CampusBooks.com Blog

Good News for Grads!

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:32:04 +0000

Some further news that the economy is slowly but surely taking a turn for the better: Jobs are growing and entry-level positions are coming back fast and the demographic reaping the greatest benefit is that of those ages 20-24 with four-year college degrees!

If you're graduating this spring, word on the street is not to take a summer vacation until after you secure employment. Yep, that's how competitive it is. Other advice from experts: don't say no to foot-in-the-door positions, contact everyone and anyone you or your family knows and who might have a lead, be prepared to work hard and be creative. More on College Grads Can Expect More Hiring for Entry-Level Spots.

iPads vs. Textbooks: The Cost Gap Remains Wide

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:06:06 +0000

When technology is new or in the early stages, the price is high, often prohibitively so. But other factors come into play, factors such as longevity, scalability, flexibility, advanced features not found elsewhere, and even design. Since Apple announced iBooks2 with an emphasis on academic titles and classrooms, there's been no shortage of debate about what it would take for the iPad to replace the print textbook. Well, it depends how much emphasis one puts on the tangible and intangible, the short term and the long. Discovery has come up with their assessment and given us a nice visual to help translate costs. Right now, at least according to their assessment, it seems difficult to justify iPads as a cost-realistic textbook replacement -- no matter how rich in features.

CampusBooks.com Recognized by College.com as #1 Textbook Website, Receives “Top Choice” Award

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:36:45 +0000

CampusBooks.com has been selected by College.com as the recipient of the Top Choice Award for Textbook Websites. Recognized for its reliability and usability, CampusBooks.com was pitted against a host of popular sites and rated as the number-one resource for students' book-buying, selling, and renting needs. As College.com recommends only the highest quality of resources, being named a Top Choice places CampusBooks.com on an exclusive list of trusted student tools for higher education.

College.com's team of highly educated, vastly experienced, and well-networked industry professionals endorses the best and most useful resources and tools in higher education. The Top Choice Awards come from a combination of extensive research and statistics reviewed by one of the most well-respected education brands on the Internet. In naming us the Top Choice Award winner, College.com gives CampusBooks.com their coveted stamp of approval.

In its selection of CampusBooks.com as Top Choice of Textbook Websites, College.com says the following:

“CampusBooks.com is a great online textbook service that will assist you when you're looking to buy or rent inexpensive, but good-quality books. Not only can you purchase and rent books, but CampusBooks.com also has a buyback program where you can sell your books, at the best price possible by comparing other services' buyback rates. CampusBooks.com also has a mobile application for iPhone and Android, making CampusBooks accessible from whereever you are, as well as having a GPS system that will show you local bookstores and libraries that have the books you are looking for! CampusBooks.com belongs at the top of our list, because they are reliable, fairly priced, and offer many services that other textbook websites aren't equipped with yet.”

In response, we here at CampusBooks.com say: Many thanks to College.com for the honor, we're delighted to be recognized by a such an important site as it means that we're succeeding in our mission to help students afford and obtain the textbooks that they need without paying unnecessary and exorbitant fees. College costs plenty and we can't do much about that, but textbooks? We've got that covered and we're happy to help. Oh, one more thing! Of the other nine textbook websites on the list? Eight of them are included in our search results, which means that we'll do the price comparison for you and you don't have to waste time site hopping.

Introducing GradeFund!

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:57:16 +0000

We already know that you're savings savvy when it comes to college expenses. After all, that's why you've chosen CampusBooks.com for buying textbooks at the lowest prices and selling them for the most cash back.

Given your knack for making the most of your university buck, we wanted to let you know about our newest tool for lowering college costs: GradeFund, the leading community-based approach to financing higher education by encouraging and rewarding good grades.

It's free, easy, and earns you money for college for what you're already doing, getting good grades. Head over to the GradeFund website to sign up or enter one of the many lucrative contests where your experience can earn cash for college!

SPECIAL WELCOME BONUS FOR CAMPUSBOOKS.COM USERS: Get instant GradeFund points & more: Answer a simple question and you'll automatically bank 25 GradeFund points and be entered to win a $250 scholarship!

A Deal Too Good Not to Share!

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:07:03 +0000

Obviously we at CampusBooks.com love getting more stuff for less cash. It's not just textbooks that we think should be affordable, it's everything. And honestly, most stuff can be purchased at a discount if you know where to go and how to look for savings and apply them. We do, and we want you to as well.

That said, today we're passing on a sweet deal from CollegeBudget.com (think Groupon but with stuff that college students actually want and can use). Anyway, today's deal is awesome -- $25 for $50 worth of clothes and accessories in American Apparel stores. The best part is that while the deal is for in-store purchases, AA seems to understand that not every student in every college town has an American Apparel store nearby or transportation to a store a little farther away, so they've provided an online version of the deal. Well done, American Apparel and CollegeBudget.com, well done.

So what will you shop for? Us, well, it's the new year so that means shedding that holiday weight we gained and committing to getting back in shape. We'll be getting spring duds a size smaller than usual as incentive to drop those pounds in time for warmer weather.

Happy new year and enjoy your deal!

