[cjordan]

Buying Textbooks (new & used)

Second semester is just around the corner, and with the recent release of timetables comes the time to start thinking about purchasing textbooks. Textbooks are very expensive, as most of you know from buying books last semester! However, if you don’t feel like spending that much (and I'm sure most of us don’t), there are many ways in which you could save a lot of money.

It is not necessary to buy the book spankin’ new, and so used books are a great alternative. After you have checked which books you need on the book list (insert URL), there are a number of ways in which you could go about finding textbooks at a reasonable price:

MacInsiders
- Connect with people on MacInsiders using the forums
- MacInsiders Marketplace

On Campus
- Titles Bookstore/The Tank
- Titles Used Book Classified

Online Bookstores

- DefineBooks.ca - A new book buying/selling site made exclusively for McMaster Students by a fellow McMaster student
- Amazon
- Abe Books
- Half.com (eBay's website to find textbooks)
- Barnes & Noble
- Bookbyte (sells & buys back)
- eCampus (sells books at discounted rates)
- Chegg (you can buy, sell and rent!)
- moarBOOKS.ca (rental lasts for one semester , and it must be returned no later than 5 days after the end of final exams - you also have an option to buy it)
- LearnLink (find people selling old textbooks through the discussion boards)

Facebook
- Facebook Marketplace


Digital
- Cafe Scribe (50% cheaper than buying the hard copy)
- Textbook Revolution (helps you find free online versions of your textbook)

Before you buy your textbooks, there are two important things you should keep in mind:
1. It is a good idea (but not necessary) to wait until after the first week to purchase textbooks. This is for two reasons:
- There is a chance that the prof has changed the course materials
- You may realize that you want to drop the class, and so if you don’t have the book, you won’t have to go through the hassle of returns. The lines at the bookstores are going to be a bit crazy for the first few weeks.

2. Custom Courseware – this is when the prof has put together their own “textbook” which consists of photocopied sheets. You can not buy custom courseware online nor is it a good idea to buy it from someone as it usually changes each year. Unfortunately, you have no choice but to pay the listed price in the bookstore.

So, you see. You have tons of options available for you to use. Start checking them out now so you can get the best available deal for your textbooks.

Good luck!

Thanks for this!

Just as an addition though, BooksPrice is really helpful if you are looking online (it forms a summary of ALL online retailers and sorts it by $$).
Just make sure to change the shipping to Canada after you make your search (I usually search by ISBN from titles site).

chapters.indigo.ca now takes interac online...so handy!
stuff ships within days, and i can usually find a few of my books for a couple bucks cheaper than at titles
and it lets me hope that by supporting an alternate retailer titles will lower their prices one day