*UPDATED FOR 2014*
As a student, saving money is usually the first thing that comes to mind when the topic of textbooks is brought up. Textbooks can be expensive, especially if your course requires a newer textbook and there are no used copies available.
One thing you can do is
look up what textbooks are required for your courses ahead of time on the Titles Bookstore website (
click here), so you can have an idea of what textbooks to look for.
IMPORTANT: The September textbook list comes out around
August 18 so if you are looking to buy used books it's best to wait and see if there have been any changes to the editions from last year! (Thanks Stacey for this tip).
WHEN SHOULD YOU BUY TEXTBOOKS?
You DON'T want to be buying books yet. Mainly because the book list is not out yet, but even when it comes out... there is no rush to buy books. I'd wait until your first day of class especially for electives you took, because sometimes you don't need every book on the book list for each class, and also remember... you might not like the elective class you're in and want to switch out of it during the add/drop period (where you can go back into SOLAR and change your elective, drop a class you didn't like and take a different one). And if you do that, you're stuck with a textbook you now don't need. The only real advantage to buying early, is that the textbook store has a limited number of USED textbooks that they sell, and sometimes they can run out of those used textbooks for popular classes.. so then you'd have to look on MacInsiders or FB to find used, or buy the higher priced new book from the bookstore. But that scenario is usually not often, since there's normally lots of used textbooks available on MacInsiders Marketplace.
WHERE DO YOU BUY THEM?
There are many ways you can buy used textbooks, through the
MacInsiders Marketplace,
Titles Bookstore Classifieds site, or Facebook, but keep in mind that when you buy used textbooks off of other students there's usually no way to refund if you decide to change your mind about taking the course so make sure if you are buying textbooks BEFORE school starts that you do so ONLY for courses that you know you're going to be taking 100%.
Click here to see more places you can buy new and used textbook for McMaster.
IMPORTANT TIPS:
1. For the first few classes most of the time you will not need the textbook yet. The first class in most first-year courses is an introduction class going over the course and expectations. This gives you a great chance to review the course outline and see what the course is all about before committing to forking over the cash to buy the textbook. Also note that Titles Bookstore does stock used textbooks on their shelves... not just brand new ones. So when you go to the Bookstore you may be able to find Used Textbooks with a 'USED' sticker on them, at a reduced price. But of course, they are first-come-first-serve so if you wait too long once school starts the used books will be gone fast.
2. Don't buy textbooks before classes start unless you're buying them from the bookstore, because only textbooks purchased from the Bookstore can be refunded. If you buy off another student, and you end up dropping the course for example or changing courses, you're stuck with the book and can't get your money back.
3. If you're buying used textbooks from the bookstore then go a bit early because yes... used textbooks are limited stock on the shelves so they go first since they are cheaper to buy. Once all the used ones are gone, you'll have no choice but to buy the new book at significantly higher cost if you need to buy the latest version from the bookstore.
4. If the textbook in your book list isn't requiring the NEWEST version (some textbooks come out each year that are newer versions with different rearranged pages, so you need the new textbook to follow along properly in classes with the right page numbers, etc). While most classes will allow the use of an older textbook that you can buy USED off a student that already took the course. In this situation... BUY IT FROM A STUDENT. You'll save way more money buying it second hand directly from a student.
5. For elective courses once school starts you do get a chance to add & drop elective courses for a short period of time on SOLAR, so if you attend the first class in an elective course and decide that it isn't what you expected, you can drop the course and take a different one. This means if you purchased a textbook for that course ahead of time, it's basically useless now and you would need to sell it or try and get money for it through the
Titles Bookstore Buyback service if the book is in great condition and they are accepting it.
Have other advice or tips to share about buying textbooks? Add your reply to this thread.