Time to Start Thinking Buyback

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:47:17 +0000

If you're like most college students, you think of end-of-term textbook buyback as a no-win time when you get screwed no matter when you sell your books and where. It seems like no one's ever buying back that $200 biology text you bought when the semester started, or if they are, they're paying a mere pittance of pennies on the dollar.

We can't make it so that you make a profit on your books, but we can help you time your selling to the campus bookstore or outside buyers so that you maximize what you get back. We'll have more tips as buyback approaches, but for now, we suggest starting here and building your strategies round these certainties and suggestions:

Grab the books you want to sell (don't forget any CDs or other components that came with the book when you purchased it), stack them so that the ISBNs are easy to read, and visit the CampusBooks.com selling tool ASAP. While the selling tool has always brought you the best buyback prices from all over the Web (including bookstores, individual buyers, and marketplaces) all on one page, we've recently added even more buyers. More buyers means more options, more competition for your books, higher values, and of course, less time you'll spend hopping sites. Let us do the comparisons and find you the best prices.

Got an iPhone or a Droid? Grab the CampusBooks.com Mobile App for Smartphones and save yourself the hand-keying. Use our app and your phone's camera to scan the barcodes on your textbooks and find the highest buyback values going. It's insanely easy and totally on the go.

Reminders and best practices:

The keys to getting the best buyback prices are acting early and being an informed seller (finding the best values and reading the terms of the deal). You also need to follow through. When you find a good price for your books, go for it! Secure the quote and pack and ship your books ASAP. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll get your money.
Take a gander at "Selling Back Books: A Few Simple Rules." These rules and tips and reality checks will help you get through finals and buyback without losing your mind. Follow these guidelines and you will be well served to maximize your cash back and keep your sanity.

Now you're armed with all the info you need to roll into buyback season well prepared and ready to maximize your return.

Running Late? Need Textbooks ASAP? Think eBooks!

admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:00:40 +0000

Not that college students are ever forgetful or prone to procrastinate (ahem), but sometimes things come up that make it so that classes have already started (or are about to start) and you still don't have the books you need. If you need the book right away, can't wait for shipping, or don't want to pay exorbitant rush fees, think eBooks. As soon as you make your purchase, you can download the textbook and read it immediately.

We make it easy for you to look just for eBooks and bypass new, used, international, rentals, and other conditions. It's easy, visit CampusBooks.com and enter your search terms. When you get your results, click the Compare Prices Now button next to the best match, then (in the left column) Refine Your Search to weed out anything you don't want. This makes isolating eBooks for immediate download a piece of cake!

Save Even More Using Coupons

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:05:15 +0000

It's no secret that CampusBooks.com can save you the most money when it comes to buying, renting, and downloading your textbooks. But something that does seem to be a little less known is that in addition to gathering all of the prices on the Web for books, we also gather all of the applicable coupons so that you can save even more. Alibris, College Book Renter, Campus Book Rentals, AbeBooks, eCampus, BookRenter, and so many more -- and we've got 'em all!

When booksellers and marketplaces we work with have promotions and specials and coupons, they tell us first and we make sure that you see the deals in your search results. You needn't go to any of those coupon sites and hunt for codes that may or may not work; we've already done the research and gathering and verifying for you so that what you see in our listings is the rock-bottom price and any and all bonus savings you can tack on. All you have to do is enter the code we present when you make your purchase.

So, the next time you use CampusBooks.com to find the best prices, look for the coupon icon followed by a note such as "Coupon: $5 Off $50+ -- Use Code SAVE" in the listing box. Click on See Details within the listing for even more information about extra savings and copy that code for use when you make your purchase.

From Classroom to Web to Web Classroom

admin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:09:22 +0000

Have you seen this infographic? It's absolutely amazing . . . and it raises questions, questions we'd love you to weigh in on.

How many of your classes remain traditional in-the-classroom physical courses for which you must be present?
Of those, how many regularly connect for presentations or after-class Web-based collaboration or interaction?
Do any of your professors still rely solely on the printed syllabi and handouts or are the syllabus and readings online?
And what of textbooks? Any online platforms your profs favor? Do any of your profs favor eBooks over print? Does Blackboard still reign supreme?
When was the tipping point for you and your education? Was there a point you can identify where things went digital and Web based?
What about social networking? Do any of your courses use groups, fora, rings, or other types of social networks?

Via: OnlineEducation.net

StudentOfFortune’s BIG Giveaway!

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 18:34:44 +0000

Our friends at StudentOfFortune.com, the online-tutoring site that has helped more than 500,000 students find homework help, is giving away a boss Nikon COOLPIX L24 camera EVERY DAY through May 31, 2011!

Entering is a snap, just visit the Get Focused on Homework Giveaway contest page, ask a homework question on the site, and you'll be entered in the contest. You'll get the academic help you need -- everything from chemistry help to math tutoring -- and be entered in the daily drawing.

If you want more chances to score that sweet COOLPIX, show some love via Twitter and Facebook and you'll receive additional entries. Don't forget the official Tweet: "Get homework help with @studentfortune and win a Nikon Coolpix camera! http://studentoffortune.com/focus-on-homework-help #nikon #giveaway."

Ask your questions and Tweet them every day for your chance to be StudentOfFortune.com's next winner. You could be shooting summer-vacation pictures with your new COOLPIX!