Ordering used text books on Amazon??

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Has anyone done this instead of purchasing from the school. What was your experience? What would you think of purchasing the edition prior to the current one and saving a significant amount of money?

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

I have done it. If you order a previous edition you run the risk of not having some information that has been updated. I did not find this to be an issue in my course. Another option: Use the textbook copy in the school library. I also had a study group and we took turns buying books so that no one was stuck with a lot of expense (or books!)

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I have done it. I usually bought a previous one and saved a ton. Mental health book was only $5! I did, however, buy the current edition of the Med/Surg book. I thought that was worth the investment. I also rented a textbook. That works too if you are really in a pinch.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

I've seen it work both ways. one classmate lost out because they illegally sent the book via media mail (rules have changed over the years) and the order was seized by the postal inspector. (I think she used paypal or credit card so not all was lost, just the text book) Another didn't receive their book until the class was over after selecting the cheapest shipping rate....

Others saved a lot of money as they ordered before the semester started and received decent books at a significant savings.

Basically buyer beware..I'd be wary of a new seller

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Specializes in Telemetry.

did this for all of my classes, all of my books, saved well over a thousand dollars. never had a problem. some of the page numbers didn't match up sometimes but i was never disadvantaged.

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My nursing school, tuition includes the cost of all books. I have used half.com, or amazon many times before, and saved a fortune, never had any problems with it. I've even sold some of my books without any problems.

I have bought some of the ATI books on amazon for next to nothing, which has turned out to be well worth it.

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Yes I do this and it works out just fine. Make sure you sign up for the Student Prime program which is free for 6 months (I believe) to get free 2 day shipping. You might want to ask questions like this in the student forum to get the best response. :-)

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one of our instructors actually encourages this to help save us some money.

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I rent my textbooks for some of my classes. It works out really well for me and I save a ton of money. The one downside to this is that the book that I rented for my critical care class is fabulous, and I wish I would have bought it so I could keep it. Now I've spent 38 dollars on a book that is great, but I have to give back!

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I've bought from Amazon.com and Half.com many, many times. I've saved hundreds of dollars I know. I usually ask the professor if an older edition is okay before buying. Last semester I bought an older edition for $5 when the new was over $100, and in another class I bought the older edition for $15 when the new book was around $130. It's worth it to me!

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I do this every semester! It saves a ton of money.

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I wonder why a book sent media mail was a problem? I was under the impression that that's what media mail is for. As for the OP, I have ordered used books from Amazon with no problems. I saved a ton. I've never ordered an old edition except once when the professor specifically okayed it.

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