Used textbooks?

[ny biker]

Does anyone know good sources to buy used college textbooks, or to rent textbooks? My college-bound nephew checked rentatext.com but the books are still kind of expensive there, so we're trying to see if we can find a less expensive source.

Thanks!!!!

[Owlie]

Ah yes, the pain of book-buying.

Avoid the bookstore at all costs. They give you maybe a 1/4-1/2 of what you paid for it and turn around and sell it for 3/4 of the "new" price.
The engineering honors fraternity at my university held a semesterly "book swap" for all subjects. Check to see if there's something like that?
I used to go to the bookstore, write down all the ISBNs, and then start hunting online.

The library may well have copies of some books, but I wouldn't rely on it.

Check the "used" section of Amazon. Ebay?

I'm not much use, I'm afraid. I had to buy several of my books junior and senior year new because the instructor required the current edition because "There's stuff that wasn't in the old editions.":rolleyes: Surely basic biochemistry hasn't changed?

[malkin]

abe books
powells
alibris
better world books
half.com

I've used all of the above, and others that I can't think of off the top of my head.

Sometimes it is hard with the used online sites to know what edition you are really getting. You can google the numbers of the ISBN if you have it.
He might want to check with the instructor to see if older editions are ok for the course.

I bought a piano book, listed in good usable condition, that turned out to be missing pages. The seller was apologetic and refunded payment and shipping, but it might be more hassle than a student would want to deal with--because he'd still have to find a usable copy of the book for the class.

Also, remember that Media Mail can be quite slow!

[Zen]

Textbooks are a racket.
I bought some last semester that never even got used.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Textbooks&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&client=firefox-a&rlz=1R1GGGL_enUS344US344

[malkin]

If we're going to get right down to it, I pretty much think college is a racket.

[crazycanuck]

This may be a silly q...don't most uni's have a used bookstore??? :o

(All uni's in Western Australia & I think in the eastern stated do...I guess we're just a wee bit different down here :o)

[Owlie]

This may be a silly q...don't most uni's have a used bookstore??? :o

(All uni's in Western Australia & I think in the eastern stated do...I guess we're just a wee bit different down here :o)

Well, the college bookstores that I've run across will sell used books, but they're not cheap. My family has a membership thing (which means we get 10% off) with a large bookstore chain, which supplies many college bookstores. With that and the 10% discount on online textbook purchases, I could get new books for the same price as a used book from the campus bookstore.

[badgercat]

Yes, universities have bookstores, but the campus bookstore is often the LEAST economical way to buy books. I frequented half.com (http://www.half.com) as an undergrad, not only for traditional textbooks but also like paperback novels/plays for literature classes (which can sometimes be found basically for pocket change). Like Owlie said, sometimes new books are cheaper online (Amazon etc) than used ones are from the campus store, which is somewhat counterintuitive. :rolleyes: But with Amazon's free budget shipping, it can be a way to save money.

This semester, I'm trying a textbook rental from Barnes and Noble (http://www.bn.com/) for the first time. I knew that it was a textbook that I was not going to want to keep for reference, I wasn't finding used copies anywhere, and it was published 3 years ago so the chances of a new edition coming out and cutting the resale value is only going to get worse from here, so I decided to do a rental. The book retailed for $112 new and I'm renting it for a semester for $63 or something like that.

Sometimes there will be an "unsanctioned" independently-owned bookstore off campus that competes with the campus bookstore. Both universities I've attended have had something like this nearby, and they would distribute coupons for $15 off a $100 purchase and the like, so that's another option to look into to save a few dollars.

[Becky]

Sometimes there will be an "unsanctioned" independently-owned bookstore off campus that competes with the campus bookstore. Both universities I've attended have had something like this nearby, and they would distribute coupons for $15 off a $100 purchase and the like, so that's another option to look into to save a few dollars.

This is how I bought many of my books... I also found a few on Barnes and Noble.com- they were new, but quite a bit cheaper than either the University bookstore or the independent bookstore.

[Owlie]

Because it's in an urban area and relatively small, my university doesn't have a lot the "associated" businesses like unaffiliated bookstores and stuff like that. The closest we have is the obligatory sketchy Chinese takeout place!

[NbyNW]

My college had a Reserves section in the library where professors could request that several copies of popular or rare books required for their classes would be kept, and could only be checked out for 2-3 hours at a time. It was a good option if you didn't want to buy every book on the reading list. Sometimes there was a wait, but you knew you would be able to get access to the books.

