Issue Date: August 14, 2005
Textbooks 101
Before maxing out your credit, consider online options.
Textbooks may help make us smart, but people could learn a thing or two about purchasing them. It's not uncommon today for students to blow upwards of $500 per semester on their study materials alone.
You can save yourself both money and the aggravation of crammed bookstore aisles if you spend some time and energy researching alternatives on the Web. Take note:
The appropriately named Half.com by eBay gives users a platform to buy and sell textbooks at a reduced rate. (It also sells DVDs, CDs and video games, for when you feel like procrastinating.) Both new and used books are available. To navigate: From the homepage under "Categories," click on "Textbook Superstore," and search by typing in the book's ISBN, author, title or keyword.
Also available is CollegeBooksDirect.com, which prides itself on speedy delivery of used textbooks. According to the site, 100% of the company's orders are processed within two business days, and you can track your order online through a link to UPS.com. Only textbooks that are in stock are listed, the company says, so what you see is what you can get.
If you're interested in comparison shopping, try Addall.com. The search engine combs more than 40 provider sites and has a function that displays the cost of each book in various foreign currencies. (So what exactly would that be in Japanese yen?)
The coolest part about online textbook shopping is that you can order from the comfort of your own home, off-campus apartment or dorm and never have to change out of those cool PJs you'll most likely be wearing to class.
-- Vanessa Schutz
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