Before You Buy Books, Stop and Compare

September 10th, 2008

Hold up! Just because classes are starting and reading lists are hitting you left and right, doesn’t mean you should head to the bookstore right now to buy every single book your professor mentioned. As upperclassmen already know, it’s not unusual for a prof or instructor to change the booklist midway through a course, leaving you stuck with an obscure publication on Austrian philosophy in the process. Your best bet is to ask your professor what books you absolutely need the first month and pick up the rest as you need them.

Don’t settle for your high-price campus bookstore or stoop to downloading materials with P2P (peer-to-peer) file sharing networks either. There are plenty of alternative ways to get the books you need for the prices you can afford, the only trouble is deciding amongst them. Enter DealOz (www.dealoz.com). Formerly known as CampusI, DealOz is an easy-to-use service for comparing the price and shipping options for tons of booksellers online. Enter the title, ISBN, keyword, or author name, and DealOz will return a list of sites that offer the book as well as the rates that they charge for shipping and the book price itself. DealOz will even give estimates on shipping times and alert you if any coupons are available — both must-haves if you’re short on time and/or money.

The perks don’t stop there either, with DealOz offering to send you e-mail alerts when a bookseller offers your ideal preset price and the ability to compare bookbuying options via text message. I test drove the service, searching for a not-exactly well-known book on Korean cinema that I had purchased for full-price when I was in college, and sure enough DealOz gave me the info and coupon code I’d need to get the same edition for six dollars less on Half.com. With no need to sign-up (the site directly links you to the bookseller when you want to order) and no additional fees, DealOz seems like a great deal for your college book needs.

– Genevieve M. Blaber

Entry Filed under: Budgeting,General,School Tools