Used Books

If you have a school e-mail address, you can create an account @ amazon.com & get their "prime" membership for free(I think it normally costs $60/yr). I buy all my books from amazon, since with the prime membership, you get shipping for free.

i just bought a like new micro txt for 56 bucks....would of been 250 at school store..

half.com is great, too!

I second superV. Go with half.com

I would NOT buy from your school bookstore, take it from me. I go to a big university and it is a major rip off. Like others above have said, Amazon is good, and most of the time, their new books are priced just the same, IF NOT LOWER, than the used books in your university bookstore - at least that's how it was for me. I would also check Borders.com and search the internet for coupons you can use at their store online (sometimes there are 40% off one book coupons) and they also have free shipping, as Amazon does. Half.com is okay, but sometimes sketchy - I would always check on the rating on the person you are buying from. Check for coupons online for Half.com as well!

The academic school book inductry is one of the biggest rackets going. When I was in college for chemistry, my freshman instructor was the author of one of the best-selling chemistry intro books, and admitted to us that he made way more from the books than from his salary. The books are made "mandatory" for many colleges, and the editions change ever so slightly every 4 years (isn't that curious? 4 years of college, new edition every four years?). Get a used book, or borrow an old one if you can.

Dave Dunn, RN

I usually buy all of my books from the bookstore but this time I've already purchased many of mine from Amazon. They were a few dollars less new than if I had purchased them used from the bookstore. I didn't bother signing up for Amazon's prime account for the free 2 day shipping because school doesn't start for a few weeks and my purchases qualified for free 5-8 day shipping anyway. The only thing I would caution you about is that my school sometimes requires the online codes that go with the texts, and buying them separate because you bought a used book without one can wind up costing more than having just bought a new text that came with one.

Try this site: http://dealoz.com/. It shops many sites and finds the best deal and shows all sources with prices. You often find Amazon is the best, but sometimes you will save a few bucks elsewhere. It will search out both new and used, very helpful. ;-)

I'm lucky in that 75% of our books may be rented from the university bookstore for $35/class. For those that must be purchased, I use Amazon.com.