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:
Got the list of books containing the Name, Authors, Edition, year published and cost
Went to the college bookstore to get the ISBN numbers (no one at the college would give them over the phone -- big surprise)
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")
Found the cheapest new or used versions (including any shipping)
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.
I've only ordered one book through the college bookstore--because I needed it ASAP. For the rest, I've always used bn.com or amazon.com. I personally like bn.com better: two-day shipping is free, I can return books I don't need to any local Barnes and Noble, and if you get the B&N membership card ($25/year), the discounts you can get will pay for the card in only a couple of orders.
I bought my books from Amazon. When I added them all to the shopping cart at the school bookstore the total was 830 and change..amazon.com was 508 dollars. I shutter to think if I had bought them and then realized I could have saved 300+. I was able to buy all of my books PLUS all my school supplies for less than the books would have cost me at the bookstore and had money leftover. Please shop around for your books!
our bookstore got wise to this and has roped off the book area. You tell them what class you're taking and their employees select the books for you. I don't know what they'd do if you whipped out a notebook, copied down the ISBNs and handed them back. Could be funny though. :chuckle
our bookstore got wise to this and has roped off the book area. You tell them what class you're taking and their employees select the books for you. I don't know what they'd do if you whipped out a notebook, copied down the ISBNs and handed them back. Could be funny though. :chuckle
Unreal!
I bloody would whip out a pen and paper. Of course, I am just like that. What are they going to do about it?
Hey, I totally agree. I so far have spent $175 on 5 out of 7 books I need that if bought from the bookstore were going to cost me between $700-$900. We also need to set up a book swap forum. I'm looking to buy 2 more books: Pharmocology and the Nursing Process by Lilley, Harrington, and Snyder, 5th ed -ISBN-978-0-323-04486-8
and Health Assessment for Nursing Practice by Wilson and Giddens, 4th edition.
Another thing to keep in mind, things like dictionaries can be bought a lot cheaper if you get the previos edition. A lot of times the previous edition contains the same info, just a few pages off. Check with your instructor to make sure it's okay.
Yesssss. Look for books at other places! One of my books for this semester is $70 at the school bookstore and on amazon it's $12. And I've gotten some GREAT books from amazon!
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
our bookstore got wise to this and has roped off the book area. You tell them what class you're taking and their employees select the books for you. I don't know what they'd do if you whipped out a notebook, copied down the ISBNs and handed them back. Could be funny though. :chuckle
Our school website in the nursing section lists the books for the next semester and on the school bookstore website it will also tell us what the books and ISBN's are so it's easy for us to buy elsewhere.
So far I have purchased the majority of my books online and have saved quite a bit. My favorite purchase was a mathbook that the book store sold used for over $100 and I bought it online for $18, including shipping That is the BEAUTY of having a math department requiring all teachers to use the same text and not feeling the need to replace it every 2-3 years just cause someone feels like they found some other text that can teach algebra or calculus in some new and improved way.
Unfortunately I found that this year I won't be saving nearly so much. I think, in total, my books for my first semester of nursing classes will run me about $330 if I buy everything new from the bookstore, but my searches online will only save me approx $50 total. Every little bit helps though, right?
This is so true I got a book off line for $40 the school charged $130. It does pay to find out what books you need for your next class and order them a few weeks before.
I try to buy as many books as I can online. Sometimes I can't find a deal, so it is easier to buy from the bookstore if it's the same price (no shipping costs).
My bookstore also does not let you have free reign of the books. Same as stinebean you hand them your schedule and they bring you back the books. I hate this because they always give you the new edition, and never ask if you prefer a used, plus they sneak the "recommended" things like extra books and barcharts in there.
However we do have a website which is pretty good about posting the Author, Edition and publisher so I can usually find the books online.
This year though, they told us we HAD to buy certain books from them.. I was thinking Yeah right, I'll get mine online.. until I saw on the website it was a boxed set and didn't list the contents. I ended up just buying those from the bookstore because it was something like 10 or 11 books and I'm sure the shipping on those would've been outrageous, especially if they were from different websites. Some I am hoping I will use for a while/more than just 1 semester, like a book for Nursing diagnoses, med calculation, medical dictionary, lab values etc.
I'm also renting for the first time .. but not any nursing books. I'm renting a human development text, and microbiology text and lab manual. I'm hoping it will be easier to ship back the book instead of a) buying and keeping it, therefore losing money (pay more to buy than rent) or b) attempt to sell it somewhere else. For the lab manual, I plan on copying any sheets that I need to write in .. did this last year for A&P lab manual when our teacher had us hand in the homework at the end of each chapter. It worked out pretty well, especially if you mess up, you can just make another copy of that page. (my printer has a copier built in .. lol i do not go to the library to copy my books)
ETA: Even with buying the bundles from my school, I saved over $250 buying and renting the others elsewhere
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That is the BEAUTY of having a math department requiring all teachers to use the same text and not feeling the need to replace it every 2-3 years just cause someone feels like they found some other text that can teach algebra or calculus in some new and improved way.
Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN
4 Articles; 7,907 Posts
I've only ordered one book through the college bookstore--because I needed it ASAP. For the rest, I've always used bn.com or amazon.com. I personally like bn.com better: two-day shipping is free, I can return books I don't need to any local Barnes and Noble, and if you get the B&N membership card ($25/year), the discounts you can get will pay for the card in only a couple of orders.