The Price is Right
College required texts can cost much less online
Brittany Patterson
Issue date: 1/24/06 Section: Features
Hernandez said she's purchased books before using Cheapbooks.com but used Amazon.com this past semester because she felt more comfortable and safe using the site.
"The hardest part about buying your books online is that you have to trust the company with your personal information," Hernandez said.
With other Web sites, Hernandez said that you're not exactly sure whether or not they're secure. Sometimes you're uncomfortable giving away your personal information she said.
Hernandez admitted that sometimes you can find cheaper books on other Web sites other than Amazon, but she said that she knows that the site is secure.
Half.com and Amazon.com have an online forum for buying textbooks that gives buyers the capability to purchase textbooks through other people who have listed their products on the site. Both sites allow a buyer to browse the site, compare the price and condition of each textbook while looking at the reliability of a seller.
Finding textbooks online on the majority of these Web sites is done through the ISBN number on the back of all textbooks. While you can search for the title or author of a book, Half.com suggests on its site that each textbook buyer should have the ISBN number of each textbook they need for their classes. This ensures that the books students buy are the exact texts that their professor requires. Without the ISBN number, the company warns that a student could accidentally order the wrong edition of a book.
The first step into finding the ISBN number is finding out what books are needed for each class. On the SHSU Web site, a student can find a list of the books required for their classes under the SamWeb menu. Clicking on "book list" under SamWeb, a student can type in their class identification number and a list of the books they need, including the ISBN number, will be listed for each particular class.
Doing a Google search online for "textbooks" will also reveal a variety of choices in which Web sites are available to buy textbooks from. Some students, like Christy Hernandez, are more comfortable with certain sites because they are familiar with them and are used to doing business with them. Valerie Bell and others like herself are hoping to try and find their perfect textbook site, but for now, Bell hopes purchasing her textbooks online may help lead to a solution to the bigger problem.
"If more people start buying books from the Internet, than maybe local book stores will be forced to lower their prices," Bell said.
"The hardest part about buying your books online is that you have to trust the company with your personal information," Hernandez said.
With other Web sites, Hernandez said that you're not exactly sure whether or not they're secure. Sometimes you're uncomfortable giving away your personal information she said.
Hernandez admitted that sometimes you can find cheaper books on other Web sites other than Amazon, but she said that she knows that the site is secure.
Half.com and Amazon.com have an online forum for buying textbooks that gives buyers the capability to purchase textbooks through other people who have listed their products on the site. Both sites allow a buyer to browse the site, compare the price and condition of each textbook while looking at the reliability of a seller.
Finding textbooks online on the majority of these Web sites is done through the ISBN number on the back of all textbooks. While you can search for the title or author of a book, Half.com suggests on its site that each textbook buyer should have the ISBN number of each textbook they need for their classes. This ensures that the books students buy are the exact texts that their professor requires. Without the ISBN number, the company warns that a student could accidentally order the wrong edition of a book.
The first step into finding the ISBN number is finding out what books are needed for each class. On the SHSU Web site, a student can find a list of the books required for their classes under the SamWeb menu. Clicking on "book list" under SamWeb, a student can type in their class identification number and a list of the books they need, including the ISBN number, will be listed for each particular class.
Doing a Google search online for "textbooks" will also reveal a variety of choices in which Web sites are available to buy textbooks from. Some students, like Christy Hernandez, are more comfortable with certain sites because they are familiar with them and are used to doing business with them. Valerie Bell and others like herself are hoping to try and find their perfect textbook site, but for now, Bell hopes purchasing her textbooks online may help lead to a solution to the bigger problem.
"If more people start buying books from the Internet, than maybe local book stores will be forced to lower their prices," Bell said.