Buying previously used books

[herewego23]

I know someone who just finished the LPN program for the 2017-2018 year. They offered to sell me their books for an unbeatable price. I start the LPN program this fall. Is it a good idea to buy previous editions for nursing school? Some books match the course materials list, but a couple do not. One book changed to a different edition in just the last two weeks. What are your thoughts? I would love to save as much as possible. I've also heard a couple of other students say they rarely cracked open the books.

[caliotter3]

Since you will probably rarely crack open the books, better to save money with the older editions.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

Sometimes the newer edition has only changed a few pages. You can find a classmate with a newer edition and compare page by page. If there are sections that are different, make a copy of that section. It is still cheaper than buying the newer edition.

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

I did my whole masters program with used books. As previously stated, there are very changes between back to back editions. And you may benefit if your friend has already highlighted stuff.

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

My experience with textbook editions is that they are generally more about creating an ongoing revenue stream for the author and publisher.

My program demanded that we purchase the newest editions but practically speaking, it made no difference based on my review of older editions from the library and found online.

[bitter_betsy, BSN]

Also typically in the front of the newer edition it lays out EXACTLY what is different in that edition from previous editions - that should help when figuring out what you need to look out for.

[rnhopeful82, ASN, RN]

Another thought, if the books have any codes to access whatever online and its been used by your friend and you would benefit from that, it would be good to make sure you can still use the code/her/his login. I use the online things more than I ever crack the actual book.

[forevernursem]

I used to buy all of my books new, but within the last few semesters I've been buying used books on eBay or Amazon, and I've been saving 100s of dollars. I think it's a great idea.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

After my first year of nursing school, I exclusively bought used books on half.com. I emailed my professors prior to the semester to get the list of books then bought them online. The best was the time I bought a book for $8 then sold it back to my school's bookstore for $32.