School Books Options

[lagos]

How can they get away ripping people off so badly on college text books? Its disgusting. A normal book that you can get in a book store for 20bucks will be sold in the college book store for at least 60$. My sister just got done buying a book for her typing class... $130 for a 20 page book that has nothing but typing exercises in it!

Today however was the icing on the cake. Last week I went to buy a physics book, that comes bundled with a lab kit that I need for the lab class. They were all sold out, so I had to special order one. A whole week goes buy and they still didn't get the book back in stock. I noticed that they had one copy of the book used...so I thought, great, I'll cancel my order and just buy the used book and a lab kit instead of waiting on the bundle I ordered. So, I get to the register, they refund the $83 I paid for the special order, and ring me up for the used book and lab kit.... this time.... its $109 because I didn't buy the books bundled! WTF!!! They are charging me more money for a used book! God damn crooks.

[Sinyk]

When I went to college, we were actually able to price match the school bookstore with online retailers, but just I bought most of my books online ahead of time anyways once I found out which ones I needed, or if they would actually get used. I bought an A+ manual for a course once because it was a "required" book. I never took it out of the wrapper.

[azian_advanced]

here, there is a program where the book store is willing to buy your book back for half the cost that they sell it for..

so what i do is i buy my book online (i get mine from abebooks.com where books are usually 25%-50% off what they sell here) . i just make sure you get the same book type (ie. soft cover or hard cover) that they sell at your book store, after the course is finished, i sell it back to the book store and pay only a fraction of the book.

[samir0189]

Yup, it is a ripoff, but there are ways around it.

Order books from amazon.com, most the time they have it and its much cheaper new, and people also sell used ones on there. I just got my $215 calculus book for $100. It wasn't in the greatest of condition, ill admit, but its readable.

You can also look for the "international" versions of books, once its not for math cause of the whole metric system being used by everyone else, but for all other subjects, its paperback and MUCH cheaper. The only downside is the waiting time for shipping..

[lagos]

My story gets even better...
So I spoke with the store manager and he told me he would let me return the more expensive used book and buy the cheaper new one I had ordered, when that book comes in. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I get home, I get a call that my book did come in.
So I go back to the store, talk to the managager and return the more expensive used book. They hand me the cheaper brand new book, and I head to the register... well wouldn't you know it, the same $83 that I had just bought and paid for last week, is now $95! $12 dollars more for the same book for no reason at all! So I had to go back to the manager (at this point wanting to kill everyone who works there) and he just says... oh...it went up. I flipped out and they ended up giving me the 12$ difference back, but that was it... no apology or anything.

[manphibian]

Yep, it's not fair. I did a design degree and we had to buy a specific type of Magic Marker which cost $15 PER PEN!!!!!!

All the products i designed from this point were grey or blue But i still had to buy about 20 pens

[samir0189]

Is that a school bookstore? Like the on-campus one? those suck the most IMO.

The off campus ones are generally a BIT better.

Ive noticed secondary education on the whole is a ripoff.

Unrelated, but, I do hate when they have the book buyback and they tell me there's a new edition and they don't want mine. That makes me soo sad.

Avoiding the bookstore all together is the best option.

[lagos]

Yeah its on campus, and also the only place to buy that book with the specific labkit that I need for my class.

[MacgibaS2]

i know how you feel.. trust me. i'm pre-med and i've had to purchase most on campus books within the university and they had their very own lab manuals and they cost a lot!

[Culpable04]

Art, is like that at every single college.
last semester I had to buy 8 books for my literature class, how many did we actually used ?

1

the math book I had to get a 6th edition, because they switched some exercise numbers, I already had the 5th edition which I needed for the previous semester. and I still need to take one more subject that comes out of the same book so I wouldn't be surprise if they come with a new 7th edition with a different color

[Supersprynt]

Yeah you get raped.

The reason they are so expensive is that it's not like a regular book. They don't sell as many, and it takes a lot more to write, proof & produce.

[forkee]

been there done that. then when u go back after the semester is over, they have a new edition so u cant even sell it back. best thing is to go to the class and ask the incoming students if they want to buy from you.

[96bluevert]

I've found that buybacks are few and far between if you take many IT courses. Most of the books come with some sort of software, so they won't take them back if they've been opened . I've spent too much money on books and tuition already, I'm ready to get out.

[chucho]

I spent 155 for a "book" that had no binding it was just all loose papers then 180 for another text. Two classe that cost me over 300. I need to start my own university because they're making a killing

[NgoFcukinWay]

<---works at a school bookstore.

A dude came into the store today and wanted to order his two welding books. One was Welding Inspection Technology 2000 and the other was Structural Welding Code D1.1/W1.1 or something like that. For those two books alone, his total came out to be $758.XX just for two books! $750 that the dude actually put on his card and was willing to pay. So some of the costs that you guys are paying for your books aren't as bad as what that guy just dished out.

But other than that, SuperSprynt's got it pretty much right on the cost of the books.

New edition of book titles come out every 2 years or so unless it's like an "Annuals" book. It's really up to the instructors/department heads who choose the books used for the class. All the bookstore is is just the messenger/middle man; they tell students what books are "required" for the course and it's up to you to buy the book there or not unless the bookstore is the only place that'll have the title. Otherwise, find out which book you need, write down the ISBN number, and search for it online.

If you plan to sell back the book to the bookstore at the end of the year after buying it online, make sure it has everything that the book in the store would normally have. Most bookstores won't take back International/Instructor's Editions. If the bookstore says that they've moved to a new edition (which chances are, they probably really haven't), don't fret. Changed between editions is minimal. Occasionally, they'll move things around, or add/remove things, but that's usually between adjacent books. You could always sell your books to a future student that's taking the same class you did and let them deal with the whole "New edition" deal. Math bugs me though when it comes to new editions and different versions. How often does basic math change?

