To buy textbooks online, you’ll need to do a bit of research about what websites are selling your edition, who is offering the best prices, and who is able to get the book to you the fastest. Or you could just use BookScouter.
Buying textbooks through BookScouter is easy:
Start by searching your textbook ISBN or book title into the search field.
Review the list of vendors selling your textbook. You’ll notice that some vendors are selling the textbook while others are simply renting it. The condition of the book and the buyback price are also listed for comparison between vendors. You can also click on the seller’s name to see reviews from previous buyers and a brief description about the website.
Choose which vendor seems best for you and click either RENT or BUY. This will take you to a link directly on the seller’s website where you can follow the process to buy or rent your textbook.
Get excited for you textbooks to arrive!
Is it better to rent or buy textbooks?
Everybody is different when it comes to renting versus buying textbooks. It depends on the person, the class, and the textbook. If you’re only going to use the textbook for one class, and it won’t be of any use to you in the future, then save yourself some money and rent the book. If the textbook is for an introductory course that could help you with courses in the future, then consider buying! Whether you decide to buy or rent a textbook, there’s no wrong decision. If you buy a book and end up not needing it in the future, you can always come back to BookScouter to sell it!
How do I know that I’m getting a good quality book?
One of the toughest things about buying textbooks online is that you aren’t able to “try before you buy”. Especially when the book is used, you won’t know exactly what condition the book is in until you receive it in the mail. Due to the large amount of competition online for selling textbooks, websites have become more descriptive about the condition of their textbooks, and are selling better quality used textbooks. The vendors that BookScouter features have all been tested to ensure that the quality description they provide for each textbook is accurate.
Are supplemental materials included with used textbooks?
Typically when you buy a used textbook, whether online or in stores, the supplemental content is not included. Extra worksheets, access codes, etc. are often only available for a one time use by the person who purchased the original copy of the textbook. However, used textbooks typically do come with the cd’s that a brand new copy would include. Remember to read the description about the used textbook before buying, and when in doubt, contact the vendor!
How can I be sure the vendor I am buying from is good?
When you buy textbooks online, it’s hard to know whether the website selling the textbook is a good website. Key things to look for are whether the website has reviews, and if so, are they good? Also check to make sure that during checkout, the URL includes “https” which indicates you are purchasing from a secure website. All of the vendors on BookScouter have gone through a “background check” to ensure they are providing accurate services and products to their customers.
When is the best time to buy textbooks online?
The best time to shop for textbooks is when the demand is high. Based on data derived from Google Trends, this time occurs around the dates of August 21st, December 11th, January 8th, and May 7th. During these times, the supply for textbooks peaks and the price for textbooks decreases. Buyers can often find the best deal for their textbooks on these dates when the competition between sellers is high!
