Has anyone ever bought used books from Amazon?

I'm taking a Psych class this spring and I know which book to get - so I decided to get it for cheap and go the used route from Amazon.

The book is normally $91 but there's a private seller (firstclassbooks) who is selling a brand new copy of it for only $35.

First of all, is there any recourse for returns? Second, has anyone ever done business with this seller? Problems? Thanks.

EDIT: I'll be using my Amex Blue card, so if they don't ship out the right edition or something, I guess I can always dispute the charge...and I'll be using private payments.
 

Savarak

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2001
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I *SELL* my used textbooks at Amazon... I've always had a good experience with doing it... Its WAAY better than selling back old books to the school bookstore
 

amnesiac

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
15,781
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I've bought books from Half.com and Amazon sellers a few times with no problems. Just look for sellers with high feedback ratings.

And the edition should be clearly marked in the description. If it isn't, look somewhere else. if the price is too good to be true, it's probably outdated.
 

It's definitely the correct edition - it says in the seller's description that it's the 5th edition, which is what I need - I'm just wondering if people often have trouble with them sending out books that don't match the description.
 

ChinamanatNCSU

Golden Member
Nov 15, 2001
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They've usually been pretty good about sending out the correct edition. However, sometimes its the correct edition, but its different from the norm- for example, I've got a textbook that was paperback cover when I was expecting a hardcover. The seller didn't mention it, and it was cheaper by far, so I didn't care. I've also gotten a book with "RESTRICTED - Not for sale in North America" printed on the cover. But it was the same exact textbook as my roommate's so again I didn't care.

To summarize, the book might look different, but in every case in my experience its still the correct edition.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,675
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www.neftastic.com
Yes, I picked up an 8th ed philosophy book (current class ed was 9th, but the teach didn't care) from the used section. Instread of paying $120 new, I picked one up for about $18 shipped, the only deal is you get highlighter and pen underline and some margin notes (which are useful anyway). Saves you money for the more important things at college, like beer.
 

Originally posted by: SunnyD
Yes, I picked up an 8th ed philosophy book (current class ed was 9th, but the teach didn't care) from the used section. Instread of paying $120 new, I picked one up for about $18 shipped, the only deal is you get highlighter and pen underline and some margin notes (which are useful anyway). Saves you money for the more important things at college, like beer.

Isn't it sweet! I feel like I'm more intelligent than all those people (like I used to do) who spend hundreds at the book store...whereas I only spend about a hundred.