Usually best time to sell back books to the store is the first day of finals week. Usually by then, the store has the adoptions entered for the following semester and know what books they need to buyback and which ones to sadly decline and are ready to stock up before having to order books from the company's warehouse or the publishers themselves.

As for buying books only to find out that you don't use it; it's usually best to hit the first day of class to find out what book you "need" and to really find out if you're gonna need to crack it open at all. But if you do happen to buy your books prior to class starting only to find out you don't need it, keep that receipt handy and the book in original packaging; you can always return the book.

IT books really are hit or miss.

I think I hit everything. These are pretty much "general" tips/info that may or may not apply in most cases.

On another note, a coworker and I were unpacking shipments that came in and one of them happened to hold a copy of Adobe CS4 Master Collection. After we kinda awed at it a bit, we decided to look up the retail cost of the bastard on Adobe's website. Damn thing runs for $2500 and it's a $900 upgrade if you already had CS3 Master Collection. We looked through the paperwork and it turns out the student/customer that requested the software had a company that helps disabled students pay for books pay for the software.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a way to be handicapped so that I may get a copy of Adobe CS4 Master Collection.

[gt_driFFter]

Math bugs me though when it comes to new editions and different versions. How often does basic math change?

Amen!! I remember opening the cover's of books in gradeschool/highschool and seeing names with year's 78, 79, 87, etc. lol

[chucho]

<---works at a school bookstore.

A dude came into the store today and wanted to order his two welding books. One was Welding Inspection Technology 2000 and the other was Structural Welding Code D1.1/W1.1 or something like that. For those two books alone, his total came out to be $758.XX just for two books! $750 that the dude actually put on his card and was willing to pay. So some of the costs that you guys are paying for your books aren't as bad as what that guy just dished out.

But other than that, SuperSprynt's got it pretty much right on the cost of the books.

New edition of book titles come out every 2 years or so unless it's like an "Annuals" book. It's really up to the instructors/department heads who choose the books used for the class. All the bookstore is is just the messenger/middle man; they tell students what books are "required" for the course and it's up to you to buy the book there or not unless the bookstore is the only place that'll have the title. Otherwise, find out which book you need, write down the ISBN number, and search for it online.

If you plan to sell back the book to the bookstore at the end of the year after buying it online, make sure it has everything that the book in the store would normally have. Most bookstores won't take back International/Instructor's Editions. If the bookstore says that they've moved to a new edition (which chances are, they probably really haven't), don't fret. Changed between editions is minimal. Occasionally, they'll move things around, or add/remove things, but that's usually between adjacent books. You could always sell your books to a future student that's taking the same class you did and let them deal with the whole "New edition" deal. Math bugs me though when it comes to new editions and different versions. How often does basic math change?

Usually best time to sell back books to the store is the first day of finals week. Usually by then, the store has the adoptions entered for the following semester and know what books they need to buyback and which ones to sadly decline and are ready to stock up before having to order books from the company's warehouse or the publishers themselves.

As for buying books only to find out that you don't use it; it's usually best to hit the first day of class to find out what book you "need" and to really find out if you're gonna need to crack it open at all. But if you do happen to buy your books prior to class starting only to find out you don't need it, keep that receipt handy and the book in original packaging; you can always return the book.

IT books really are hit or miss.

I think I hit everything. These are pretty much "general" tips/info that may or may not apply in most cases.

On another note, a coworker and I were unpacking shipments that came in and one of them happened to hold a copy of Adobe CS4 Master Collection. After we kinda awed at it a bit, we decided to look up the retail cost of the bastard on Adobe's website. Damn thing runs for $2500 and it's a $900 upgrade if you already had CS3 Master Collection. We looked through the paperwork and it turns out the student/customer that requested the software had a company that helps disabled students pay for books pay for the software.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a way to be handicapped so that I may get a copy of Adobe CS4 Master Collection.

yeah but its still a way for colleges to get more money out of students. A university around here, not the one i attend, rents out books for 35 a semester. So why don't most colleges do this? So regardless of price if its 90-300 a book. It's principal of how they raise prices compared to other book stores that sell books for lower prices.

[NgoFcukinWay]

I hear ya on that. At my school, they offer a book lending program where students pay 10%, but it's only good for Faculty & Staff.

I don't think the college gets much from the bookstores. Maybe rent from taking up space on the campus. I know the schools have a contract with retailers and from there, the retailer sets the price of the book, but outside of that whether or not the school gets a share of the profit, I don't know much more. *Shrug* I can always ask though.

This post has been edited by NgoFcukinWay: Jan 28, 2009 - 1:46 AM

[Random_Stranger]

Ay Art! I feel your pain man. Shoot, on amazon, they had my $80 book on there some chump was trying to sell for $329!!!!!!!!!!


Talk about messed up. But I got it on eBay for $60, because you try to go and wait in line at a community college for some books...... PPPFFFFTTT.....

[lagos]

I don't think the college gets much from the bookstores. Maybe rent from taking up space on the campus. I know the schools have a contract with retailers and from there, the retailer sets the price of the book, but outside of that whether or not the school gets a share of the profit, I don't know much more. *Shrug* I can always ask though.

The book store makes good money. Trust me, I worked at a normal book store for 5yrs.
If an 80$ book sells for 50bucks on Amazon, you can bet that there is at least 30$ of padded profit, if not more at the store.
Id also love to know how they justify raising the price of the book I wanted to buy by 12$ from one day to the next, for no reason at all.

Its like shopping for wedding cake. Normal cake is cheap, but wedding cake is 3 times the price because they know you have the money to spend.