Text books - where to get them?

[nehs]

So I'm getting mself set up for the fall classes. I took one class in the summer and I used the textbook from the library.

I looked at my campus book store. is there anywhere else I can buy them from?

[Agradatudent]

Amazon!

[juilletmercredi]

I actually didn't need very many textbooks - most of what we read in class were either articles or popular academic press-type books. I bought those from Amazon.com. The one time I did need a textbook, I just borrowed it from the library for a semester.

You can also use Bigwords.com to search multiple book-buying sites (Alibris, half.com, Amazon, B&N, etc.). It'll turn up the cheapest new and/or used and/or rental textbooks on the 'net.

[Sparky]

Abebooks.com and Amazon Marketplace. A lot of the same sellers list on both, but there is enough of a difference to be worth checking every time. Amazon takes a slightly smaller cut (since they also make money selling stuff directly), so the absolute prices are usually a few cents lower, but they also standardize shipping rate. With Abebooks the individual sellers control the S&H as well, so you can sometimes save a few dollars that way.D

Depending on your field, you might have more academic press books than textbooks, in which cases my experience has been that the prof puts the books on reserve in the library, and people in the class take turns scanning sections of the books and e-mailing them around. I've bought a few books for class, but mostly ones that I also know are/will be useful for my research and which I'm tired of renewing through ILL.

[Eigen]

Borrowed/Library/Amazon.

I'd ask older grad students if they have copies you can use, honestly. Some you'll decide you really like and will want a copy of, some you won't.

[runonsentence]

After a year of wasting money on books I'd never read again, I developed a motto: I will only buy books I will use again for exams or in future research.

Trust me, this was a difficult decision to come to, as an English person. But it's worked out really well so far, and the ridiculous piles of books are slowing their coup of my apartment.

[eklavya]

if you HAVE to buy the textbook, allbookstoresdotcom - compares the book prices among all online vendors. i have saved a lot using this site

[long_time_lurker]

half.com is great for used books.

Amazon marketplace is good too, I usually got cheaper prices on half though.

Since you're also in NY: go to nypl.org and type in the names of the books. I had a couple in my Master's that the library owns. They will send it to your home branch so you don't have to go into the city to get it. You can renew it a few times too. Just do it early because everyone has the same idea, but not so early that you run out of renewals before class ends. With the 5 renewals you can keep a book for 18 weeks from when you pick it up. It takes a few days to send to your branch and you have a few days to pick it up so requesting 4-5 weeks before class should work.

Also check out library.nu. They have lots of textbooks on there for download. One of mine for the upcoming semester is on there, which is a godsend. It's also good for doing background or additional reading, where it would be otherwise not worth it to buy a book just for that purpose.

[robot_hamster]

Amazon and Half.com. I signed up for the student account with Amazon and I get free 2 days shipping on school-related purchases. It also comes with a free year of Amazon Prime.

[Rose White]

Sadly, even though it does cost some money...I'm a new textbook snob. So, Amazon is my drug of choice. Also, my friend has me as an authorized user on her Prime account, so I take advantage of the wholeheartedly.

It's a sickness...what can I say?

[mssyAK]

i cosign the half.com and amazon suggestions. i'm literally addicted to buying things off of amazon right now - maybe it has something to do with my nostalgia for real mail? either way, i ordered all twenty-one (yes, twenty-one) of my fall semester books off of either half.com or amazon. plus a new cover for my laptop. and a new case. and a new bag to carry my books to and from class. and an 1TB external hard drive. and a case for that, too. and scotch guard, for my new couch (not purchased on amazon), but only because it was nearly free.

for those with textbook lists/past experience, is twenty-one textbooks the norm?

[rising_star]

21 books? Sure, I've bought that many or more in a semester. If you're reading a book a week in each seminar, you take 3 seminars, and each meets for 14 weeks, that's way more than 21 books. But, you may not want or need to buy all of them.

As for Amazon, it's great. Sign up for the year of Amazon Prime for free for students so you can get things quickly (and facilitate your last minute holiday shopping). I generally use bigwords.com to compare prices. I'll also order from Barnes&Noble (and I used to order from Borders) if things were only available new because they usually have coupons for 30% or 40% off the list price. Also, check with your campus bookstore to see if they have any discounts available for graduate students.

