Buying books is not a fun experience by any means. You have to spend lots of money! What is up with that? In my first experience buying books, I found that it pays off to "shop around."

The Upstate Book Store is a great place to purchase books, however, they have overhead costs for selling the books. You can often find your books online, and cheaper. If you can get the ISBNs of the required books, you are able to enter them into a book store search on Amazon.com or Half.com.

I had a lot of luck with Half.com. A computer science book that cost $61 at the Upstate book store sold for $8.50 on Half.com. Granted, it was a little worn, but perfectly usable.

There are plenty of times that you would need to purchase books at the Upstate Book Store. If you need your books in a hurry, online isn't for you (shipping times can often run into weeks depending on the seller). If you are saving over 50% on your books, you might want to purchase online, otherwise, shop at the book store. Some books are only available at the Upstate Book Store -- this will vary by course.