What is the best source for online books?

I would prefer used books (yes I am cheap and proud, dammit!) but I cant seem to find an online site that can guarantee quality used books. Plus I would like to know what DL students do with their books once their class is over.

 

MBS is what most DL colleges use. They buy and sell used books. They will only buy used books if they are still used by colleges.

 

half.com and bestbookbuys.com has been excellent sources of used books for me for quite awhile. David

 

There are several online college bookstores that offer new and used editions of textbooks. I have used the following sources in the past and been pleased with both the price and condition of the books:
www.efollet.com www.ecampus.com www.varsitybooks.com

The best price I found for one used textbook this semester came, surprisingly, from Barnes & Noble (www.bn.com). If you look around the net, you might even be lucky enough to find a coupon for one of these retailers.

Jeff

 

Good Morning, I found the least expensive way to get textbooks is through interlibrary loan. Make two requests with overlapping times. Our local library charges $1.00 a month. I've never been disappointed with this avenue. Hille

 

I generally use BookFinder or Half.com.

Good luck!


Cheers,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

co-author, Bears' Guide to the Best Education Degrees by Distance Learning (Ten Speed Press)
co-author, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead (Osborne/McGraw-Hill)

 

Half.com worked great for me and apparently for a few others. In response to your question of how to get rid of books, you can advertise them for sale at the same site. I generally had good luck selling books I no longer wanted unless new editions were published.

The site is well organized and is a subsidiary of EBay. There is also good consumer protection and an effective rating system on sellers. Prior to making a purchase, you can review a seller's track record and judge past performance (on time delivery, quality of packaging, etc.)

Another outlet with good prices is The Book Place - http://www.thebookplace.co.uk Their prices for new books were unbelievably low in comparison to U.S. prices and were very economical even after factoring in increased postage costs. However, I strongly encourage customers to verify the book is actually in stock when placing the order. Like many other online bookshops, they seem to keep inventory low and order from the publishers when orders come in. This is an unacceptably long lead time.

 

Student Book Exchange.