I just wanted to say, if you are careful, you can get new books much cheaper online. In fact even "used books" that I have ordered looked brand spanking new when I got them (with unopened CD's etc.). Also, usually they are delivered within 3-5 days.
I know this isn't exactly headline news. I know there have been posts about online textbook buying before, but I think it bears repeating. It really surprises me how few people actually do it.
Here is what I did:
Got the list of books containing the Name, Authors, Edition, year published and cost
Went to the college bookstore to get the ISBN numbers (no one at the college would give them over the phone -- big surprise)
Went online and searched for the books (you can even do this at AllNurses.com -- go to the top right of the screen and click on "books")
Found the cheapest new or used versions (including any shipping)
Ordered the books
Please, please, please give this a try. I saved a good $250 on my 1st semester nursing books. They were all pristine condition. Admittedly I did order them a month ago, so there was greater choice, but I bet there are still good deals.
I will be checking now to see what books the seconds semester requires and if my college will be changing editions. Then I have time to find screaming deals on them too.
Go forth and get a deal. Use the money you save for some cool gadgets for clinical or whatever.
over the past few years i have bought all of my books used online. my books didn't have the option of ebooks though so i don't know if that feature is worth buying new books or not.
many students at my school used supplemental books like reviews and rationals or nursing made easy and the little pocket sized books for clinicals etc. and these you can find online as well. (make sure the book will come with it's cd, what condition the book is in and how much shipping will be)
my favorite website is a site that will search out the best online price for you.
new & used books - find the lowest price - compare 145 book stores, 60,000 sellers, in a click.
there are other book search engines as well.
search engine that finds the best buys from among 150 million new, used, rare, and out-of-print books for sale. includes textbooks and international titles.
I actually have purchased books online that were in great condition, and then sold them back to my school's bookstore at the end of the semester, and have profited a few times (profit so low it is not worth counting as profit, but at least I did not actually lose money!) The staff at the bookstore was well aware that I did not originally purchase the books from them, and they were fine with it.
Our school holds back financial aid disbursements until 2-3 weeks after school starts. You get a line of credit at the bookstore to use, so it makes buying books elsewhere prohibitive. Especially if you are unemployed/don't have the cash on hand/credit card to buy them. I certainly can't wait that long to get my books! I'll hold back some as a "book allowance" for next semester though!
My school does this too so I can't afford to buy them before classes start on my own. However, I sell my books back on ebay at the beginning of the next semester. I get at least half of what the book was worth back. Sometimes I get the full price back!
I'm planning to do this, this year since books are so much more expensive now! It stinks where I go to school because they only release the book list 2 weeks before classes start. I wish I could get an earlier start in tracking them down.
Also, if anyone didn't see the other post about this, Amazon is giving students a year of their 'Prime' account which gives you free 2-day shipping on most items. Here's the link. You just need an EDU email address
Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but check out cheapesttextbooks.com. It searches lots of sites and gives you various prices on new, used and rental books. You'll have to pay shipping for the best deals but you'll avoid sales tax.
I've honestly cringed when my future classmates talked about ordering books from the bookstore. Right now it looks like I'll be spending $600 (including shipping) on books for my first semester vs. nearly $1100 (including sales tax) if I bought all the used books I could at the school bookstore. My best bargains--$38.99 for a like new Potter & Perry vs $113.66 at the bookstore and $40.35 vs $108.20 for our health assessment book.
Also, for scrubs/stethescopes/shoes... check out allheart.com. Something is ALWAYS on sale (except for Littman). I got my Littman for $20 less than the bookstore charged. I got Dickies scrubs for the price the bookstore charged for el chepo unisex scrubs. Labcoats are half the price of what the bookstore charges.
Haven't your school and the textbook publishers made enough money off you?
Does Amazon Prime work in Hawaii? For $79 bucks a year (a one time fee), you get free 2-day shipping on nearly everything. If you order a lot from Amazon, the 79 bucks can easily be a better deal than shipping costs since they can add up quickly (especially for heavy textbooks). Just something worth looking into...
tlc2u
226 Posts
over the past few years i have bought all of my books used online. my books didn't have the option of ebooks though so i don't know if that feature is worth buying new books or not.
many students at my school used supplemental books like reviews and rationals or nursing made easy and the little pocket sized books for clinicals etc. and these you can find online as well. (make sure the book will come with it's cd, what condition the book is in and how much shipping will be)
my favorite website is a site that will search out the best online price for you.
www.fetchbook.info
new & used books - find the lowest price - compare 145 book stores, 60,000 sellers, in a click.
there are other book search engines as well.
search engine that finds the best buys from among 150 million new, used, rare, and out-of-print books for sale. includes textbooks and international titles.
www.bookfinder.com/
the book search engine that allows you to comparison shop more than 40 online bookstores including amazon, barnes and noble, and borders. ...
www.addall.com/