Some professors are also moving towards e-Reserves systems/paperless . . . depends on the subject area and whether it is okay with publishers, but in my experience that can save a lot of money, too.

It's also possible to set up informal book sharing arrangements with other students, or bypass the campus bookstore by buying used directly from another student, i.e., cut out the middleman. Just have to start talking to people, maybe post a want ad in the right place?

[nolemom]

As a community college professor, I am aware that this is an enormous burden for our students. There was a recent article in the New York Times on the subject: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/how-to-find-cheaper-college-textbooks/?src=me&ref=general
The new federal guidelines at a minimum require that all of the textbook information be available before you sign up for the class so you can make an informed decision concerning the cost of the books required. Also, we now have to justify the decision to switch textbooks and publishers can no longer bundle materials (a process that inflates the cost by encouraging professors to require materials that may or may not be necessary). Publishers must also publish the cost of the book to the student when they are marketing it to professors.

[nancielle]

abe books
powells
alibris
better world books
half.com

I've used most of these (better world books is new to me) as well as Amazon and had really good luck getting textbooks when I needed them. Before each semester started the book lists were posted on-line with ISBN #s and I could do the searches with those. Despite coming Medial Mail most arrived pretty quickly (my experience, ymmv). If using Amazon I tend to use the seller closest to me, it seemed to cut down on delivery time.

[pumpkinpony]

I like textbooksrus (http://www.textbooksrus.com/Home.aspx). They seem to have good prices.

Also check craigslist... I was lucky enough to buy a book from a gal - turned out she was one semester ahead of me so she would sell me her books at a price between what the bookstore would pay her to return them and the new cost to me. Worked well for both of us.

[GLC1968]

If you know the ISBN of the text book, use www.addall.com (http://www.addall.com/) to find it on the web at the cheapest price possible (used and new). It's the only way I survived my engineering degrees without going into serious debt!

[Groundhog]

I'm a community college professor too and I even have a homework question about this (I teach economics and finance). I always try to use the old text even after the new edition comes out so that students can get used ones on
amazon or barnes&noble. But sometimes the school bookstore conspires (well, not the right word...maybe instists) to have us use the new costly edition because they don't want to stock the old one. However it's true that economics (or at least current events) have made an updated text necessary in the last two years - not once but twice. But $135 for a new one...come on!

And now I'm the parent of a college kid and spend a lot of energy helping her get cheap new ones. I got one for this year for $15...retail is $100.

[lisathew8lifter]

i was half way through my degree and figured out that barnes and noble.com, ebay, and amazon.com all had GREAT prices on used books. i spent a lot of time searching for the best price at the end since i was sick of paying tons for books. i remember finding a book on barnes and noble for like 8.00 and the bookstore wanted 80.00. it really pays to "shop" around via the net!

[NbyNW]

I'm a community college professor too and I even have a homework question about this (I teach economics and finance). I always try to use the old text even after the new edition comes out so that students can get used ones on
amazon or barnes&noble. But sometimes the school bookstore conspires (well, not the right word...maybe instists) to have us use the new costly edition because they don't want to stock the old one. However it's true that economics (or at least current events) have made an updated text necessary in the last two years - not once but twice. But $135 for a new one...come on!


How are the new books organized? If it's a matter of 1 or 2 new chapters, maybe you can get permission to reproduce the new chapters as part of a course reader and save your students the expense of buying the whole book.

[Crankin]

The bookstore at my university is part of Barnes and Noble and I am constantly getting emails about the new rent a text. I need to keep my texts, to study for my licensing exam, so that's not an option for me. I buy all of my books used through the college bookstore (never not been able to yet) and Amazon once in awhile. I realize it's cheaper elsewhere, but this is convenient. If I wanted to spend the time, I could go into one of the many used bookstores in Cambridge, but I haven't so far. I order online and pick them up at the store, to avoid shipping charges.
I never get the recommended books, only the required ones. It's actually been much less than I thought it would be, compared to my college days.

I don't think college is a racket at all. Of course, I went to a community college and 2 state universities for my BA and first MA and I feel that I got a very good education in my field and I never have been unemployed. I am now getting a second masters in a different field and it's the first time I've been to a private university. It is smaller, and I know my program is much more experiential than the other schools that grant the same degree, but that's more a function of the school's philosophy. Like anything else, you can do college in an economic way, and generally I have found that you get what you put into it.