College Poop - College news and information on Financial Aid, College Admissions, Test Preparation

What is the Best way to get Textbooks?
The most hassle free way of getting your textbooks is just reserving them from a bookstore near your college or university. The prices of these textbooks would be around $10-$30 more expensive than the prices that Amazon Books charges for the same new textbook. However purchasing from bookstores you also get a more lenient return and exchange policy if the professor decides to use a different book or if you decide to drop or switch a class. Also you can usually purchase used books from the bookstores for around 10%-40% off the costs of a new book.

If you purchase online, Amazon Books can probably save you $10-20 on each textbook you buy. The problem is that you do not know what books to purchase. You can call the University bookstores and ask them since they will have the lists of classes and the books they require. However, the bookstore may be unwilling cooperate because they know you probably aren’t buying from them. A better option would be going down to the bookstore in person and looking up the textbooks required yourself. Also another option is email politely to your professors. Also be sure you get the full name of the book, author, and edition so you don’t accidentally purchase a similar but wrong book. If possible try getting The International Standard Book Number, also called ISBN, which a unique identifier that is found in all books. With the ISBN you can easily search for the book online in places like Amazon by just using the number.

Also you’ll probably not have any problems if you wait till you arrive at your school and your classes start. Plus, some professors may not even use these textbooks at all. You probably won’t use your textbooks till the second week of class. The worst thing that can happen is that you have to buy a textbook at the bookstore.

The drawback to purchasing textbooks late at the bookstore is that the used books are often sold out.

Ebay!! and How does Ebay or (half.com) work?
Collegepoop’s Suggestion