Hi moms,
I'm taking a class in about 2+ weeks and at the campus bookstore it's outrageously expensive. The bookstore guy told me to "shop around" and I found it on amazon new for 1/2 price, and used for 1/3 the price. I've never bought a book used from amazon before. Has anyone done that and had a good experience? Or should I just buy it new from amazon? Thanks!
Yes my husband buys all his used and have never been disappointed. Always in good condition too. Also he says try Half.com they are really cheap too!
I did years ago, and it was fine. Read the ratings and reviews of the person selling the book, that will tell you a lot. If they have a high number of reviews with good ratings, you should be fine.
Oh yeah, I buy used almost always! It usually gives the condition of the book (like new, excellent, good, fair, poor, etc.) I have bought used from amazon and had a good experience. With amazon, buying used the shipping is usually more than the book itself, well probably not the book you are talking about. But, if you are ordering more than one book, try to buy it from the same seller because you have to pay shipping to every seller, if you use one seller, only one shipping charge. I also find VERY good deals at A1books.com.
I've bought lots of used books on Amazon but never textbooks. My husband used to buy his textbooks at a site called halfoff.com, which always gave him a great savings, but I can't remember if they were used or new books.
Barnes & Noble also has a text book program.
Go to http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Then, on the left hand side, there is a 'menu' in green, going vertically down the webpage.
Just click on "Textbooks" and it will take you to their Textbook program.
Rent/buy new or used/eTextbooks etc.
totally worth it!! I bought most of my books from Amazon!
I bought all my books from Amazon. They had this goofy policy at the campus bookstore for buy backs so that I could buy a book new on Amazon for say 40 and sell it back to the bookstore for 90. It only applied to books the professors already requested for the next semester but it did make it so I never lost money on my books which is kinda unheard of with college books. :)
I did get the prime account because some of the private sellers were a nightmare. They actually get a month before they have to give you a refund so I sometimes went two weeks into class without my book. :(
Yes, I've had good luck with doing that. Just make sure you have the correct ISBN number, to be sure you have the right version of the book.
I buy used plenty of times. Just make sure you see that the shipping charges might be more than amazon's. But yes, I check the condition it says it's it and pick the one that best suits my needs. There should be a note in there like "Good" condition and it may say "Some highlighting" or something like that. Buy from a seller with 97% or higher satisfaction. I have bough more books off amazon used than I have new.
I buy books all the time from amazon and chegg.com. They have new and used books. I try to get new ones but if not the used ones are fine. They usually only have underlining and highlighting in it but that's all. Make sure whatever person or company you buy from has a rating of 92% or higher. I am sure some you can purchase from who have a 75% rating but I don't usually trust those people. That means that 75% of the time, they ship the stuff as they described it and there's 25% of the time that they don't.
Yes! I bought almost all of my grad school books on Amazon - no regrets! Just check the rating / condition before buying and be sure it's the right edition. It's worth the money you can save!
I have bought used from amazon with good results. A couple times I expected the book I ordered to be a bit better than it actually was, but for the most part I've been satisfied with my purchases. Just read the descriptions of condition and compare the descriptions before you decide what would be the best buy. Good Luck, C.
Depending on your student status, you might qualify for a free "prime" account... my daughter got the Prime account free for a year, which really saved on her shipping!
There are also several other textbook places online... you can buy a bunch of textbooks online, and also sell them back online very easy!
I do it all the time. Not only for my kid's textbooks but also for my book club books. You may also check ww.hpb.com I think that's the site for half priced books. And Barnes and Noble will give you used textbook options.
I have never purchased used books from Amazon but other people I know have and it's always been positive. I also wanted to mention maybe looking for the books on eBay. My mom sold my books on eBay for me last semester and it worked out well. They sold pretty cheaply and I got rid of some books I didn't need! (And I got more then the few dollars the bookstore offered me).
BUY USED! Just ordered my son a book for college. It was used, he said there were a few pen/pencil marks in it but it was fine. Good Luck!
My hubby just finished his degree and is in grad school now. He got all his books from halfoff.com and chegg.com. Always used. WAY cheaper than on campus!!
I purchase all of my textbooks from Amazon's used section or from half.com. I've had the best experience with Amazon though.
My friend sold all of her books that way! I make it through most of my grad classes WITHOUT needing the books. If I do, it stinks because I have to pay a fortune to overnight them, but it still is less in the long run. But definitely go that route :).
