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where do i buy my text books?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
ive had the list for ages, but i only just remembered today that i have to have about 7 books for the course i am starting in september.

where exactly do i buy these books? is there a specialised site that i can get them off, or just a site like amazon??
OR would you recommend that i wait until i get to the uni and then buy second hand ones from there??
i have no idea what im doing ;)

all help appreciated :)

and another question (although i know it differs for each uni)
what day would you say that freshers move into their accomodation? (as in halls of residence)
its just that me and my mum are going over a week in advance to check the area out and need to get flights booked etc etc.
do you generally move in the day before freshers week starts or is it earlier/later than that?? ive looked the university website but there is no information on this :p
Post edited by JustV on

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It may depend what subject you're doing, but when I got my reading lists at the start of last year the course organisers said they could all be found in a nearby Blackwells because they'd been requested. Alternatively, you could try Amazon or buy them second hand. It should be easy enough to get them second hand because older students sometimes advertise selling their old books.

    On the accomodation front, you could try ringing the accomodation services for your halls? But bear in mind that freshers week is there to allow you to check the place out, so it isn't essential to go over a week in advance.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Some of them youll be able to find on amazon, some on ebay maybe, and some you may only be able to get from specialist text book sites or from certain bookshops or your university library.
    My advice is to not go mad buying all the books off your reading list until you know for sure which ones youll DEFINITELY need, because theyre not cheap. There were loads on my reading list, but not all of them were strictly necessary.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    amazon are quite fairly priced, and you can buy them used. delivery's good aswell.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    rainbow brite wrote:
    My advice is to not go mad buying all the books off your reading list until you know for sure which ones youll DEFINITELY need, because theyre not cheap. There were loads on my reading list, but not all of them were strictly necessary.
    I agree. I've got loads of books that I bought when I was a keen fresher and have never read. These were "essential" on the reading list.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yeh, i only bought a few books off my reading list and to be honest some of them have not even been used. definatley not enough to justify spending £20 odd on them. maybe wait till you get there and see how you get on. i bought 4 books off my list (and i do a combined course) and i'd say i've only got good use out of 2 of these. but at the same time, you don't want to be going to the library all the time.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Personally I would wait until you've started the course and see how you go. For first year i ended up buying a couple and like others have said, I hardly used them. If you find that you need a particular book and you are going to need it quite alot then i would buy it but look on places like Ebay or Amazon or check your uni noticeboards for second hand books before you buy it from a shop as sometimes they can be loads cheaper as some texts can be quite pricey!
    :)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Amazon market place and ebay! abebooks is very cheap if you can be arsed with waiting for it to be shipped from America.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    either at somewhere like amazon or your university will probably have a waterstones store on campus where you can buy your books... most do.
    generally you move into halls the weekend prior to freshers week... but i guess it depends on your specific university. - you should be told dates and times though. :yes:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Don't buy any books until your start your course, so that you know which ones are vital and which ones can be safely ignored. For any module one or two core textbooks will suffice, as the rest are in the uni/college library; you can always buy later if you need one.

    Most unis have a bookstore on campus, which will have all the important books in stock. Amazon are very good for textbooks, as they are a bit cheaper, and some universities have a special deal with them to get you discounts on spends over a certain amount.

    As a general rule, if you are staying in university accomodation then you move in just before Fresher's Week, only a few days before. If you are staying in private accomodation then it depends on when the contract starts, and that changes from house to house.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you're anywhere near the university now, have a look in the secondhand section of the nearest Waterstones or Blackwells (if they still do secondhand sections...). At this time of year you might get lucky and spot a couple of heavily reduced ones as this year's first years are wanting to get rid of theirs :)

    Otherwise, wait until the start of the course, then you'll know which ones really are the essential ones.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks a lot for everyones advice!! very helpful :)
    there IS actually a waterstones book shop on campus so i might as well wait and buy them from there!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    soraliah wrote:
    there IS actually a waterstones book shop on campus so i might as well wait and buy them from there!

    I wouldn't - they can be so expensive there. I bought one book that cost me £40+ and then I saw it on ebay and I won it for £14 and got my money back from Waterstones! I'd definitely look on ebay and second hand bookshops - you could potentially save a small fortune that way.

    Andy
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    soraliah wrote:
    ive had the list for ages, but i only just remembered today that i have to have about 7 books for the course i am starting in september.


    Don't bother, theyre probably in the uni library. I bought a few books, that were supposed to be "compulsory buys", i have barely looked at them.. Total waste of money!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    www.play.com is also supposed to be a good place to get books, good quick delivery ive heard!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you're looking for older or more obscure books, these sites are both good:

    www.bookfinder.com
    www.abebooks.com

    I've had loads of PhD-related books from sellers registered with both of them, and been very happy with them. Except for one book that took three weeks to get here from a bookseller in Leeds, whereas my previous order, from a place in Michigan, arrived in four days flat!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i found www.uni-books.co.uk really good for efficiency and have sold a few books there. Bought a couple too and they have come through within a week. Second hand is loads cheaper. :shocking:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    A lot of students from other years try and sell their books off cheaply at the start of term when the new students come in.
    Other than that amazon are quite cheap.
    Waterstones had some offers on last year which managed to get one of my books for free practically....still paid for about ten tho...and then dropped out
    oops lol
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I can't believe how many people sell their books!

    I suppose if you're doing a technical subject, or something where textbooks are liable to date quickly you might, but I've still got all the books I bought for my degree. Still read them sometimes, too. I hate getting rid of books - IMO you can never have too many.
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