How many of you shop around for books...

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...and how many just want get the books in your hands so you can get started-so you just hit the school book store? I fall under the latter, but find a lot of students may only buy the text book up front at the book store, but then shop at amazon or some other on line places for their books. I guess I'm just too paranoid and when the instructor says you need this book or that book, I just want to jump and get it in my hands (kind of just a small part of my 'if they say jump, you ask how high' mentality:lol2:)

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I didn't buy anything from the bookstore, they were all more expensive than at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. I actually looked up all of my books at both B&N and amazon and I ordered the specific books where they were cheapest. Standard shipping takes like 2 days.. nothing that can't wait, the way I see it lol.

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The ones that I know I will not use again...I rent from chegg.com. They come in 2 days. The others I get from Amazon or half.com

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I always buy online using bigbooks.com. It allows me to look for lowest available price on the internet from major retailers without going to every single site individually. I've just started using that site for last semester's textbooks, but I've been buying online since Fall of 08. I got hooked when I had to get a book online b/c it would be awhile until they got it in the bookstore and realized that it was at least $10 cheaper, even with 3 day shipping. So pretty much after the spring of my freshman year I haven't bough a whole courseload of books from my uni bookstore. I only buy things there if I absolutely have to and it is not available anywhere else, the price is about the same, or it is more convenient.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Depends on my mood. If i feel like shopping I go online. If I just dont care I will go to the bookstore. It is owned by B&N anyways.

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One quirky aside to all this - I bought the Weber's Nurses' Handbook of Health Assessment from our bookstore (7th edition) while everyone else bought used/prior editions from whatever resources they found them. It turns out that worked out to their benefit because the older edition is what the instructor has and uses when putting together the syllabus...and the chapters are not in alignment. So I basically just have to put two and two together to determine what I should be reading. For example, if she assigns a chapter to read - I can't go by the number of the chapter...I just have to realize the content (let's say abdomen assessment for example) and find it in my book.

Funny enough, the appendix does match up though - abbreviated assessment is on the same page (within Appendix 2) as everyone else:confused:

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Angel

I have used Chegg for non-nursing classes (read about it here on allnurses and LOVE chegg). I have my book list for summer session and several are much cheaper on Chegg. My problem with the nursing books are how do I know which books I won't need to keep or use again during future semesters? I am in an accelerated program that starts with summer session and I have a total of 14 books that will cost a small fortune. Any recommendations on which to just rent?

Thanks

Michelle

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I buy all of mine online used. just bought my last book last night for fall and have saved at least 50% on 6 out of 8 of the books (the other two just came out this year).

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Angel

I have used Chegg for non-nursing classes (read about it here on allnurses and LOVE chegg). I have my book list for summer session and several are much cheaper on Chegg. My problem with the nursing books are how do I know which books I won't need to keep or use again during future semesters? I am in an accelerated program that starts with summer session and I have a total of 14 books that will cost a small fortune. Any recommendations on which to just rent?

I'm in the middle of my program so I'm not really sure either. I know I'm definitely keeping my Med-Surg books, but the others I think I will rent. Good luck with your program....HTH!

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Specializes in Dialysis.

Check the prices at the bookstore and online. I love amazon.com! I got a brand new book there for exactly 1/3 the price of the same book at Barnes and Noble. No joke. There are also sites that compare textbook prices all over the internet, but amazon is reliably, overall, the least expensive. Sometimes the price you will pay for a used book is comparable to that of the bookstore, but the used texts sell out really fast at the bookstore. Typically, the profs know that people are still waiting for their books to arrive. If you're feeling particularly ambitious, there are often texts on reserve at the library while you are waiting. If you don't like to wait, there's always expedited shipping, but these costs can add up. Enjoy your time in school!

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I used bookbyte.com. The books are highly discounted, & you can also sell your books back to them when you finish the class. I sold back 2 books last semester & made approx. $60/book.

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cheapesttextbooks.com will search several sites for you to find the cheapest price for a book.

I don't have much money, so I refuse to pay 2-3x as much at the college bookstore than what a used or even new book costs. I'm not even buying my scrubs/stethescope/pen light at the bookstore!

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