Textbooks: International Editions?

[emmpee]

Does anybody know any quasi-reliable websites that sell "International Edition" textbooks and ship to the US? So far I've found firstandsecond.com, which doesn't have one of the books I need, and http://www.123textbooks.com, which seems a little sketchy and a little slow on the shipping.

For those who aren't aware, these textbooks are softcover editions with no color illustrations and somewhat lower-quality paper that are generally sold in East Asia for pennies on the dollar compared to US textbooks. They are identical page-for-page with the American versions.

For example:
US Version: $104.84
International Edition: $5.38

 

[emmpee]

anybody know?

 

[ai42]

Check out Amazon (used/for sale by other buyers) and half.com you'll find tons of ISE (International Student Editions) etc. For many books it is very difficult to find US edition books.

 

[Jassi]

www.amazon.co.uk was a legit site that sold the International editions 4 years ago. I bought a physics bok for $60 less than the bookstore and the only difference was that my version had an international label and had more chapters (extended version). It was also printed in the States but was cheaper in the UK because their government and schools actually care about their students.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

www.rseterminal.com is the one I use. I bought two books on two seperate occasions from there and they have been nothing but helpful.

 

[Paulson]

Just get them off ebay....

 

[Compton]

I got my int'l books off half.com. Saved $80 over what my bookstore was charging for one book.

I found some websites in India that sell the books for really cheap. But they said the shipping was sea mail only. I wasn't willing to wait that long. And I was also hesitant to give them my CC#.

 

[yourdeardaniel]

i hate international editions.

 

[compnovice]

Isn't " Not for sale in North America" explicitly mentioned in those editions?

 

[GregGreen]

try addall.com
searches about 15 sites for the cheapest deal on textbooks
several of the sites it searches are based outside the us too

 

[Whitecloak]

Originally posted by: Compton
I got my int'l books off half.com. Saved $80 over what my bookstore was charging for one book.

I found some websites in India that sell the books for really cheap. But they said the shipping was sea mail only. I wasn't willing to wait that long. And I was also hesitant to give them my CC#.

The Indian editions are not supposed to be sold outside the sub-continent. The reason being that the textbooks are subsidized to account for the disparity in purchasing power and the exchange rate.

 

[poncherelli2]

do international editions have the same isbn number and will my college bookstore buy the book at the end of the year?

 

[Keego]

Originally posted by: poncherelli2
do international editions have the same isbn number and will my college bookstore buy the book at the end of the year?

Sometimes the sellers use the US ISBN's to attract sales.

No way in hell will your bookstore buy it back. It's illegal for you to buy it by the way

 

[poncherelli2]

hmm, so it might not be in my best interest to buy these editions. If I pay a little more up front I'll have a gaurunteed buyback at the end of the year and no hassle of selling/shipping online or anything.

 

[yukichigai]

Amazon and eBay are the two places I get 'em from. Beats the CRAP out of the university bookstore. F%$# them.

It is not illegal to buy international editions from private parties. Read that last part: private parties. Amazon itself couldn't sell you the international edition, but a secondhand reseller is allowed to. There's a few Supreme Court rulings on the topic.

You may be able to sell it back, but you may not. It varies from university to university.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: compnovice
Isn't " Not for sale in North America" explicitly mentioned in those editions?

Aren't ethics and fair business practices taught in schools anymore?

 

[Deeko]

half.com

 

[baoytl]

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: compnovice
Isn't " Not for sale in North America" explicitly mentioned in those editions?

Isn't ethics and fair business practices taught in schools anymore?

Isn't that directed more to the seller than to the buyer?

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: baoytl
Isn't that diredted more to the seller than the buyer?

Bingo.

Legally, at least what I was able to figure out from the rulings I read, the publishers can only dictate what the primary resellers can do, not what subsequent secondhand resellers do.

I find it disturbing that for $40 -- that's after $20 shipping -- I can buy something identical content-wise to the book I'm being asked to pay ~$200 for in the Uni bookstore.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: yukichigai

Originally posted by: baoytl
Isn't that diredted more to the seller than the buyer?

Bingo.

Legally, at least what I was able to figure out from the rulings I read, the publishers can only dictate what the primary resellers can do, not what subsequent secondhand resellers do.

I find it disturbing that for $40 -- that's after $20 shipping -- I can buy something identical content-wise to the book I'm being asked to pay ~$200 for in the Uni bookstore.

Yup, McGraw Hill and other publishers have a rather cozy busy relationship with universities so they can extort the greatest ammount of money while giving the student bookstores a sizable percentage.

That would be the equivalent of your employer telling you that you had to have a particular laptop for work that they only sold and it cost 5 grand, meanwhile you can get the same notebook with a different sticker on it online for $800.

 

[habib89]

Originally posted by: GregGreen
try addall.com
searches about 15 sites for the cheapest deal on textbooks
several of the sites it searches are based outside the us too

yes, use addall... it's the best site i've ever used for text book hot deal searching

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: compnovice
Isn't " Not for sale in North America" explicitly mentioned in those editions?

Aren't ethics and fair business practices taught in schools anymore?

It's neither ethical nor fair business practice to buy an international edition textbook.

That's why I do it.

 

[StevenYoo]

amazon.co.uk!

that's where i get mine.

it just takes an eternity to ship

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

www.half.com.

you can buy brand new there too =)