Uni Text Books - SO EXPENSIVE!!! (1 Viewer)

DeanM

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hey everyone... i was just looking at my list of text books that i needed for the 1st semester, and they are sooo damn expensive if u buy them from the uni shop!!! close to 400$
my question: is there a place at the uni where u can buy 'cheaper textbooks' like 2nd hand ones ? cause come 2nd semester i will no longer need these ones and it would seem like a waste of money spending 400$ on them... thanks
 

DeanM

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thanks mate. If WUSA dont have the text book will i just have to buy the brand new one from the uni shop ?
 

iamsickofyear12

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You might also want to wait until a couple weeks into session and see if you actually need the textbook. A lot of times the notes are posted on WebCT. You might still need the textbook for tutorial exercises but maybe not.

Last session I didn't buy one of the textbooks I needed because the unishop didn't have it and I couldn't be bothered ordering it. It didn't effect my results at all. But 1 of my subjects I used the textbook constantly.
 

jm1234567890

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DeanM said:
thanks mate. If WUSA dont have the text book will i just have to buy the brand new one from the uni shop ?
yep. also, don't forget to use your WUSA discount card.
 

Scanorama

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The uni library also have copies of most, if not all of the textbooks. I only bought one textbook last session, but I didn't really use it that much.
 
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Depending on the specific books you need, you may also have luck with the co-op bookshop (http://www.coop-bookshop.com.au/), or even just around the net in general. That said, be careful when comparing prices because the co-op is only cheaper sometimes, same with other sites.

I ordered a lot of my textbooks a few sessions ago from a place called "Everything Linux" or something similarly gay from the Internet, and each book was about $20 - $40 cheaper than in the bookshop (Which was fortunate, because the bookshop dropped the ball and didn't even have said books available till halfway through session). Other times I've tried to do it and it just works out cheaper to buy straight from the Uni.

Oh yeah, welcome to uni, expensive textbooks are just the beginning ;)
 

santaslayer

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Or you can always opt for continuous borrowing from the library.
Photocopying only relavent pages from a borrowed text is also a fine option.

I've never done it myself since it's a heck of a lot of effort.
 

18Googol2

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My choice is Textbookexchange.com.au, searching in some student forum, notice board or eBay if the book is compulsory, otherwise you can share with your schoolmates, borrow from the school lib, Caval or read nothing at all =).

Its undeniable that the texts are damn expensive. I cant afford to buy brand new ones.
 

Raiks

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I just pay the money... and then put them on my bookshelf, because I always tend to refer back to them for other subjects when doing essays. It reduces risk of getting busted for plagarism, because everyone uses the prescribed book, giving references from other books looks like you've made an effort.
 

pickle2005

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I had no idea that WUSA even existed, and I bought 2 textbooks the other day from Unishop. Does anyone know if you can return books to the unishop, one came in plastic and I havent unwrapped it yet.
 

acullen

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For Mechanics and Thermodynamics (single subject), there are 2 books I need; both happen to cost $140.... yay $280 for one subject. Already spent $168 on the Modern Physics text, so that's $448 for 2 subjects, and there's another 2 to buy for.
 
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powerhouse said:
mine add up to $750
That sounds extreme, now might be a good time to note that some subjects will list many texts, but not expect you to purchase them all. Many will provide multiple books with similar content, and will explain later on that any of these books will roughly do, or suggest that one should be used primarily, with the others being utilised to clarify points further.

That said, if you really *need* all those books, ouch.
 

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