Okay so I knew college was expensive but I had no idea exactly how much so.

I have 5 books I have to get for my 4 classes. They are

Framework for Human Resource Management, A (5th Edition) --By Gary Dessler -- ISBN 978-0-13-604153-5  ($101.25)

40 Model Essays: A Portable Anthology -- By Jane E Aaron -- ISBN 978-0-312-43829-6  ($23.25)

Little Brown Compact Handbook with My Compl --By Jane E Aaron --ISBN 978-0-558-32886-3  ($58.75)

Go! With MS Office 2007 --By Pearson --ISBN 978-0-13-506050-6  ($106.25)

Practical Business Math Procedures w/ Student DVD, WSJ insert, B Math Handbook --By Jeffery Slater --ISBN 978-0-07-721456-2  ($124.25)

If anyone has one of these laying around at home that they want to sell or pass along for cheaper then the used prices I have listed please let me know. ---- I can pay via verified pay pal---

Thanks

Nikki

Try half.com, bigwords.com or barnes and noble book quest. All have good prices on used.

I just searched for one of your books on half.com-

Practical Business Math Procedures w/ Student DVD, WSJ insert, B Math Handbook --By Jeffery Slater --ISBN 978-0-07-721456-2  ($124.25)

they have it for $53

Try your local craigslist also - I've noticed a lot of textbooks listed on ours for the local colleges. You can also place a "I'm looking for . . . " on Craigslist, I believe.

Good luck! I remember when I would gasp every time I saw how much textbooks where when I was in college.

I haven't used it before (although I do have an account there in case I need it), but I do know of Chegg.com. You can rent textbooks for the semester, then return them. I found three of the textbooks you're looking for (by ISBN) on Chegg.com and I've listed the links below, which includes how much it costs.

• http://www.chegg.com/details/a-framework-for-human-resource-management/0136041531/
• http://www.chegg.com/details/40-model-essays-a-portable-anthology/031243829x/
• http://www.chegg.com/details/practical-bus-math-procedures-with-student-dvd-wsjinsert-bmathhandbook/0077214560/

I would also suggest Amazon.com. You can buy it new from Amazon itself or select "Used & New" to buy from users.

• http://www.amazon.com/40-Model-Essays-Portable-Anthology/dp/031243829X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248466554&sr=8-1
• http://www.amazon.com/PRACTICAL-PROCEDURES-Student-WSJinsert-BMathHandbook/dp/0077214560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248466658&sr=8-1

Half.com is also a great place to buy textbooks at cheaper prices.

Are you sure you copied down the ISBNs correctly for Little Brown Compact Handbook and Go! With MS Office 2007? In any place I've looked for you (especially Amazon), nothing came up at all.

Good luck to you in your search!

MS 07 and Little Brown

I looked for everywhere and the only place that has them is the school book store :(

Maybe confirm with your professors if you can get the same book, just earlier editions (which sometimes cost less, since they're not up to date).

Depending in where you're taking classes (uiniversity or community), most professors understand the need to save money, as long as you talk to them up front.

http://www.amazon.com/GO-Microsoft-Office-2007-Introductory/dp/0131679996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248550156&sr=1-1

Here's a link to used version of the MS 7 at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/PRACTICAL-PROCEDURES-Student-WSJinsert-BMathHandbook/dp/0077214560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248550276&sr=1-1

And here's the bus. math book at Amazon used as well!

When you search by ISBN, take out the dashes.  Some search engines don't like them.

Thanks Edie

Don't buy your book until you at least have a class, or a meeting/conversation with the professors first. I had many teachers say that the book was optional/just for reference or just plain change the textbook they wanted to use at the last minute. I never bought any books until I had at least one class of every course so I knew what I had to buy and what I didn't. Of course, there was no PBS when I was in school.

Also, check flyers around campus. You don't get crap for selling your books back to the bookstore so many students post ads as they try to sell them on their own.

In general would you rent your text books?

Well, the reason I haven't rented any books so far is because I have taken classes that I really enjoy (history, art, literature) and I tend to keep textbooks or reference books that are specific to those genres.

Now, I probably would not keep a book on chemical biology or calculus because those subjects do not interest me.

From my small amount of research, it seems that you can actually buy a used book for the price of renting one from Chegg, but I guess Chegg would be the choice for you if you do no want to deal with re-selling your book when the semester is over (since you wouldn't necessarily want to keep it on your shelf).

Thanks Amy, I am pretty sure that I will be wanting to keep my books. Simply because I like to look back at what I have learned if I ever run across a situation that it may come in handy.

Try http://www.dealoz.com/

They check a lot of different sources, including some of those already mentioned.

On your Framework of HR, I found everything from $39 (Ebay) to $200+

Sorry, not much luck on Go or Little Brown.

>>Maybe confirm with your professors if you can get the same book, just earlier editions (which sometimes cost less, since they're not up to date).

Good advice.  This worked a couple times for me.

