Why do people list their numbers like this on CL?

[Gnorga]

Ha ha!! Well no wonder!! My daughter and I were looking for used college texts in the BOOKS section, not the personal ads.

that's probably a good thing

[abond0017]

Ha ha!! Well no wonder!! My daughter and I were looking for used college texts in the BOOKS section, not the personal ads.

I know this isn't quite on topic, but I just wanted to suggest Chegg.com as a good alternative in some cases for finding books. You only rent them for the semester so that helps keep cost down. When I was in college, I either bought them off other students, did amazon, or Chegg. It really depended on the book as to which way ended up being cheaper. So I'd do a price compare for each and every book.

[clippyclippy]

I know this isn't quite on topic, but I just wanted to suggest Chegg.com as a good alternative in some cases for finding books. You only rent them for the semester so that helps keep cost down. When I was in college, I either bought them off other students, did amazon, or Chegg. It really depended on the book as to which way ended up being cheaper. So I'd do a price compare for each and every book.

Oh yes! Chegg is awesome! My dd has used them several times. The cost of renting is usually cheaper than buying new and selling at the end of the semester.

[3timesoccermom]

I welcome the info abond (& clippyclippy) - thanks. Just last night I did a search on text rentals and thought "oh geez, which one of these is going to be the best route?" There were so many - but I've also heard Chegg recommended from my SIL.

We did rent a text for spring 2011 - can't remember which rental place it was though. There was some fine print I hadn't been aware of - that we had to return the book via a UPS place instead of being able to put it in the mail box - but it worked out ok.

But speaking of books here's what makes me very irritable. The profs know in advance what texts, equipment, etc., they are going to require for their class. A few thoughtful ones will put this info in the syllabus so you can get started on acquiring the materials as soon as you snag the class. HOWEVER, most of them don't bother - so in many cases you don't know until you start going to class exactly what is required then it's a mad scramble to get those supplies ASAP so you don't get behind.

And we found out in my daughter's freshman year that even though the (grossly overpriced, ridiculously unhelpful) bookstore lists what is "required" for the classes some of the profs don't use what the bookstore lists for their class. What is up with that???? Where is the communication? Is it so hard to make the information available to the student(s) so they can show up for class prepared??

Even writing the profs isn't always helpful - some don't bother to reply.

[clippyclippy]

I welcome the info abond (& clippyclippy) - thanks. Just last night I did a search on text rentals and thought "oh geez, which one of these is going to be the best route?" There were so many - but I've also heard Chegg recommended from my SIL.

We did rent a text for spring 2011 - can't remember which rental place it was though. There was some fine print I hadn't been aware of - that we had to return the book via a UPS place instead of being able to put it in the mail box - but it worked out ok.

But speaking of books here's what makes me very irritable. The profs know in advance what texts, equipment, etc., they are going to require for their class. A few thoughtful ones will put this info in the syllabus so you can get started on acquiring the materials as soon as you snag the class. HOWEVER, most of them don't bother - so in many cases you don't know until you start going to class exactly what is required then it's a mad scramble to get those supplies ASAP so you don't get behind.

And we found out in my daughter's freshman year that even though the (grossly overpriced, ridiculously unhelpful) bookstore lists what is "required" for the classes some of the profs don't use what the bookstore lists for their class. What is up with that???? Where is the communication? Is it so hard to make the information available to the student(s) so they can show up for class prepared??

Even writing the profs isn't always helpful - some don't bother to reply.

How frustrating!
I guess I can be thankful that hasn't been the case for us yet...

So far she's been able to get all her books well in advance of the classes
I'm also blessed with having birthed a chip off my old block, so she's spent quite a bit of time seeking out the best deals. Chegg wasn't always the best choice, but we've been very happy with what we did order from them. They make returns very easy and it's actually more convenient for me to drop the box at a package store than to go to the PO, so that was fine with me.

[mom2Isaac]

I had posted an ad a lonnnnggg time ago (I was selling some of my son's old toys!!!) and put my number in it. Learned my lesson the hard way when I started getting weird phone calls... Lol!