Rent or buy textbooks?

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I am struggling financially and I need to get my books for Winter quarter. Has anyone had any experience with renting your textbooks? Where you receive them in the mail and mail them back at end of quarter/semester? I tried Amazon to buy my books used and they did not have them. I cannot locate my science book anywhere online ISBN 9781269931625. Does anybody have any suggestions where I can locate my science book online? I would really like to cut cost on my books if possible. Is it possible the book is so new it is not available in the textbook market?

Biology 160

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Check out the link I posted.

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I think I will go to the library and see what the book looks like and then I will have a good idea what book it actually is. The college library list the book as a reserve I think it is the one from Fall quarter.

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Thanks akg713 I will try the library but I wonder how long they let you use the book. I guess I could keep checking it out for the whole quarter. Thanks for the idea.

Our library if you want to borrow it, you can for the full semester you just have to turn it in the last day of school or else you'll get charge $5 per day, there's no fee to borrow the textbook which is great!! And pretty much the textbooks that are in the library for us to borrow are in great conditions.. and of course the one's that are on reserved are basically brand new and we don't have limited time to use the textbook, when i used to go to SBCC (santa barbara city college) there was a 2hr limit you had to re check every 2 hrs and if there was someone waiting you had to give it up to the next person and get on the waiting list, but VC (ventura college) there's no limit, well at least i don't get told bring it back in 2 hrs lol .. but yes do check out your school library you might have that option to borrow the textbook for the semester ... good luck!!

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I always search for my books on Amazon before looking anywhere else. Except for one custom book for our school (I hate when they do that because it's such a waste of a LOT of money!) I've been able to rent all of mine from Amazon for a fraction of the cost through school. For example, my psych book was going to be $70+ to rent through the school bookstore but I am renting it from Amazon for $20 and the return shipping label is free so there is no cost to me for that. Perfect for me, someone who has opened the class textbooks maybe once for a class....but I always feel the need to have them if it says "required" because I never want to be in a class that does require use of the textbook (maybe for assignments or something, hasn't happened yet but hey it could) and then be stuck without a book and unable to find them. Frankly, school bookstores (mine at least) suck and don't keep enough in stock even if they are the only place you can buy them (the special custom ones made for that school) so you either get it before the semester starts or risk not having it but needing it for class.

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Well I went to the college campus and talked with manager of the college bookstore. She informed me that the book for BIOL 160 is custom made for the college and only contains the chapters that the professor wants and has the access code to the computer information to do your homework. So the book that I need is a special book and looks different than the other books I have seen. I actually saw a book on craigslist for BIO160 custom made for my college but it looked different and is a different edition. And the book in the college library is the same as the one on craigslist. So I think I am out of luck in finding this BIO 160 book at a cheaper price. The book cost $122 and the lab manual is $20. I wonder if I could use the one I saw on craigslist? I am still waiting for the Professor to text me back because maybe the one on craigslist is the previous quarter's book...finger's crossed.

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Well the Professor said I need the textbooks from the college bookstore because I need the access code and manual. So there is no way around it I have to purchase the books.

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Specializes in Oncology / MedSurg.
Maybe bookrenter.com.

This is where I get my books. Very cheap rental options.

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I always purchase the earlier edition or rent it. I've never run into any issues with content.

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Well I was able to get a small personal loan to take care of my textbooks and the rest of my tuition. Thank goodness!

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Well the Professor said I need the textbooks from the college bookstore because I need the access code and manual. So there is no way around it I have to purchase the books.

Often the online access are available for purchase directly from the publisher. In my case it was Pearson. I rented my book from Half.com and then bought the code access from the publisher. It cuts out the middle man which schools do not like because they don't make money on it. If you have the class code, look it up on the publisher's website. It will ask for the access code or give you the "buy it" option.

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AmantesDelSol,

My dilemma is I cannot even find the book that is needed for the class. I searched every search engine mentioned plus some more. If I could just find the book then I would be content because then I could just purchase the access code. It seems to me that the college is definitely demonstrating a monopoly on the market when it is even difficult to find the book anywhere else. I checked the publisher website for the book and the website stated the book is not for sale. I can't even figure out what book is the older edition from the one that is needed. Go figure!

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