It's time to order my textbooks. When I register for my classes, I then go into the Granite State College sponsored retail textbook website and look at which textbook(s) I will need. I then take the ISBN number and see if my library can get a copy of it. (This has only happened 2 times in all 12 classes I have taken, but to me it is worth it and you'll see why in a moment.) If the library has the title I need then I can "rent" it from them. Even though my local library has very generous borrowing terms, it seems I incur a late charge of $0.10/day. So let's say I borrow the book for the first 3 weeks at no charge. Then I renew it, again at no charge. Usually my classes are 8 - 12 weeks, so I still need to "borrow" the book until the end of my class so I will end up incurring a late fee for the duration of the class. The most I will pay is $6.00 for the semester. See what I mean by "renting?"
If my library does not or cannot get the copy I need then I go back to the web and begin my hunt....I mean my search. First, I Google the ISBN. Then I look to the large distributors, like Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. One, if not both, are bound to have the title. This is an intense process and I am prone to being very vocal about it; "Oh My God!," "They want how much for this book?!" "They must be crazy!" "(Insert name of large online distributor here,) has it for half that cost," "Can you believe these guys?", "This is such a racket!" So on and so on. My family has been very good to me during my textbook hunting process. They say supportive things like, "I know," or "You are so good at that, I'm sure you will find something," and "No I don't know what they are thinking," all whilst I furiously type upon my keyboard. Eventually I level my sights on an item and go in for the.....sale.
Now I have been around long enough to know that for every bargain there is usually a trade-off. In this case it is the gamble of the shipping. The big named online bargain centers sometimes cannot guarantee shipment of your textbooks, as they are not responsible for the 3rd party vendors who use their site. That has nipped me more than once. But like I said it is a gamble, you might win big, (like getting a used, good conditioned book with a 60% savings). Or you could suffer the consequences of the gamble and not have a textbook when classes start, (3 weeks was longest I had to suffer).
The name of the game is keeping money in my wallet and out of somebody else's. This semester I am trying out a new method of receiving my textbooks; electronically delivered on to my computer. It's all the rage what with the host of electronic reading devices that are on the market touting the convenience of the portable gadgets. To me it was the convenience of saving 30% off retail and no shipping that gave me pause. I got my textbooks the same day. Now I have no excuse for not being up to date with class readings -- like I said before -- trade-offs.
If my library does not or cannot get the copy I need then I go back to the web and begin my hunt....I mean my search. First, I Google the ISBN. Then I look to the large distributors, like Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. One, if not both, are bound to have the title. This is an intense process and I am prone to being very vocal about it; "Oh My God!," "They want how much for this book?!" "They must be crazy!" "(Insert name of large online distributor here,) has it for half that cost," "Can you believe these guys?", "This is such a racket!" So on and so on. My family has been very good to me during my textbook hunting process. They say supportive things like, "I know," or "You are so good at that, I'm sure you will find something," and "No I don't know what they are thinking," all whilst I furiously type upon my keyboard. Eventually I level my sights on an item and go in for the.....sale.
Now I have been around long enough to know that for every bargain there is usually a trade-off. In this case it is the gamble of the shipping. The big named online bargain centers sometimes cannot guarantee shipment of your textbooks, as they are not responsible for the 3rd party vendors who use their site. That has nipped me more than once. But like I said it is a gamble, you might win big, (like getting a used, good conditioned book with a 60% savings). Or you could suffer the consequences of the gamble and not have a textbook when classes start, (3 weeks was longest I had to suffer).
The name of the game is keeping money in my wallet and out of somebody else's. This semester I am trying out a new method of receiving my textbooks; electronically delivered on to my computer. It's all the rage what with the host of electronic reading devices that are on the market touting the convenience of the portable gadgets. To me it was the convenience of saving 30% off retail and no shipping that gave me pause. I got my textbooks the same day. Now I have no excuse for not being up to date with class readings -- like I said before -- trade-offs.
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