Then of course we have the lovely eBay ...
eBay rocks because it is backed by PayPal's and its own buyer guarantee. So if anyone tries to sell you crap, even if they say 'no refund' you WILL get your refund, as long as you are assertive... which basically means as long as you open a dispute or call PayPal. Every time I have EVER had a problem with a seller, if I ever truly cared to make a fuss, it was taken care of.
The great thing about eBay is that books start cheap, stay cheap, these are the books that people just don't care so they are trying to get anything out of a lot of times, or they are wholesalers, or people with International Editions. But that is the big thing, make sure you know what you are buying. But I have a few pointers for this.
International Editions - If you are from the US you CAN buy them. They aren't illegal. They have a different cover, sometimes pages are jumped around, maybe the index and glossary are swapped, exercises are missing, whatever. In college you don't tend to use these things. So ask your instructor if it is okay to use the IE. I have for the past 2 years now and I checked them against neighbors' copies in class... EXACTLY THE SAME - PAGE FOR PAGE - WORD FOR WORD - PICTURE FOR PICTURE. Sometimes my pictures are even better quality and in color :P I love buying international editions because I have had books that I couldn't find anywhere, even on eBay itself for under $150 standard US edition, but I would find for $40 IE :D The important thing to remember here however is that many sellers are International sellers so keep the shipping times in mind!
# Editions - This is something some students have said to me, I haven't tried personally but it has worked. Searching eBay and you find the first edition for $4.30, you need the second edition. The second edition is $102.56. Contact your instructor. It may not be all that different, especially if they were published very close together. SOME THINGS YOU CANNOT DO THIS WITH!!. Such as: Psychology Major here - The APA manual we use for citations, writing papers, referencing, etc. We are on the 6th edition. Using a prior edition would make every paper written wrong. So bad idea. Many manuals you shouldn't risk. You shouldn't risk anything without talking to someone in the know about it first, but even then I PERSONALLY would not risk the more important books. I have seen people get the okay, and then struggle. Last semester we had a glitch where the bookstore told the students the newer edition and the teacher had the previous. She worked from both because the structure of the class, but eventually many of us bought both books to be able to follow along because there were entire studies missing from both books. Point? Sometimes the edition DOES matter. Other times it may be completely irrelevant. It is relevant however, for cost. If you are getting an older edition, if it isn't some special unprinted edition, make sure you don't pay as much as you would for a new edition. That is the idea, it will save you.
Always keep seller feedback ratings in mind. Many book prices are just a few cents off from each other and it is definitely worth it to choose someone that has a 99.1% feedback with thousands of buyers that costs even $1-2 more than a seller with 98.1% feedback with thousands of buyers because that is hundreds of more dissatisfied people. And read the reviews to see transit time, quality of books, etc. I have heard of people getting the wrong books, but I have NEVER had a problem. I once had a little bend in one of the books but I could hardly complain given it was probably the delivery guy, the book came overseas in just a few days, and it was brand new otherwise at 1/3 the price anywhere else :) And again, I haven't felt the need to sell ANY of these books either because they cost so little and because the money I used to buy them, I got on Points2Shop.
And of course you can sell your books on eBay. What I really like is the option to do that (if I choose to, I haven't yet though because I am starting to like keeping them!). I have sold other stuff on eBay and I like that the amount of books I have bought on eBay has really boosted my selling abilities because I look trustworthy based on my feedback score as I am a fast and reliable buyer since my PayPal is always funded and ready for my purchases - sorry I just gotta give a shoutout to Points2Shop, part of the reason why I don't scream my head off come Aug and Jan.. and soon to be June since I will be doing year round school for my Masters :O Wish me luck!
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