THE STUDENT GUIDE TO TEXTBOOK SHOPPING

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1 Thanks to everyone for sharing your recommendations and experiences with us about where you buy your textbooks and where you ve managed to get the best value. The official UNE supplier is United Campus Bookshop ( and make sure you also check out the Secondhand Bookshop run by Services UNE - you can sell your used Texts there as well ( bookshop.php). One thing to remember is to search by the ISBN not the book title - you don't want to get caught out with the wrong edition! Shop name / website: Abbey s AUS m.au/ Abe Books com/ Store profile page: abbeys/about.do ooks/companyinformation/ Student experience and recommendations : I like Abbeys Bookshop in Sydney they can be expensive but they have a frequent buyer program that if you spend a lot on books you get money off purchases every 6 months. They also have a bargain basement online which has some really cheap books - they are seconds or previous editions but I have never had a problem with them. One book I bought was $120 and 2 week delivery from NSW and $22 delivered in a week from the UK, excellent condition and recent edition. I saved on average $200 on a $300 book list. Abebooks online, abebooks is secondhand and really cheap but they come from different places so postage time varies

2 Amazon USA m/ ef=gw_m_b_corpres?ie=utf 8&node= Amazon which even beat Fishpond for price by $15 (advantage of an Aussie dollar at near- parity with the greenback). For those hard to find books, often Amazon has them. Great for buying books at the moment considering the great exchange rate between the AUD and the Greenback. Berkelouw AUS au/ Better World Books USA dbooks.com/ out s.com/info.aspx Berkelouw Books in OZ cheaper for others. Berkelouw posts orders over $49 free, under $49, postage is reasonable I found a website called better world books. They have both new and second- hand textbooks. I have only used them once - the book arrived (and it was really cheap!!) Better World Books is great for second hand textbooks, $3.97 postage world wide...and you're supporting literacy programmes in developing nations :)

3 The Book Depository - UK itory.co.uk/ co.uk/aboutus#helpcontent I get a lot of books from uk. They are based in the UK but have free postage to Australia. Turnaround time is pretty good too. I ve found this UK site to be the cheapest by far, and it has free shipping worldwide! Fantastic find!! Book Depository is by far the cheapest and almost as quick as postage in Australia, so if I can get books there I do. Have found the Book Depository good for some texts As others have said the Book Depository in the UK delivers free to Australia and is LOADS cheaper than here. I saved $30 off a hard to find text last year and this year bought several philosophy texts for under $10 each. FREE to anywhere around the world. Each book comes in its own bubble- wrap pack. Books very well priced. A couple of the students in ENGL101 last semester put us onto it. Delivery usually within one week. I ordered Legal Language from there. It was at least $5.00 cheaper AND I didn't have to pay for shipping! :) I have bought from them too, delivery was about two weeks. But SOOO cheap. The book depository online, Book depository is great if you can wait the two weeks it takes for (free)

4 delivery. I check prices first on booko.com.au Usually bookdepository.co.uk Free postage and quick delivery. The book depository... Way cheaper than the campus book shop... And free shipping. =] I go with Booko and usually end up buying from book depository or coop bookshop...depending on who's cheapest...usually with no delivery charge too. The book depository or the Co- Op bookshop. And will never use Fishpond again! Definitely the Book Depository - Booko is fantastic for comparing prices.

5 Booko AUS Hi all - I can t recommend enough to look at They have everything listed and it checks for the current prices (inc postage) against all the big cheap companies such as book depository and amazon in both UK and US plus Australian companies to make sure you always get the best prices! Have found booko to be excellent. Best thing is that they are brokers and will list the various sources and compare prices, also availability. If you google booko - it will give you the cheapest online place to buy them. I check prices first on booko.com.au Definitely always go to before I go anywhere else to look. Always cheaper than the UNE bookstore. Always. Booko is great for comparing prices at different online booksellers Booko all the way! Oh and sharing with friends when possible. Text book savings at then spent on bubbles and more books of course. I go with Booko and usually end up buying from book depository or coop bookshop...depending on who's cheapest...usually with no delivery charge too. Booko is fantastic for comparing prices.