[Guimauvaise]

You might also check local used book stores that aren't directly affiliated with your school. There's one about a mile from my campus, and it usually has a lot of books for a good price. Granted, this particular store serves the humanities and social sciences better than other disciplines. Still, it might be worth looking into.

[runonsentence]

Also, at my campus, the bookstore gives employees a 15% discount—and TAs are technically employees.

If I need a book in a hurry, it's often cheaper than paying for rush shipping (or at least it was before the days of free Amazon Prime).

[SNPCracklePop]

dealoz.com

It's another one of those "sweeps the web for the best deals sites"

[UnlikelyGrad]

I third the half.com and Amazon suggestions. Even if you like new textbooks--I've gotten several of mine brand new from people who'd bought the textbooks and then dropped the class w/o cracking them open.

I buy textbooks because I like to keep them around for future reference. (Yes, I do use them later). But several of my friends have had good luck borrowing texts from other grad students who took the class in previous years.

Also, my best textbook deal ever was my freshman year in college--I was wandering through Goodwill one day and saw the book which was used for calculus sitting on the shelf! So I bought it for $1.19...retail was $90...alas, I have never had that sort of luck again.

[long_time_lurker]

Do you folks know what books you're using by checking out a course website or the school's bookstore, or do you e-mail the prof? I only know the book (and ordered yesterday, thanks to you reminding me, from half.com) for one of the four courses I'm taking.

[nehs]

thank you all! i think i"ll check half.com, amazon and some used book stores in my city. the public library is also a good idea but not sure how long i could keep the book

[nehs]

Do you folks know what books you're using by checking out a course website or the school's bookstore, or do you e-mail the prof? I only know the book (and ordered yesterday, thanks to you reminding me, from half.com) for one of the four courses I'm taking.

I have the books listed in my course schedule. out of the 4 courses that i am taking ,3 professors have already posted the syllabus and books. one professor is still waiting for the fall semester to start(i guess :-D )

[TheSquirrel]

I usually only get the course packs (which include articles and photocopies from books) from the bookstore. You can get most of the articles online, and the books from the library. But with only 1 copy of each of the books in the library, which are usually not placed on reserve (as they are not textbooks, and there's usually only 1 chapter that's required reading from each of the books), and about 20 students running to the library to borrow said books, it's really not worth the effort. So I just end up spending the $80-100 / course pack and getting all the articles and book chapters in print.

That said, a good number of my profs don't even have course packs since they have journal articles and entire books as required reading. So we're expected to download the articles from the web (our university has access to all the databases), and buy the books. I don't usually buy the books from the bookstore -- I tend to get them online. Unless it's an older book that doesn't have an electronic version. So far I've only had to buy one book, and I bought it used, from my university bookstore. But it's a rather difficult book to find these days, so it was well worth the buy anyway. For other books that are crazy expensive and can't be found online, if it's available at the library and hasn't been borrowed by anyone, I just go and photocopy the most important chapters.

[neuropsych76]

I use the websites many other posters have already mentioned.

I'll also throw in a plug for international books. I just got my first one today and it was in great condition, the cd that came with the book was fine, and it was about 150 bucks cheaper than normal.

[ZeeMore21]

For the most part, I use Amazon to purchase school books. If there is a book I need that I know for sure that I will not keep it, I borrow the book from the library.

[Two Espressos]

Amazon. Absolutely, without a doubt, Amazon. I'm a huge fan of the website and have purchased all my books off the site for the past two years. I spend no more than $200-$300 a semester on books, which is an absolute steal. Plus, if you have any experience with selling stuff online, you can sell back the books you purchase. Sometimes, this actually results in a net profit (I once bought a psychology textbook for ~$80, and I later sold it for ~$90)!

I buy nearly everything off amazon.com.

I'm a huge proponent of it, if you can't tell.

[PastHistory]

Amazon is really the best I've found. Particularly if you take advantage of the Amazon Student program.

One thing about the library...I tried to get some of my textbooks through inter-library loan because I knew I would have no use for them after the class (and I had no desire to pay $95 *used!* for a book I'd never read again). The library canceled all of my requests because they were textbooks. Apparently the school has a policy to do that and direct the student to the campus bookstore. Your school may be different...

[ktel]

I'm also a fan of new textbooks. But I have to buy fewer books than humanities majors and a lot of my books are things that I definitely would use later, as they contain codes and standards and stuff. Civil engineers I know still use a ton of their university textbooks at work.