is it really worth it to buy textbooks twice? Forum

[anjmissy]

So this fall I will be at W&L and the expenses set aside for textbooks are $2,500 a year. And many current students tell me that I won't know which books I need until a few days before class. If I get them new from the bookstore im looking around 1k, used online, I'll be looking to save a few hundred. My question is, is it worth it to buy them from the bookstore and not being able to write/highlight in them for 2 weeks or so while I wait for my books to come in online and then return the new ones to the bookstore. Or should I just pay all that $$$ for new books?

[rinkrat19]

Dude. Amazon Prime Student (it's free). 2-day shipping.

[anjmissy]

Dude. Amazon Prime Student (it's free). 2-day shipping.

i had that before for ug and it already expired, does it renew for a new school?

[superbloom]

You can get it half price. Even at full price, or double the full price for that matter, you'd still be saving money.

[rinkrat19]

Dude. Amazon Prime Student (it's free). 2-day shipping.

i had that before for ug and it already expired, does it renew for a new school?

I believe you can re-register with a new .edu email address.

Happily, we can have 3 or 4 different addresses at Northwestern.

[dudders]

At my school you can only return textbooks for like 24 hours or something. Get prime for $39.

[CanadianWolf]

Some students purchase an older edition for savings of more than 90%. Just copy the table of contents from the newest edition to make sure you cover all topics. Some roommates share books.

[capsfan]

As a W&L undergrad I just wanted to let you know that your plan will not work through the bookstore. They only allow returns if you drop a class.

[laxbrah420]

Dude. Amazon Prime Student (it's free). 2-day shipping.

Amazon prime doesn't usually ship used books...

[anjmissy]

Dang..looks like I'll be buying new from the bookstore =/ ..thanks all for your comments

[dixon02]

I almost always do this, but mostly because I am a procrastinator. If you're on top of things you can find your booklist ahead of time and buy them online. Instead, I just do exactly what you're talking about. It doesn't usually take two weeks though. Even if you're buying them used, you can pay for expedited shipping and still save a ton of money vs. bookstore price.

Also, I usually have a mix of new and used, but I still buy them all online. For CivPro last year, I found our casebook online brand new for $49.99 while the bookstore was charging $140. That's an outlier, but I can often find new editions anywhere from $25-50 off the bookstore price. If not, I just buy a 'like new' used book (I prefer ones that are not marked up too much). In addition to amazon, Barnes & Noble has a solid used book selection, as does half.com.

Also, if you don't want to risk damaging a new bookstore book, the library will often have your casebook (sometimes they don't have the newest addition though). Or of course you can borrow a friend's. This is all a pain in the butt, but the whole process lasts less than two weeks and you do save a good bit of money. I spent less than $500 on books each semester last year.

[superbloom]

Why is spending $40 a year on Amazon Prime for students not an option?

[anjmissy]

Why is spending $40 a year on Amazon Prime for students not an option?

Cuz usually that doesn't cover used books..i also cant get my book list until one week before class

[Scotusnerd]

Anjmissy, if you haven't already, check out my thread on this forum. It has a very similar topic and some good answers to your problem:

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 4&t=186016

[anjmissy]

Anjmissy, if you haven't already, check out my thread on this forum. It has a very similar topic and some good answers to your problem:

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 4&t=186016

thanks..but ive just decided to get the used textbooks that can be used via amazon prime from amazon, if not, il just get the rest from my bookstore..the good thing about the bookstore is that i can just charge the books to my school account, so i wont have to pay for them up front. Of course my other semesters at school i will definitely be using sites like bigwords.com but for my first semester, i have to pay more money

[dudders]

Some used books not eligible for prime can still come with expedited shipping. I think the difference is like $3 more than standard shipping.

[clee33]

Yeah just pay the extra for overnight/two day. Most of the bigger sellers will do this (some even prime ship used books) you're talking about saving 100s, so you have to pay like $10 or whatever for overnight big deal, just think of it as the price to be able to have a book to write in from day 1. Your 1l year is too important to cut little corners, especially considering you'd still be saving money.