Wesbite to buy used/cheap textbooks?

[xnfs93hy]

ebay and amazon seem to be alright but are there any other website that sell just used (but in decent condition) textbooks for college?

I mean, I have no problem buying a new textbook. I just figure "Hey, why buy it new when I can buy it used but in good enough condition for a lower price?"

EDIT: Also, where could one look to find used M1+ textbooks?

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[MilkmanAl]

Amazon is where I've gotten all of my textbooks for college and med school outside of a few obscure ones that only our college bookstore had. They have tons of used books, and you can buy old editions there, too (which is what I suggest if they're not too old). Barnes and Noble also has quite a selection of used books. Both of thse sites have treated me very well in the past.

 

[tennisball80]

You can also buy ebooks and store them inside your computer.

http://www.ebooks.com/

 

[WashMe]

go to campusbooks.com, it's what I have always done. It is really easy to search for books and it lists a ton of sellers (ebay, half.com, amazon, abebooks, many more...) so you get get each book for the cheapest price. It will tell you how much you will pay after shipping so you can make easy comparisons.

 

[tennisball80]

go to campusbooks.com, it's what I have always done. It is really easy to search for books and it lists a ton of sellers (ebay, half.com, amazon, abebooks, many more...) so you get get each book for the cheapest price. It will tell you how much you will pay after shipping so you can make easy comparisons.

Nice one

 

[WashMe]

Nice one

 

[Maygyver]

Look for international student editions too. I think they might be illegal, but they still get here.

 

[DLi]

I use Amazon to buy and sell my textbooks, but I'd also use Half.com because it uses paypal and it doesn't screw with my bank account as much (My dad checks my bank statements but not my paypal statements).

If you don't need the latest edition, always get the previous edition because they tend to be dirt cheap and are the same stuff if you're studying something like physics, chemistry, and math. You'll probably need newer editions for biology and social sciences, but that's about it.

 

[DLi]

DidI mention that there are scanned copies of textbooks online if you don't mind reading off your screen or using inconvenient binder versions?

Then again it might be convenient because you can write on it and only carry around 1-2 chapters at a time.

 

[xnfs93hy]

DidI mention that there are scanned copies of textbooks online if you don't mind reading off your screen or using inconvenient binder versions?

Then again it might be convenient because you can write on it and only carry around 1-2 chapters at a time.

Where would I find these?

 

[MilkmanAl]

Just Google the book you're looking for. If there's an e-copy available, it should be at or near the top of the search results.

 

[DLi]

Where would I find these?

The same torrent websites where you get all your movies and music.

 

[Bacchus]

I use Amazon because of their buyer protection. I don't know the intricacies of other sites and if they have this protection, but I know Amazon does and buying used is really easy. When I buy books, I usually save 50% overall or more per year compared to our bookstore.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Ditto. Including my atlases and shipping, I spent under $200 on books this year. Without the atlases, it's about $100. Buying used is tough to argue with.

 

[olemissbabydoc]

alibris has saved me tons of money in the past, along with half.com and amazon.

if your profs don't mind, go for international editions or one edition behind the current - usually not much changes in one edition but you'll save a ton of money.

 

[DLi]

Not to mention that if you're lucky you can sometimes make a very small profit off your books. You're pretty much buying your books for free if you resell them for a similar price online.

Whereas the used books at the college bookstore cost almost as much as the new ones and they'll probably give you 10-25% of the price of the book when you resell it.

 

[clairbear]

Other then Amazon, renting is also an option for some books. Somebody that I know told me they rented their textbooks before and didn't have a problem with it, but I forget the name of the site.

 

[RySerr21]

Other then Amazon, renting is also an option for some books. Somebody that I know told me they rented their textbooks before and didn't have a problem with it, but I forget the name of the site.

Or you can just check them out via the library. My friend has never bought a textbook b/c he just uses the ones at his library. At my school, if they dont have the book i am looking for, they have a system called Link+ where they get them from other schools. Im sure other schools have somethihng similar.

 

[Isisfusion]

If you want to rent books for the whole quarter/semester from the library, definitely get yourself there ahead of time. They only hold a few copies as long term rentals and they run out quick. There are also libraries on campus that have those books, but you can only use them while you're in the library and can't check out.

Otherwise, Barnes and Noble is your best friend.

 

[NiCad089]

You can rent books on Chegg. I like AbeBooks cuz they tend to have international editions.

 

[bodonid]

You can also buy ebooks and store them inside your computer.

http://www.ebooks.com/

STORE them inside your COMPUTER?!? How do you get them out?

 

[codysnider]

I found everything I needed on....Google! Just tap in the ISBN numbers and it does a pretty solid job.

One site in particular that seemed to be in the top of my list most the time was cheaptextbookshop.com. I think they use Amazon prices, though.

 

[simpler2]

www.bigwords.com is nice. You can search individual books from various other sellers or you can ask it to search for the single seller that offers the best price for all books you are looking for (save on shipping).

 

[MarthaT]

Ive always used amazon personally

 

[Beatlesfan]

you if you don't have a problem with it, you can rent textbooks at www.chegg.com.

You can set for how long you wish to borrow the textbook by quarter, semester, oor a whole year.

 

[robeezy08]

Or you can just check them out via the library. My friend has never bought a textbook b/c he just uses the ones at his library. At my school, if they dont have the book i am looking for, they have a system called Link+ where they get them from other schools. Im sure other schools have somethihng similar.

Ditto - I hate carrying textbooks around so went over to the library and used books that were held as "reference" only (can't check out)..but I liked studying in the library anyway

 

[devilsrule2004]

ive always used amazon too

best prices

 

[LovinPsych]

Amazon.com , ecampus.com , half.com , chegg.com , and ebay.com , Best ways I go anyways

 

[sumstorm]

If you know what books you need ahead of time (by several months) ebay does really well. Set up search alerts and wait. I am doing this for vet school and so far have spent 1/6 of what I would on amazon. I have no idea what the school's coop charges. Remember to look for misspells. A lot of people spell veterinary as veternary. I tend to do very well on those listings. So far, everything I have bought is the correct edition and in reasonable condition.

 

[link2swim06]

Try facebook marketplace, people are often selling books for your courses at a good price. Plus you do not have to pay for shipping.

 

[DLi]

Try facebook marketplace, people are often selling books for your courses at a good price. Plus you do not have to pay for shipping.

My orientation guide said something about Facebook Marketplace and said he wished he knew about it sooner.

It'll certainly beat Amazon taking a 15+% cut out of your sale when you sell it. Shipping isn't much of a problem since it only costs $3.99 and it is conveniently delivered to your front door.