Bigwords.com is the way to go! They search a BUNCH of different online sites (including Amazon.com and Half.com) for the cheapest price on your books. Then, it adds on the price of shipping and shows you where your book will be the cheapest. You can also change your options to look for international editions or electronic versions or to get your book shipped faster.

Also, don’t fret about ordering online. Just make sure the ISBN number on the book you order matches the one you need. You can email the seller, if needed.

Make sure you get the same versions as what everyone else will be using, or you will be flipping through the book like an idiot during discussions. Otherwise, you can look textbooks on amazon (and find deals like international versions of math and science texts, which are generally cheaper than the US versions).

Amazon.com is very good with shipments–generally cheaper than Borders (and they have a larger selection since it’s online distribution); however whether or not you save money on Amazon as opposed to buying from the campus bookstore is iffy. When you start the semester, professors may or may not change the textbooks they are using, you may or may not need the textbook immediately (overnight shipping from Amazon pretty much kills anything you’ve tried to save) so from my personal experience, you should only buy off Amazon when you know for sure what texts you are using (i.e., those core required classes everyone takes, those classes that everyone has the same text list for, like the intro lit survey-type classes).

Don’t buy used books off Amazon unless you are saving a lot, shipping prices can run quite expensive.

Also, a lot of colleges have internet networks like www.dogears.net which allows students to post texts, often for a lower price, to other students. You can usually save a bundle of cash that way–the only problem is with version inconsistencies, so make sure you’re getting a right text!

The only thing I’d caution you about is checking the edition of the textbook. Sometimes they sell the older editions on amazon and your professor wants you to have the newest edition.

Mostly I used amazon for selling old textbooks. My local bookstore would sometimes offer like $10 to buy back a book that I had bought for almost $100 because the publisher had just come out with a new edition and they wouldn’t be selling the old edition next semester. In cases like that, I would post that book on amazon and get a good bit on money for it because there would be plenty of professors out there at different colleges that would still use the old edition in their upcoming classes.

Also, be aware that the standard shipping can take up to 3 weeks, so don’t buy any books you need right now at standard shipping.

Best of Luck!

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