Textbooks?

Nursing Students General Students

Published

I received my registration packet the other day from my nursing program. In the packet there was a list of post that the program is expecting me to purchase. There was also a list of the chapters to be read before the first day of class. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the best deal on books? I am planning on buying used books as long as they are in decent shape with the all pages accounted for. Are there any online stores that I could check out? I have already look on efollet.com to me there price were okay. I think I had better check with the school to see which books are actually required before I make any purchases. Thank you in advance.:cool:

I have also found that was in nsg school, after taking med/surg classes, it would be very beneficial for you to keep your med/surg books for future reference.

We did not have a bookstore and were on our own for text books.

If you are looking for books online try to get the ISDN number for the books the teachers are requiring or at least be very sure of the author, title and edition to make sure you get the right book.

http://www.bestbookbuys.com is a good place to search and compare online pricing including shipping, etc. Most sites have some type of special offers for first orders/ specials around semester beginnings...follow links and take advantage of what you find.

ecampus is usually very prompt with their shipping, has good order tracking, offers new and used and is reasonably priced.

I have had a few bad experiences with bn.com (books not shipped three months after the order was placed and showing as available/ in stock online, with poor order tracking and customer service for late shipments). Never had any problems ordering bestsellers, or typical books that store locations usually stock, but they seem to have some difficulties with the text and reference books.....Textbooks.com is owned by bn, they stock more textbooks, get them in quicker and have customer service reps that are more understanding about deadlines. Pricing is the same for both sites.

There is something to be said for going into a bookstore and walking out with your books, knowing for sure you have the right ones, or sharing general ed books with friends and upperclassman.

I received my registration packet the other day from my nursing program. In the packet there was a list of post that the program is expecting me to purchase. There was also a list of the chapters to be read before the first day of class. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the best deal on books? I am planning on buying used books as long as they are in decent shape with the all pages accounted for. Are there any online stores that I could check out? I have already look on efollet.com to me there price were okay. I think I had better check with the school to see which books are actually required before I make any purchases. Thank you in advance.:cool:

I use cheapesttextbooks.com. This site lists different sites from the cheapest to the pricier books. Make sure you check into "feedback" of the seller & the "descriptions" or "additional comments" as some sellers have some bad history & some of the books are "highlighted" & some "don't include the CD." My fav site is half.com.

Another bit of advice is to buy early. The closer you get to classes starting, the more expensive the book will be.

Also, for extra reference books (such as for care plans), older books are sometimes better--especially when you pay $6 instead of $50! Technology changes, but nursing does not. I hope this helps. :)

When you buy used books online, make sure you double check the shipping policies. I was unaware that amazon marketplace (private sellers) uses different shipping timelines than regular amazon.com. One of my books came in two weeks into the semester, and it was for a prereq English class in which that particular book had to be brought to class every single day. Amazon won't take complaints until it's more than two weeks late. We, unfortunately, don't seem to get book lists until a week or two before classes start, and we always have several hundred pages of reading to do in that time. I've been stuck buying from the bookstore as a result, and my bill for this semester was $819. Yes, some of it was for reference books that we'll use straight through, but way more than half was textbooks for this semester only. Oh well, 15 more months.

I am confused now. I don't know if I should be buying all my books b/c I will need them later or what. I thought the trading thing was a good idea. What I am doing is borrowing them from my cousin who has already taken the class. Seems to work out great b/c most the books are updated and if one is an older version the professors will let us know whether or not we can use them. Also, I know my other cousin gets them off of Amazon.com but she still hasn't gotten them and she started classes 2 weeks ago...so be very leary when purchasing on-line.

:uhoh3:

I decided to buy my books new(shortage of used anyway because a lot of nursing students keep their books)..I plan on keeping mine. I was lucky and my schools bookstore was also online and I was able to print out my book list, which included prices and ISBN #s( helps to be absolutely sure of book edition, etc..)..went to Barnes and Noble and they had some in stock.The sales clerk looked them up online and discovered that they were even cheaper at B& N online so she ordered them online from B & N , using my B& N card($30 a year fee and worth it..20% off hardcover and 10% off soft cover) and pre paying saved me over $100 total..the books were less than bookstore without my card discount!!! discount for pre pay, fee shipping, and my B&N member card really saved me..and the books were shipped to my house..I was told 5-6 days and got them within 4 days!!!

+ Add a Comment