Buying textbooks online can be somewhat tricky especially if you want to get a good price on the book that you are looking for.

I am currently a graduate student and I buy most of my textbooks online and I find that it saves me a good deal of money over buying them through school.  There are several tips that I have found useful in buying my textbooks over the past several years. 

1. Start looking for your books as early as possible.

2. Make sure you know how the book will be shipped because it can vary anywhere from 2 days to over 2 weeks.  Also sometimes there is a delay in mailing on the part of the seller that can add to the total time that it can take for you to get your book.

3. Ebay auctions can be a good way to get your books at a good price. but beware of bidding wars that sometimes take place.  (If you are bidding on a book try to bid as close to the end of the auction as possible as this gives you a better chance of paying a lower price for the book.)  Pay through paypal if at all possible because this offers the best protection if there is a problem with the book.  Also remember to check how the book will be shipped...sometimes it is worthwhile to pay for a shipping upgrade so that you can get the book more promptly.  Priority mail can be a good option of larger heavy books as many of these can fit into a flat rate box and arrive anywhere in the US in 2-3 days for $8.10.  Media mail is cheaper, but it can take up to 10 days or even longer depending on the volume of mail at the post office.

4. Half.com can be a good place to buy textbooks also, but check the feedback of the seller.  When buying textbooks I tend to stay away from sellers with fewer than 100 total feedback.  I also prefer that the seller has recieved at least 40 feedback from buyers.  If there is a trend of negative feedback I don't buy from that person.  The dispute process through Half.com is a nightmare so it is best to buy from sellers with a good reputation so that you can avoid this process entirely.

5. There are several search tools on the internet that can help you to search numerous bookstores for your textbooks either by title, author, or ISBN (International Standard Book Number).  Using the ISBN to search for the book is probably the best option because this gives you the most accurate results.  (You can search for these sites by putting the keywords textbook price search into the yahoo or google search window.

6. When you are done with your textbook you can often list the book on Half.com and get back a portion, or sometimes most of the money that you paid for the book.  Listing on Half.com is easy and there is no fee unless your book sells.  You get an email when someone purchases your book along with where to ship the book to.  A shipping reimbursement is provided and everything gets deposited into your bank account for sales that you have made two times a month.

Hopefully you have found this guide helpful in searching for the best prices on your textbooks.  Malissa