Buy nursing books from School bookstore or other websites?!

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jul 1, 2014

Go through amazon. College bookstores charge list price. Also see if you can use a previous edition. Most profs are open to that if there's been little change in the field of study.

Carefully read the descriptions. I always made sure the cds were mentioned in cases where I thought they were needed and never got burned.

smf0903 · Jul 1, 2014

I totally concur with emtb2RN. I have purchased almost all of my books through Amazon. By the way, Walmart is a good site to check as well as sometimes their new books are cheaper than used on Amazon.

rob4546, BSN, MSN · Jul 2, 2014

Also search Wal-Mart with the ISBN#. You would be surprised, my op peds book was on there for much less than amazon and all I had to do is pick it up at my local store (site-store).

Miss.LeoRN · Jul 2, 2014

Check with your program. Find out if they use the CD's or if you need the access codes. If not, then by all means go for Amazon! Just make sure you read the description of the used books! Pay a little extra for a book in a little better condition. We all say we don't mind a book with some highlighting and notations until we actually get them.

And, even if you DO need the access codes, check out the publisher site, you can usually just buy access yourself - and that might be cheaper too.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 2, 2014

Rent!!!!! I have rented all but one for my RN-BSN program (I bought the newest APA book as I will use it every class). I wish I would have discovered this early, although I got pretty decent money selling through Amazon. Amazon is the way to go. They have rentals too (usually not the cheapest though)

springchick1, ADN, RN · Jul 3, 2014

I would also make sure the books aren't going to change between summer and fall semesters. Just because it's on the website doesn't mean it will be the same book come fall semester.

sjalv · Jul 3, 2014

I have bought all my books off Amazon without issues. If the booklist says that the CD/access code is required, buy the book new so it comes with it.

adnstudent44 · Jul 3, 2014

definitely buy off amazon! the school bookstores always charge too much and if you end up without the access code, the book's website often lets you buy the access code by itself; I've done this for pearson multiple times and it still ends up cheaper than if I bought from the school bookstore new or used.

MurseJJ · Jul 3, 2014

I'm using Amazon for all of my textbooks. One of the RNs I work with said I should buy books that will be helpful in the future (whether for the NCLEX or in practice), such as the texts for health assessment, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and fundamentals. For classes like my transcultural nursing class, research, etc, just rent those.

I'm getting everything used, except for lab manuals. For example, I got the Physical Examination and Health Assessment textbook used, then got the companion lab manual (required) new, because it doesn't make sense to buy things like that used, with the answers in it already. Same with my clinical calculations textbook/workbook.

The only downside of getting these books used is that someone already highlighted them! But I'd rather deal with that and save my money.

LoveNeverDies · Jul 3, 2014

My first semester I had to buy them through the bookstore, as some books were written by instructors. However, besides that I always did amazon or half.com. Read the descriptions, most will tell you if they have CD or access code included, if not you can message the sellers directly. :)

Sizzline · Jul 3, 2014

I always check Bigwords.com before anything else. It lets you search by ISBN and tells you the cheapest place to rent and buy each book. I have often found my textbooks for less than Amazon, even (although they usually have great prices, too).