<p>S is a freshman, and in the interests of “frugality” we decided to try to get his texts online prior to the start of the semester. As soon as the lists came up, we set about and ordered all but 2 of them. None were particularly expensive, although there were some 14 in all.</p>
<p>Lo and behold, first week of class he is told in one course that the course section is listed wrong and they are actually a different section with different texts. So he needs 2 more texts, which he had to get at the bookstore in the interests of time. In another course, the listing was a somewhat confusing (changed to protect the innocent) “jones and study bible”. This was actually 2 books, which we did not realize. We would not have been able to determine which “jones” text it was, from the many available by “dr. jones”. So we ended up with the wrong “jones” and no study bible. Unfortunately, the bookstore is now out of both of these, and we had to order them online and have them expedited. Meanwhile, he has neither for the first week.</p>
<p>Ultimately, it would probably have been cheaper to order from the bookstore. Obviously, making it easy to order the books from outside sources was not their priority.</p>
<p>That is unfortunate. We buy nearly all our books online and it has saved us a fortune. Luckily we have not run into the situation you have encountered at your school.</p>
<p>It is only in the last year (about) that schools have been legally required to make the book information available in advance. Perhaps your school missed the memo.</p>
<p>^^correct, I believe federal law requires that the ISBN numbers be posted so kids can shop. I recommend amazon, which gives students a free Prime membership – 2nd day air at no additional charge, or next day for $3.99. Still cheaper than the college bookstore in most cases.</p>
<p>@ sylvan - The frustration we ran into is when the bookstore makes a bundle of a book, study guide, and possibly and online access card, and then slaps and new ISBN # on it making it impossible for you to price these items out one by one online. We bought some things ahead from the bookstore, some from Amazon, and a few we waited. I think it’s worked out okay. I haven’t heard any complaints from my son.</p>
<p>I do know some kids had trouble when they ordered books ahead then the section was cancelled. They are then stuck reselling the books if they didn’t get them from the university (who would have taken them back) AND rescheduling a new class. What a pain!</p>
<p>Even with the Amazon Prime membership you have to look for Amazon Prime sellers. They are not always the lowest prices…not by a long shot, especially with used booksellers. You then have to decide if you use another seller and pay for shipping, add express shipping etc. Obviously the earlier you do this the better your options, but it’s not an automatic option on all items. When buying the last text it was less expensive to go with a non Prime seller and pay for express shipping which was $6.99.</p>
<p>I think next round we will wait until the texts actually appear in the bookstore, and then write down the actual ISBN numbers (which were NOT posted online, BTW) so that we can shop for them. The main problem with that is the bookstore waits until the last minute to haul in the books, which doesn’t leave much time for getting things shipped. And of course, if the section designation is wrong, that isn’t going to help :(.</p>
<p>^My son says that on occasion not all of the books arrive timely at his school’s bookstore.</p>
<p>The ISBN #s were not listed to my knowledge, but title, author and edition were listed for this semester. This information was not put up until about 2-3 weeks before school started, so much later than I would have liked. </p>
<p>Last year, I looked at the books that were listed and that list was posted much earlier than it was this year! I checked back at the list a few weeks later, and it was good that I did. One class added another book that was not in the original listing. I was happy that at least they did not delete a book that I alread bought for my son, and that I caught the addition and had time to purchase it online. </p>
<p>I just ordered from Amazon this year, since the list was so late in being posted. Even though I did feel that I could not shop for the “best” prices this semester, by ordering through Amazon I still saved a substantial amount over what I would have paid if my son bought everything through the bookstore. He still needed to order one book through his bookstore because I just could not find it anywhere else, but that was not too terrible.</p>
<p>My son and daughter get a lot of their books thru Amazon. They waited until just before school started to make sure (as best they could) that the book wouldn’t change. Son would go over to the book store as it was close to his apartment. They got the ISBN number (only way to insure the correct edition) (daughter’s school lists them at their on-line book store) and ordered. Shipping time dictated they do this about a week before classes start, at least.</p>
<p>Interesting to note that at my son’s college the bookstore lowered their prices in his timeframe at school to almost the Amazon prices. Must have figured out how much they were loosing to Amazon. For the small difference, it was more convient to go thru the school bookstore and he did. He always checked though.</p>
<p>For colleges that do list ISBNs online, that is definitely the way to go to make sure you get the exact edition and version. You have to use Amazon’s “advanced search” in order to search by ISBN.</p>
