Today, I found out that my college textbooks, which I spent nearly $200 dollars on for the two of them, did not come with the codes they were advertised with. The codes are needed for online classwork that is required to pass the course. Each new code is $90 a piece. FML
NintyStar tells us more.
OP here: for clarification, these are the books for one course. The rest of my books for my first semester (I'm a college freshman) drove my textbook costs up to over $500. So having to pay nearly $200 more for my books that did not come as advertised is a bit of a shock, to say the least. For reference, I bought all of my books the week before move-in, and I've only just finished my first week of classes. Luckily, my professor is very understanding, and she just sent me the link to where I could buy the codes and know they were legitimate, and she said she'd just give me credit for what I've already missed. So, I guess you could say this story has a happy ending, more or less. I'll just be better about it when buying books for next semester.
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Top comments
TheEpicKitten 20
I'd contact the retailer and ask if it was just a mishap that the codes were missing
Nysha 17
They're defective and not as described then - return them and get them somewhere else
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Comments (79)
masterreader878 12
Yeah, textbooks are hella expensive in the first place. I'd honestly just go to the bookstore next time, because the college shouldn't **** you up. If they do, then there is a serious problem.
Bookworm1315 13
If they came with codes, it shouldn't have been 200 for both of them. My guess is you bought used ones, which do not come with codes.
yerawizardlizzy 27
I'm leaning toward YDI on this one. If you're going through Amazon, you're likely buying used or renting. Used books do not come with extras like codes or discs. Occasionally you can get lucky with a rental. Which is why you always start at the bookstore. They know which books you need to buy new, which editions are a no-go, etc. Plus they sell used, and my alma mater now has a renting option as well. BUT, of course shopping around is a good thing. I almost always ended up with a mix: some from the bookstore, some from an online retailer. Gotta learn how to work the system.
fatthom 4
Bruh, same thing happened to me, but mine cost $435 for 3. I was pissed beyond belief.
stormy0307 16
Eh, $380 for textbooks isn't too bad. Try engineering school. I was averaging $500/semester on books until my last three semesters. But like everyone else said, if the code was advertised as being with it, contact the retailer.
PositiveX 4
I know some books are like that so I double check for the codes before I buy.
Solano2580 24
All 6 of my books costed $200 in total..
Shadowclaww 11
Engineering school is way worse. This semester my books were $1200 for the whole semester.
ayyy_bro 26
If you have your receipt and it's not past the refund date for your school take them back ASAP and ask one of the people there to help
NintyStar 2
OP here: for clarification, these are the books for one course. The rest of my books for my first semester (I'm a college freshman) drove my textbook costs up to over $500. So having to pay nearly $200 more for my books that did not come as advertised is a bit of a shock, to say the least. For reference, I bought all of my books the week before move-in, and I've only just finished my first week of classes. Luckily, my professor is very understanding, and she just sent me the link to where I could buy the codes and know they were legitimate, and she said she'd just give me credit for what I've already missed. So, I guess you could say this story has a happy ending, more or less. I'll just be better about it when buying books for next semester.
TheBeastJerry 7
Why are you buying books in the first place? Always rent them. Way more cheaper
TaoShaman 24
Some books aren't available to rent. The less common classes you always have to buy new textbooks. Or if the textbooks are used for multiple classes, it's better to buy them rather than renting them like 3 times.
Fairyjoshy 13
I *never* had the option to rent books at the college I went to.
Lalala579121 28
Generally books with online components that require codes are not able to be rented. Well, they might be, but they wouldn't come with the codes. So if OP had rented the books, she still would have had to purchase the codes separately, and not gotten the credit from her teacher.
JustStella 28
Hi, OP! Not sure if this available for you, but have you looked into the services your library offers? For example, my university's lib has a UBorrow program and an InterLibrary Loan program. What that means is you could look up a book, and see if another school's lib has it, or if your university has it, just at another campus. All 3 of my books I paid $0 for because because I found them using these methods. I still had to pay for an access code, but as you can see, that's only a fraction of what I could potentially have paid. Just something to look into if you haven't already. I would go to your lib and ask. You could also see if it's on the shelf at your lib. We have 3 hour loans. That gives you time to read what you want to read or scan what you want so you could have it for yourself. I don't know if these options are available to you, but from a master's student to a freshman, I can tell you that there are ways you prob haven't thought of to get books. Good luck!
phoebenut 4
Hey Op, I'm a sophomore in college and I should let you know, NEVER and I mean never buy your textbooks before the class starts! A lot of professors just put up a list of textbooks you might need on the syllabus but you don't actually use them! It's a huge waste of money and returning your books is really hard! When you go to class, your professors will tell you which books you'll actually use and if you use Rate My Professor (website) you can find out there, too, if your prof. uses textbooks. Sorry for the long response but I can't stress it enough!! So many freshmen waste their money by doing this. Good luck with your first year, though!
cokera 1
He** it aint no surprisethats how my books went
Muerteds 18
Way more cheaper? Obviously, you sub-let your English primer.
AryanaStar 14
There's an amazing website called thriftbooks and they have college text books for sale. Just an idea for next semester
TacoTheDank 27
66 there's also slugbooks.com
astco2015 7
the same exact thing actually happened to me. it was a stressful few weeks until I got that code
blair_kitty 15
if it was supposed to come with a code you should go back to the bookstore and ask for a credit for a new code or a replacement for the book with a legit code. Sorry this happened to you, I know how hard it is being a freshman during the first few months. Hang in there and i'm sure you'll do fine :)