Since December of last year I have each semester, searched Ebay and was able to purchase just about all of my College Textbooks.  I have saved half of the cost of what I would have paid with used books had I went to my college bookstore.  I first recommend getting the correct ISBN numbers as well as who the author is, edition number and even printing out a picture of the book needed.  In the beginning I did make some careless mistakes such as purchasing the wrong edition.  If your bookstore does not give out the ISBN number online I would suggest going into the bookstore itself.  You can also check book websites that sell textbooks for the latest edition.

If you go to a website such as directtexbooks.com most of the time Ebay and Half.com are the leaders as far as price goes.

Do plenty of research to make sure you have the newest most current edition of the textbook required. Find out what the cost of the book is new as well as used.

I have recommended Ebay to family, friends and classmates when looking for college textbooks.

This past summer I found my Introduction to Psychology textbook plus the powerstudy CDs brand new plus the study guide which is hard to find.  At a bookstore they would have cost more than $125.  I was able to purchase all 3 items for $50 and as I said they were brand new.

In the middle of the summer I found an auction for the Biology II Lab CD I would soon need.  Brand New it would cost me $35 in the bookstore.  On Ebay I purchased it for an amazing $.49 plus $7 shipping. 

It pays to keep searching even having Ebay notify you when someone posts what you are looking for.

You never know what kind of deal you will find.  Some sellers just want to get rid of the books and are not worried about how much money they'll make.  They may even place a buy it now offer to get rid of it faster.  Research ebay for several days to a week. You'll find out then what the average price of the book is selling for as well as what shipping price is fair.

I did notice many of the Big sellers who have Ebay Stores tend to have high prices on books.  Make sure again that you check your bookstore for the cost of a new textbook as many of the big sellers have prices above the cost of a new book.

I have not yet purchased a book of Half.com though I am hoping to in the next few weeks.