work in higher ed. It's the #1 single source of complaints and ours are cheap compared to four year universities. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 FYI, if a rented or loaned book gets wet, you might be able to save it. Dd's supposedly spill proof coffee mug spilled in her backpack all over about $250 worth of textbooks that were loaned from the student bookstore to pseo students. I researched the problem and then used cotton swabs to gently dab hydrogen peroxide and then a weak vinegar solution on the books to get rid of the stain and restore the pH of the paper. Then I separated the treated pages with tissue and put a weight on the book while it dried. Finally, I carefully ironed the wrinkled pages smooth. It looked pretty much like new when I was done. Yes, it took a lot of time, but getting "paid" $250 for three hours work isn't all that bad in my mind. :) The ladies at the book return are famous for their hawkeyed detection of damage. They passed the books without a second glance. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 (edited) Dc's math prof had online access required, but even it was to an older edition. It saved us about $30 to use that one instead of the latest edition. Made me mad though because a lot of people bought the book used not realizing they'd need the codes. So they had to fork over another $80 for the codes. He insisted because he said homework had to be done and turned in via the on-line thing. Homework is worth 15%. So not a huge huge amount, but still enough. But the kicker is he assigned 4 homework assignments. Four! So $80 for four assignments worth 15% of the grade. Stupid. Edited December 2, 2015 by SparklyUnicorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 FYI, if a rented or loaned book gets wet, you might be able to save it. Dd's supposedly spill proof coffee mug spilled in her backpack all over about $250 worth of textbooks that were loaned from the student bookstore to pseo students. I researched the problem and then used cotton swabs to gently dab hydrogen peroxide and then a weak vinegar solution on the books to get rid of the stain and restore the pH of the paper. Then I separated the treated pages with tissue and put a weight on the book while it dried. Finally, I carefully ironed the wrinkled pages smooth. It looked pretty much like new when I was done. Yes, it took a lot of time, but getting "paid" $250 for three hours work isn't all that bad in my mind. :) The ladies at the book return are famous for their hawkeyed detection of damage. They passed the books without a second glance. Yeah for me I'm not so worried. I'm very careful with my stuff. Although accidents can still happen. But my kid? Uh no. He is not careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 A required math book for my kid was ~$150 to rent on Amazon, Chegg, and the college bookstore. I found the same book for $160 BRAND NEW at Chegg. I bought it so I wouldn't have to worry about the codes. Turns out, they've not used the codes AT ALL, and the only time ds has cracked open the book is when he's missed class to see what was covered. Aaaand the book was water damaged by his water bottle when both were in his backpack. On the plus side, because the code thing is unbroken/unused, I'll be able to sell it for about what I paid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 (edited) I had much better luck with buy-back prices on Amazon than through the school. Obviously not as much as selling the books directly, but extremely low hassle. Edited December 2, 2015 by ocelotmom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 We had the same problem with the codes. I bought the book new from the bookstore, then returned it after seeing how cheap I could rent it. Did that, but then son informs me a couple of weeks into class that he needs the code for homework. I buy the code from the publisher, and between that and the rental fee, end up spending $10 more than buying it new and now I have nothing to sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 son informs me a couple of weeks into class that he needs the code for homework. PSA: teach your kids to read syllabi. If at all possible, i.e. if they are available on the LMS or the instructor's website, have them do so before the semester starts. If it is not clear from the syllabus whether online access codes will be required, have them email the instructor to find out before purchasing the book. It is a perfectly legitimate question to ask your professor! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Professors are starting to turn in their 2nd semester book requirements to the bookstore. We've ordered three used, very good condition textbooks on Amazon so far, saving $180 off the college bookstore USED prices. Also, they were still less than the rental price from both the college bookstore and Amazon. I like the trend here! Three more classes to go.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Yes, it's such a game. I was all prepared to buy the last of my oldest's books this weekend, but I just looked, and the bookstore has decided not to list any of the ISBN's online for some reason. They were there a few weeks ago, but I didn't get them in time. So I guess I'll go early before class Monday night and go by the bookstore. The only one we're not sure about is math. I also need to buy his Excel book, but I'm still poking around for the best price because it includes an access code. Thankfully accounting, English, and the math access code are all the same for second semester. We also need to send back his English rental and sell his math and business books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 PSA: teach your kids to read syllabi. If at all possible, i.e. if they are available on the LMS or the instructor's website, have them do so before the semester starts. If it is not clear from the syllabus whether online access codes will be required, have them email the instructor to find out before purchasing the book. It is a perfectly legitimate question to ask your professor! I had dd email her prof last semester and found that she didn't need a code that would have made her book $100 more expensive. We just looked tonight and found she has 2 books listed with access codes and one "special edition". Each one is $120 new and less than $20 to rent on Amazon. Once again, she's going to email the professors. She won't get access to the syllabi until just a few days before class starts. So waiting to read the syllabus instead of bothering the professor doesn't give time to get the books ordered and shipped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 One of my son's classes for this past semester said they needed the book with the code. When we went to buy, I asked the college bookstore how codes would work if we rented or bought used, and the gal there had taken the class from that instructor & told us the codes weren't needed! It really does help to check with someone, used was certainly cheaper. Buying used and selling it back was slightly more than renting, but not by that much, and I wanted my son to feel free to mark up the book if he wanted to. We discussed the option of renting but he felt more comfortable with buying used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) If possible, I always advise my students to buy used off Amazon or through private sellers and avoid large book resellers. There are usually better prices that way. Edited December 12, 2015 by reefgazer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 If possible, I always advise my students to buy used off Amazon or through private sellers and avoid large book resellers. There are usually better prices that way. I found the Amazon used prices were only slightly better than our college bookstore's used prices, but we also have other considerations. For one, the marking in a book really matters to my son, and he wants to be able to see the book first. For two, we have a lot of chemical and mold sensitivities in our family, and where the book has been makes a huge difference. I've had very mixed experiences buying used online for our needs, and it's much less stressful buying in person when we can see it, crack it open and see if it retains perfumes or smoke smells, and so on. What little extra the college bookstore does make supports the arts and other extras at the school, which I think has value as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 You should also be able to buy just the code directly from the publisher. I'm sure it's slightly more expensive for the code itself than buying it bundled, but less than the total bundle if the used book is inexpensive enough. I treated it as an overall numbers game. For an individual class, I might end up spending more buying used and then finding I had to buy the new version or something. But, in the big picture, that meant spending a few dollars more than I would have on one class, while saving hundreds on all the other classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 You should also be able to buy just the code directly from the publisher. I'm sure it's slightly more expensive for the code itself than buying it bundled, but less than the total bundle if the used book is inexpensive enough. I treated it as an overall numbers game. For an individual class, I might end up spending more buying used and then finding I had to buy the new version or something. But, in the big picture, that meant spending a few dollars more than I would have on one class, while saving hundreds on all the other classes. Yes, for one of DS's classes, buying the code from the bookstore and getting a used book from Amazon saved a $60. The code and book are both good for a second semester too. They didn't have any used books in the fall. I just bought a new book and code bundled on Amazon for next semester. Buying a used book from the bookstore or Amazon and buying a code from the publisher would have been $35 more. Renting was an option, but cost just $10 less, so we bought a new book and code so that we can resell it and get about 2/5 of what we paid back. We still don't have an answer on the math book, but he emailed the professor. The bookstore wouldn't give me the ISBN, and they said that there will be no rentals of that book next semester. So probably we'll rent from Amazon if it is the book that I think it is. :glare: :glare: :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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