Knowing what textbooks are required for your classes before the start of the semester is perhaps the most important thing you need to do in order to get a deal. Depending on your professor this can be difficult, many professors use the same books semester after semester, but others wait until the last minute in order to choose a book for their class.
Your best bet for finding out the required book for your class is to email your professor (try searching the professor’s name in a search engine like Google, this way you can get your prof’s email) and to ask them. In some cases you may have to send an email a few times, as many professors are reluctant to answer student emails from students they do not yet know. You should take care not to alienate the professor – remember to stay calm and polite.
Another option, one that often works, is to find a student who had this class during the past semester or the past year, and inquire from them. One word of warning, make sure that the student had the same class from the same professor, because different professors use different books, even if they are teaching the same class. This can have another advantage: you can try to buy the old textbook directly from the student, and avoid having to order it online.
Once you are aware of the textbooks you need for class your next step is to find a deal on the textbook. To do this I always recommend going to a textbook price comparison site and looking up the book there. Once you are able to locate the book at an acceptable price to you all that remains is to order it, and await its arrival.