Pick-a-prof.com also lets you compare book prices: http://www.pickaprof.com/?hid=22.162

It may be different for undergrad, but the library lets grad students check out books for the whole semester.  So, I was able to check out some of my textbooks from my campus library or interlibrary loan.  It was great! I saved $100s of dollars that way.

I know you say you want to hang on to your books, but you may be able to find them cheaper (or on PBS) in another year or two, when new versions are out.  I would put them on your WL now, if you haven't already.

I just went back to college for a degree in nursing.  My 14 yr old son attends a private school.  We have to buy books for both.  My text books for last semester from school were over $1000.00.  (college science books are between $150.00 to $200.00 each)  My son's would have been about $600.00 from the school source.  By using a combination of eBay, half.com, and Amazon.com mine came to about $500.00 & my son's were about $300.00.  Shopping around saved me about half the price.  It is a lot more work but the savings make up for it. 

I was also able to buy several of my books on eBay in May & June (for this coming fall).  People sold them MUCH cheaper "out of season".  I have an elective that requires 3 books totaling about $45.00 new on Amazon.com (paperbacks) & both all 3 (including shipping) for less that $15.00 from eBay in May. 

I used to keep my books (when I was in college the 1st time) but, with the internet so readily available, I just don't see the need to take up the space in my home.  I just sold 6 of my textbooks on eBay for $330.00 which paid for my son's books for next year.  Just treat them with love and don't write in or highlight in them and you'll get at least some of the money back for them to off set next semester's textbook expense.

Ebay has the first book you listed for $39.91 "buy it now" with free shipping, 40 Model Essays for $13.65, & Practical Business Math with bidding at $25.00.  I would definitly check Amazon.com for the used prices.  Sometimes they are cheaper than eBay.  Good Luck! 

Thanks everyone, I'm still looking around there are alot of sites to check out and I don't want to miss any deals so I'm taking a good look at their prices along with shipping. I have found that alot of the sites that I found on my own are out of the country and want a TON for shipping. However they don't tell you that up front. I'll get a list of them and put them on here incase it may help someone else.

My college had boards where you could post the books you had and sell them directly to other students.  If not this term, try it next time.  That always saved me a bunch of money.

when I needed to mark up a chapter for a class I'd just goto the library and make photocopies.  Saved the book for resale and I kept the important pages in my notes.

Do be careful about asking the prof if an older edition will work.  I did that once. He said certainly, not a problem.

A few weeks later I discovered he assigned homework out of the book (numbers at minimum were different, often the problems), and the new book had an entirely new chapter!  I had to go buy the new one anyway, and by then the used ones at the bookstore were all gone. I personally don't think it's worth buying an older edition unless you get it really cheap/borrow from a friend.  Too risky.

Buying online will save you quite a bit, but do notice the shipping times and options.  I had an upset buyer on half who ordered a book the first day of the semester and was upset it took over 2 weeks to arrive.  Well, she opted for MEDIA mail, she's lucky it got there that fast.

A potentially free method: Go see if the library has the books. They will probably be on reserve (hope for this or they're probably checked out!).  If you can handle using the books in the library it's about the best deal you'll find.

I would recommend checking your college library before you buy the books.  Sometimes there are several copies of certain textbooks and you can take one out and keep renewing it. Also, at my college professors often put the required books for their classes "on reserve" at the library, which means that the book cannot leave the library and therefore is there for anyone in the class to use when they need it.  This has saved me a lot of money, since I can just walk to the library and spend an hour or two sitting and doing the homework with the library copy. 

Also, if you're looking for used books to order online, I would recommend BetterWorld Books (http://www.betterworldbooks.com).  Shipping is free within the USA and part of the profits go to fund literacy worldwide.  I've had great experiences with them. 

Good luck at school!

I've got none of those--but have you looked at renting them at one of those online sites, like chegg.com.  It may also be worthwhile to check amazon.com, bn.com, half.com, etc.  I predict everywhere is cheaper than the college bookstore.

something I ran into when I was in college, in addition to asking about ealrier addition (I never did that because like someone else said, I was nervous about the changes in the editions causing a problem) but looking into PAPERBACK versions of the same book that usually cost a lot less than the hardcover.  Yes, they make paperback versions of most textbooks but the colleges buy and sell usually just the hardcover version since it holds up better to buy back and resell over and over...  I once bought a paperback version of a bio text for about $100 on Amazon that the bookstore wanted over $300 for the hardcover.  When you are looking on Amazon, there is a spot for "other editions" but it also lists paperback there, with it being the exact same text, so prof should not have a problem with it!

Use half.com but shop through the half.com link on BigCrumbs.  That way you get a percentage pf your money back.  Half.com (and amazon) are the two consistently cheaper sites I've found throughout the semesters.

The best advice I can give you is to check your college library AND the local public library -- sometimes they'll have interlibrary loans if they don't have them, and late fees are almost always cheaper than buying the books, as long as nobody else puts them on hold mid-semester.

Or, make friends with one or two other people in the class, pool your money to buy the books, and set up a schedule of who gets them when.