6 Booktopia AUS com.au/ Boomerang Books AUS gbooks.com.au/ oks.com.au/content/main/ab out- us.shtml Booktopia do some good deals, and in you are a distant student based in Sydney they let you pick up for free from Lane Cove Boomerang Books are also good, and very green - an online carbon neutral bookstore! The Co- op Bookshop AUS bookshop.com.au/ bookshop.com.au/bookshop/ html/about_us.html I ve also registered as a member of the Co- op Bookshop so I get a discount, they are fast to supply, but as with anywhere the earlier you can order the earlier you ll get your books. I have done other degrees and at present finishing my law degree at UNE. I will not waste time trying to get text. I order them and get them over the phone directly from Co- op Law Book shop in Phillip St Sydney. Never have a problem looked after always. Try Griffith University co- op, got mine there cheaper, quicker, postage free. I can't go past the Coop, $20 to become a member and saved much more than that in member discounts, and fast, free postage! I order online with the Coop too. This semester I got next day delivery of my entire order. I'm very happy with them. I go with Booko and usually end up buying from book depository or coop bookshop...depending on who's cheapest...usually with no delivery charge too.

7 ebay - www au/ I have found a lot of my textbooks on ebay. A lot of people are selling current and previous editions of textbooks that I have needed.

8 Fishpond AUS om.au /about_us.php has heaps of books on it and I have been able to find a lot of my texts at up to 50% off (brand new, current edition). Their range is getting bigger all of the time, and if you spend over $50 in one transaction (one textbook!), you get free postage. I am a regular Fishpond user! They are VERY quick with their delivery, and even send your books separately if they are waiting on one to arrive in stock with no extra charge. As most texts are usually over $50, postage is free!! I can vouch for Fishpond as well. Though one particular textbook took over a month to arrive so don t delay. You do lose speedy delivery for some books in return for rock- bottom prices. I always buy my books from Fishpond. Because most uni textbooks are over $49, you can be assured free postage with Fishpond. Love their service and have never had any problems with getting the books a lot cheaper than at retail bookstores. Normally fishpond has come up the cheapest and often there is free delivery. Always good to look and work out how much you need to spend to get free delivery. The book depository or the Co- Op bookshop. And will never use Fishpond again!

9 QDB - AUS u/ tent/faq.htm Have bought most of my books from qbd. Need to know at least 3 weeks in advance of textbook list though to make sure they arrive in time. I purchased an optional text from QBD and their service was great. Seek Books - AUS com.au/ Textbook exchange AUS ge.com.au/ au/aboutus.asp m.au/content.php/103.html Shop around is all I can say- I ve bought a lot from Fishpond, a few fromhttp:// and some out of print editions from alibris.com but their postage is crippling. Have bought 90% of my textbooks from textbook exchange for the last couple of years - I can t speak highly enough of it - it s saved me a fortune! I use a variety of services for texts. I ve been a loyal user of textbookexchange.com.au since I began my degree, and may I say, the more students who participate the better it is. I've also found an out- of- print book via the bookexchange.

10 United Campus Bookshop AUS / t_us.htm If you can t get it at the UNE bookshop (new books), try Griffith University co- op, got mine there cheaper, quicker, postage free. UNE had messed me around for over 3 weeks, got it in days from Griffith, who had 76 copies. I m only a first year this year - I bought my books through UNE second hand bookshop and the ones I couldn t get through there I bought from the main UNE bookshop. Make sure you get in early to the UNE bookshop - I ordered my books 3 weeks before semester started and had mine in plenty of time - but those ordering within a week of semester starting were waiting about 4 weeks for their books. United Campus Bookshop. Have never had a problem and prompt delivery too. I always check prices with the une bookshop before I make any decisions. :) Waterstones U.K. es.com/waterstoneswe b/ m/waterstonesweb/pages/ab out- waterstones/ /?na v=footer&linkid=about%20u s I can say the WORST was Waterstones in the UK. Their postage is overpriced and when they say a book will take 7 weeks maximum to arrive in the post they then change their minds and say 12 and refuse to look into it until you threaten further action.