STOP - Don't buy your textbooks from the school bookstore

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Specializes in IMCU.

Hi my fellow students,

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:

  1. Got the list of books containing the Name, Authors, Edition, year published and cost
  2. Went to the college bookstore to get the ISBN numbers (no one at the college would give them over the phone -- big surprise)
  3. 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")
  4. Found the cheapest new or used versions (including any shipping)
  5. 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.

Ciao!

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I totally agree with not buying your books from school. I found all my books at Amazon, and the new price at Amazon was less than the used price at school. I was able to get ALL the "required" books and a few of the "recommended" for only about $100 more than the school bundle (which was only 8 of the required).

My school does publish a book list with ISBNs. Another trick to use is maybe get a hold of the previous semester's list, and then just get the most current edition of the books listed.

It does pay to shop around.

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Specializes in IMCU.

I must say I am glad I did this a few weeks ago because it seems a lot of the deeply discounted ones are gone -- still cheaper online than at our bookstore.

I just calculated the cost of books for Spring semester...$370. I am going to check with the office to make sure they aren't changing editions and then getting them ordered up online too.

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I'm seriously considering renting my fundamentals book. Do you guys think this is a bad idea. It such a big difference in price.

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I agree! I just bought all my books for this fall semester from the school. It costs me $600. I went to Amazon and found out I could save $200 if I buy it from Amazon. I will buy all my books from Amazon from now on..

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Specializes in LTC & Med-Surg, L&D, Pre-Op Clinic.

That's great...if you don't live in Hawaii! The shipping price/time takes much longer and there have been several semesters where my books haven't gotten in on time, even ordering them a month in advance! I can't take that chance with my nursing books!

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Does anyone know of a Canadian site that sells discounted text books (other then chapters.ca and amazon.ca - my school's bookstore has identical pricing to them)? THanks!

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Specializes in IMCU.

ISBNs are unique. So if you find a US site that ships to Canada why not try that?

What about ebay?

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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...

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Specializes in IMCU.
That's great...if you don't live in Hawaii! The shipping price/time takes much longer and there have been several semesters where my books haven't gotten in on time, even ordering them a month in advance! I can't take that chance with my nursing books!

That is awful. You should start your own online marketplace!

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

Only thing I bought from the school bookstore was my Lab Kits which I had to, I ordered all my books the beginning of summer from online for half the cost. Only had one problem. My Dimensional analysis book reaked of cig smoke.

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In addition to amazon.com, try half.com (connected to eBay), abebooks.com and alibris.com. I have ordered from each of these with success.

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