My friend is already talking about how she's bought her textbooks and it's making me antsy.
I went to see if they had my textbooks online a week ago, and only 3 of them were up (I have 6).
How late is too late?
Or how early is too early?
Classes start the 31stHow early should I buy my college textbooks?
Things to consider:
1. If you buy the book online for a class, and then you decide to drop it, then returning it becomes a pain in the butt. In this case you should get the book later.
2. If you know your going to take a class, it's better to buy the textbook earlier online (if you plan on buying a used one). If you wait longer, then it might become difficult to find the textbook.
3. If you know the professors email address. Send them an email and ask them what textbook and edition are they using for the class. Professors will usually reply.
4. If you are able to buy the textbook on campus, then they usually have like a 2 week return policy. I suggest you buy the book from the bookstore (keep the receipt), then figure out if you want to actually take the class. Then find a used/cheaper copy online and buy it. Then return the copy you bought from the library.
If you are in a pinch for cash, then I recommend checking this website out. I put it together to help people find textbooks for free to really cheap. There are 4 methods and one of them will definitely save you money.
You should buy used college textbooks at GreenTextbooks.com - Saving the Planet One Textbook at a Time GreenTextbooks.com is your online leader for finding used textbooks, DVDs, CDs. http://www.GreenTextbooks.com
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How early should I buy my college textbooks?
Start looking around now and only buy when you find them at a really good price. That way, by the time school is just around the corner, you are already familiar with the average price of the books and hopefully already purchased them. Just make sure that the books you buy now are the exact books that your course requires. Here's my routine for online shopping from top to bottom:
1. Amazon - Trustworthy, many times very good prices on the "used" sections. $40 book at school's store only cost around $8 shipped at Amazon. I always look here first thing.
2. Facebook - Try and see if your school has a group with previous students who have already taken the classes you want to take. Usually called Buy Textbooks Directly or something along that line. Also good place to resell your textbooks.
3. eBay - Can be and most of the time trustworthy, price can be good depending on the bids.
4. Craigslist - Probably not as safe because you most likely meet up with "strangers" but you can still find books here if you are lucky enough.
5. Campus bookstore - Last resort. I try to refrain myself from buying anything at this overpriced place, unless its only found here. They always run out of used books and if they do have them in stock, it's overpriced. My school has a "customized" version of some books which is a load of crap to me.
Oh yeah, definitely try and see if you can use the older edition of the book, that'll save you tons of money.
When you buy online, make sure that you are confident that the books you're about to buy is compatible with your course.How early should I buy my college textbooks?
I would say that after the first week of class is too late. Most professors give you a week to get your books. If you wait more than a week there is a possibility that your campus bookstore will have sold out of the book you need, especially if its for a core class. And it really is never too early to get your books. The earlier you go to get them the more likely there will be a used copy of the book. Used books sell really quickly. I got all of my books used from my campus bookstore more than a month before classes started. Another thing you can to is check out Amazon, normally you can find your text books there for a lot cheaper and chances are they'll be in good shape. But if you do use Amazon make sure you get the right edition of the book. Some professors allow older editions because they don't teach the entire book, but others require the latest edition. I recommend that you go and buy the books that are posted right now, and buy the other ones as soon as they are posted.
I just graduated, and I usually bought mine the night before class at the campus bookstore. Many of my friends ordered their books online, which was probably a bit cheaper. They usually did so after the first couple days of class. But I liked the freedom of being able to return them easily because you never know if you're going to stick with a class. You might get an awful professor, or the class is too much work, or a better/more interesting course opens up and you switch. I would say, if you are very certain that you'll be taking the class and it's a fairly general course, go ahead and order online. But if you want to wait and see how the class turns out, I wouldn't order them.
You could also check the syllabus if it's available. Buy the books you'll need right away at the bookstore and put in your online order for the ones you won't need til later in the semester. Good luck!
It all depends on if you're going to preview them before you go to school. It's not too late if you buy them right when classes start, some people don't even buy the textbook until a week into the class to make sure they really want to take that class. If you're planning on buying the books online rather than at the college bookstore then you might want to start ordering now because it can take time and some places online don't let you do fast shipping so you might have to wait 3-4 weeks. but if you have a place on campus that you can buy books from then whenever is fine. There is never too early lol
If you already know which ones you need, you should get them asap. Try searching for them using the textbook search engine http://www.bigwords.com I bet they can find them, and for the cheapest price too. Cus they don't actually sell anything they are just a search engine. It's pretty cool actually.
some classes you wont even need textbooks, unless it is required., cause some professors teach in a way where all you need to do is pay attention in lectures and take notes, and ur all set. Ask some of ur friends who took the class, ask them if u need textbooks for that class. Cause you don't want to waste $50-100 dollars for a textbook you won't even need. Unless you want to get ahead in class by reading the next few chapters. Your friend probably wasted $200 on textbooks she don't even need.
go to ratemyprofessors.com and search up your professor/class, students who have taken the class before leave comments/reviews about the class, how easy the class is, and if you need textbook or not
