I went to order my first round of textbooks for the LL.M. (Spanish 212 ends in five weeks-HOORAY!) and to my surprise, they're CHEAP. My basic texts run half or less than the equivalent here would be! Question 1) Should I just order from Amazon-UK and let them ship from the UK (since Amazon-U.S. won't get them for me) or is there a better option? Question 2) Why exactly ARE UK textbooks so much more reasonable?
You might want to see if Blackwells' US arm carries them., as it might save you some postage. http://bookshop.blackwell.com/bobus/scripts/welcome.jsp As for cheap! The mind boggles at what US legal textbooks must cost in that case, especially as you're fighting against a pretty fierce exchange rate! Angela
Hmmm. I sense an arbitrage opportunity. Buy cheap from UK and sell expensive in US. Maybe that's why my texts from UK are always the International Edition with big stickers on them that say "Not for Sale in North America."
My school counseling textbooks are also much cheaper, even including postage, from Amazon.co.uk than any place I've found in the U.S. Tom Nixon
Thanks for the suggestions. Agilham: For my Spanish 211-212 course, I was able to buy my textbook used so, with the workbook, it came to "only" $120.00. Twenty years ago, when I started law school, the books for EACH COURSE came to an average of $75.00. It's gone up since then. And the publishers seem to issue new editions every fifteen minutes so you can't often buy a used text... So when I found that my text from crim process will cost (used) about 20 pounds, it was a very pleasant surprise, indeed!
Hi Nosbourne, As you may or may not recall I'm working on the UoL LLB (fun, but one hell of a lot of work). I ended up ordering my books from www.lawbooks-online.com (UK based), basically because they had faster delivery times. The other option I explored was ordering via the bookstore at the local law school, they would have been able to obtain the books, and charge me less than I paid, but the wait was like 6-8 weeks. If you can wait that might be an option for you. Basically I think that your best alternative is likely to just order from the UK. Be prepared to pay some duty, but that wasn't a big bill for me, maybe $30 on $500 of books. How does the course material look so far? Did you have to choose all 4 courses immediately, or can you choose 2 now 2 later?
novemberdude: Thanks for the suggestions. The materials look really good. I have been masticating my cravat in frustration through two semesters of Intermediate Spanish to "finish the sequence" at the local B&M university. I am panting to get started now that there are only FIVE WEEKS LEFT then Hasta la Vista! There will be a LOT of reading and analysis. This is not a "cookbook" course. The exams do not seem to test substantive knowlege only, or even mainly. They seem very concerned with theoretical synthesis. About what I'd expect in a graduate program. More theoretical than my J.D. classes were, though Admiralty somewhat less so.
Oh, sorry. I forgot to answer your question. I can offer all four papers at once or two at a time. I'm planning on taking Sentencing and Crim Procedure and Juvenile law summer 2005 and admiralty (don't ask) and theorectical criminology the following summer.
This could explain the feeling of utter despair I get whenever I have to buy a US textbook where the price has been translated into pounds by simply replacing the dollar sign with a pound . . . Oh, and if you need anything that Amazon can't provide, do let me know. Not only do I wander pass Blackwells on a regular basis, but I have reader (and more importantly photocopying) privileges at the Bodleian until December! Angela
Actually several firms are doing just that. However Asia is an even cheaper source. Some of the textbook publishers are limiting sales to Asia to no more than 5-10% above previous levels to prevent this. Others are adding contract terms that prohibit sales to US customers. However since I am not party to those contracts I have purchased several textbooks from Asia. A lot of computer texts are available from Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Duty on textbooks? You should not have been charged duty on textbooks. The shipper probably filled out the customs declaration incorrectly or failed to include a proper invoice. The HTS category for textbooks is 4901.99.00.10, be certain that is noted on the customs dec and invoice and you should be charged no duty. You could appeal and recoup your payment but it is most probably not worth it for a few dollars.
Mdoneil wrote: "Actually several firms are doing just that. However Asia is an even cheaper source. Some of the textbook publishers are limiting sales to Asia to no more than 5-10% above previous levels to prevent this. Others are adding contract terms that prohibit sales to US customers. However since I am not party to those contracts I have purchased several textbooks from Asia. A lot of computer texts are available from Taiwan and Hong Kong." Can you give us links to some book stores in Asia?
Thanks! I'm not going to worry about the 30 bucks now, but I will keep an eye on it for next year. Having said that, I'm in Canada and am not sure if we pay no duty on textbooks. On the other hand, since we have a freight fowarding department here someone can probably find out for me.
Nosbourne, Thanks for ther reply. I am actuallyvery interested in Admiralty Law, but passed when I couldn't find any LLM tutorial support (didn't want to go it on my own). I'm not sure if I mentioned that Law Tutors Online seem to now be offering the whole range of criminal LLM courses (I think). I'm not sure if that interests you or not, but I thought I would give it a mention.
UPS is notorious for charging customs brokerage fees for things that do not require customs brokerage. Especially to Canada from the States. Have them sent by post rather than UPS. UPS will charge the fee even if no duty is remitted. This anecdote is hilaruous, and is on par with service I have received when shipping UPS to Canada. Stick with USPS, CanadaPost, Purolator, or FedEx and you will certainly save money. I refuse all shipments that come by UPS. (That however is a topic for a board other than degreeinfo.com)
I don't recall the names offhand. I did look at my credit card receipts, but I don't see the stores names. < Bookcentral.com in the States was one from which I obtained texts published overseas at a lower price. I have also ordered directly from overseas> I will continue to look. I know one was in Hong Kong and it sold Pearson Publishing texts. However the method I used was to look for the book in a library using OCLC first search, or OCLC WorldCat. I attempted to locate the book in Taiwan, Hong Kong, or India, Singapore, or Thailand. I have always had luck receiving packages from those countries. When I located the book I looked in the particular school's online library catalog and found the vendor informtaion. If that is not listed an email to the library always provided the needed information. I am not certain if most students would do this. I am a librarian, and I can quickly find that information. If you have trouble, feel free to e-mail me with the titles, authors and editions, or ISBNs you need and I will try to locate a less expensive source. Even if you only save €10 per book with the associated shipping charges,it is still €10 you can spend on good beer. Bon Chance! Matthew