<p>My son’s college listed combined sets (such as book and computer access card) and then also listed the items separately. In most cases, the best deal was to buy the book used through Amazon’s affiliates and the access card new online through Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Some people were confused because they thought they had to buy both the set and the separate items.</p>
<p>It’s not the bookstore, it’s the publisher. They make no money from the secondhand markets like Amazon Marketplace. So, they sell bundles, with unique ISBNs and online access codes that cannot be reused. We ended up buying at the bookstore when we realized a used book from a private seller “may or may not” have that code and there was no way of knowing whether or not it would be required until the first day of classes. </p>
<p>It may not matter much longer anyway. D1’s anatomy class required an ebook, code sold at the campus bookstore. Those often expire in 6 months or a year, so the secondhand book market may shrink sharply in the near future.</p>
<p>You can still build your own ‘bundle’ from online sources, it just takes more work: e-mailing the prof, for example, to obtain the correct edition of the text, or calling the campus bookstore and asking them for the details of their bundle.</p>
<p>Another way to go is to buy used books on campus. If your child changes classes (which they do frequently) it is a hassle to exchange the books. That requires the student be involved and send the books back, which mine never found time to do.</p>
<p>I agree, that if your student is going to switch classes, buying books online is going to be a hassle!</p>
<p>This semester we found that 2 different used books at the campus bookstore cost the same amount as NEW books through Amazon. In our case, that was not a savings.</p>
<p>We usually order from amazon and have had no trouble. The university bookstore on campus always lists the ISBN. The big independent book store across the street from campus does not.</p>
<p>I can almost always determine the ISBN’s from either the school’s site (usually as soon as courses are loaded in Blackboard) or the school’s bookstore site. They are required by law to post that info. When in doubt I have the kids email their profs and we have good results.</p>
<p>For texts that the kids won’t want to keep, I often rent them from Chegg. They have free return shipping and issue refunds for a certain period at the beginning of the semester for classes that are dropped/cancelled/wrong textbook, etc.</p>
<p>We’ve had many hassles buying other than the bookstore, but do it this way anyway because the cost is usually 30-40% of the bookstore’s. </p>
<p>S1’s school did not list ISBN’s until federally mandated. Bought at the bookstore then because it was just too much hassle without the ISBN. Get one wrong book and you’ve lost all your savings.</p>
<p>S2’s school does list ISBN. I won’t buy from anyone except Amazon now. We’ve been burnt a few times from other places re: not getting the book, hassle getting refund, etc. I don’t buy from anyone selling the first time or less than 97% good reviews. I would recommend NOT buying from halfbay.com. They are not truly affiliated with ebay and offer no support if one gets burned from a buyer.</p>
<p>This is the first year we’ve resold to Amazon and it worked great. Prices are much better than selling back to the bookstore and it works well for those who dont’ want the hassle of selling it individually.</p>
<p>A bit of advice: make sure the book you order is coming from some place in the US…S2 ordered a book from Abe’s Books online last year and never got here. We suspect it got hung up in customs. Was told to wait 30 days before they’d reprocess. Fat lot of good that did! Wound up paying full price from the bookstore just before the first exam.</p>
<p>My DD1’s $140 math book was probably hand-signed by Euler himself (ok, maybe Riemann) and was shrink-wrapped like an adult magazine with the school’s name in size 300 font and a homework web site account access card inside. No way to mail order this baby.</p>
<p>Her 3 architecture theory books were only $150 or so, but these you don’t find on the cheap mail order either way, save 10-15 dollars and wait for parts unknown. </p>
<p>It’s basically hit or miss… Some books are cheaper online but a lot are not.</p>
<p>There are a couple of other options that seldom get mentioned. The larger schools often have used bookstores nearby that cater to students and they usually offer significantly better pricing than on campus. My D’s school also has an online student exchange run by the SA where students can post books, clickers, and even dorm room supplies/furniture for sale. As your son progresses, he may be able to simply swap books for a semester with someone who has taken the class before - mine do it frequently with their friends and it’s been great for everyone.</p>
<p>And it is always ok to email the professor, and ask if an earlier edition of the book is ok. Sometimes it isn’t, but fairly often it is fine. Sometimes websites like Rate My Professor give pretty good indications about whether a professor even uses the book, or how much. (Though I would only look at reviews for that specific class.)</p>
<p>I think that the school-specific shrink-wrapped “text packages” are a ripoff, and students and their parents ought to complain to university administration. There is rarely a good reason to use them, and they cost students dearly.</p>