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i went on the penn bookstore website, via campus express, entered my courses, they gave me my textbook list and i looked at the book, author, and edition number and then went on ebay and amazon to look for the texts under those specifications. i ordered a new psych book on amazon for the same price as a used one on the penn bookstore. on ebay i'm bidding for another new text for like 50 bucks under the penn bookstore price
Campus express is the preferred method of finding out what books will be used. Their preorder/get used books method actually works very nicely, but can be more expensive than what you'd find on Amazon. Try to get some books from either preordering with the bookstore or buying in advance on Amazon.
Some professors just won't tell you what books you need until the 1st day of class. It's a pain in the ass, and they'll expect you to keep up with the reading in the meantime. If you've bought in advance what you can, you can then afford to wait a bit on finding any last-minute books while you read for other classes.
A word on ebay/half.com/amazon's auctions: they're often dirt-cheap, and you can find "international" editions that are paperback (though technically illegal in the US) and much cheaper. However, shipping can take FOREVER.
how many differences are there between editions of txtbooks? I found a deal on a 5th edition of a calc book, and this yr they are probably using the 6th edition. Is there a significant difference?
Unfortunately, math (and related problem-set subjects) are where the version turnover really kicks you. You're probably going to need the newer version in order to do homework. Some professors do assign their own independent problems - you're going to have to wait to hear from the professor as to whether it's ok to use the old book.
Usually, an old edition is fine for a course. When they update though, they usually shake up the problem sets, and that's how they get you.
There's a reason you found such a good deal on the old edition :-)
Also, the campusexpress/bookstore buying site has the books listed if they've been chosen already. (And one of my classes actually has the book listed already)
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