Wait until you know you need the book as well. Nothing like paying 200 bucks for a book and not using it all semester.

At the risk of sounding like an old fart, when I was at UK we pretty much were forced to buy our books from Kennedy's Book Store. It was a total racket and made me so angry every semester, both when I purchased the books and when I sold them back.

It's a rip off when you buy from the books store, and also a rip off when you try to sell your books at the end of the semester. The past couple of years we've had a great person preparing our taxes. We've received several good tips on deductions for college.

At the risk of sounding like an old fart, when I was at UK we pretty much were forced to buy our books from Kennedy's Book Store. It was a total racket and made me so angry every semester, both when I purchased the books and when I sold them back.

 

I know a little bit about the book industry due to my prior work experience in addition to some independent research. It's a huge scam.

While we're on the topic, here is a link to a site that has most, if not all, books for the University of Kentucky. I think it'll even take you to Amazon.com, where you can buy the books.

 

http://www.uk4rent.com/FALL.HTML

 

I'd check amazon.com & half.com to see which one has better prices.

And of course, when you sell them back, you'll pull in a whopping $150 bucks.

 

I wish you got $150 back when you sell them at Morehead. I got about 27 dollars last semester, and I had books for 6 classes. :cry:

This topic really strikes a nerve with me. The college book industry is the BIGGEST RACKET in the U.S. I have said for years that there really needs to be some kind of congressional oversight. I would love to see some of the offenders in this industry to have to go through congressional hearings to justify these prices. I remember paying $85.00 for a Stat book that I was required to buy and there was no used copies...when I went to sale it back I was informed that they were going from my 7th edition to the 8th edition for the next term. They did me a "favor" and offered me $1.00 for it. I ripped it to shreads and through it all over the store. I still cant believe this racket is allowed to continue in this country.

This topic really strikes a nerve with me. The college book industry is the BIGGEST RACKET in the U.S. I have said for years that there really needs to be some kind of congressional oversight. I would love to see some of the offenders in this industry to have to go through congressional hearings to justify these prices. I remember paying $85.00 for a Stat book that I was required to buy and there was no used copies...when I went to sale it back I was informed that they were going from my 7th edition to the 8th edition for the next term. They did me a "favor" and offered me $1.00 for it. I ripped it to shreads and through it all over the store. I still cant believe this racket is allowed to continue in this country.

 

 

My thinking is that as long as people are willing to pay the prices, they will continue to do what they do.

 

Maybe, people should stage boycotts at bookstores across the country. Again, as mentioned in this thread already, I've never had a book required that I couldn't buy online for a fraction of the cost. All around, boycotts would be a win, win (and a much deserved loss for the bookstores, of course!). The bookstores get taught a lesson, and the students get seriously reduced rates for their books.

If you buy from amazon.com and sell them back when you're done your net loss isn't really that bad, if there's any at all.

I've also heard of a place that rents out textbooks, but can't think of the name of the company. Anyone heard of this?

When I first started college in 2000, books seemed to have ran 300-400 a semester, and stayed around that till my JR year when I started getting my books offline and was only spending around 200.

I usually pay a good chunk, but do a lot of homework and never buy it from the bookstore. I search around E-Bay and then if you go to a site called campusbooks4less.com you type in your title and it goes through all the book sites and price compares them in order for you. It's saved me alot in the past. Just a little thing you find out when your paying for it all yourself and trying to stay out of loans lol.

Text books are a total rip off. Try sharing books with a friend or don't buy them at all. I once needed a Bio book which was very expensive and I had no money. The prof told me I could not pass the class without the book. Well I never bought it, borrowed it from a friend 1 night and got a B in the class.

 

Also bought an older edition of a psych book. The prof told me I would have to get the new edition because it was different. I didn't. The ONLY difference was the order of the chapters and a couple of paragraphs.

If you're wiling to do the work. For 5 cents per page, copying 2 pages at a time, you can copy a 500 page book for $12.50. My son does it all the time. He goes to Morehead. Thus far, all of his books have been available at the school library. He usually waits until he gets his syllabus then copies the chapters he needs.

 

I don't know if it is true or not, but I was told that state schools are required to have all textbooks available in the library.

I just bought all of mine, used, for 435 bucks..