You see a lot written about the textbook market these days. The textbook market and international editions. Alibris has recently changed their policy about dealers listing used International edition textbooks there because of the recent court case Pearson vrs Liu.

As pointed out several places around the web, this decision doesn't really seem to answer the question entirely and there will probably be another few rounds before the present publishers loose their battle for cheaper textbooks. This case seems to say that the first sale doctrine is still alive and well and it is only the importation of goods for sale which is illegal. Google answers has a nice writeup on the question of Legality of Selling International Edition Textbooks

So what does a student do to cut down on textbook expense besides getting an international edition? Saving money is like other efforts in life. You generally have to work at it to make it worth doing. In this case, start early. Don't show up the day before classes and expect to find inexpensive copies. The earlier the better. Can you get a list of the books needed from the prof before you register? Maybe the list from prof A is cheaper than the list from prof B. Shop off campus as well as on line. Comparison shop. Do you know someone 'ahead of you' you can buy from? Is e-books an option [don't forget to take into account that you generally can't resell an e-book]?

Oh, and finally, don't forget to look at those international editions. Sometimes it's cheaper to import a copy for your class than to buy a 'geographically correct' copy. Since you are buying it for use in your class, you are still protected by the first sale doctrine and can resell it at the end of the semester. I expect though, that anything over one or two copies brought into the US and later sold in a moderately short time frame might be interpreted as importing with the intent to sell.

>> 'til next time - DW <<

What about that time of delivery you get when you order an item off the internet. What does it actually mean? Well I can't speak for all businesses but for those in the book business, the delivery times on site are an estimate of the delivery time and not a hard and fast rule. Also, they are 'business days' and not 'calendar days'. That is weekends and holidays don't count.

The estimates tend to be fairly accurate. In fact, it is not all that unusual for the time to be at the short end of the estimate. Suppose you got an estimated delivery time of 7 to 14 days. Then it would not be unusual for the item to arrive in 10 days to 2 weeks actual elapsed time. However, it can happen, and does more than one would like, take at the upper end or a bit more than the estimated time - in this case 3 to 4 weeks.

The actual delivery time can also be dependent on just where the item is coming from. I used to mail my Mom books when she lived about 75 miles or so from here in Dallas. If I mailed by about 5 pm at the main post office, she generally had it the next day (USPS gives an estimated time of delivery of 6 days). Mailing books to a friend in California typically took about 5 days although once it took about a month and a half (USPS gives the same estimated 6 days).

Generally I think it is a good idea to give the delivery say, an extra 'few days', and then write the dealer asking about the package. You should hear back from the dealer within several days. I'm speaking here about media mail. If your package was supposed to be shipped priority or expedited, that 'few days' might be as little as one.

To turn 'business days' into 'calendar days' just add about 2 days for each 5 business days at the short end and 4 days for each 5 at the long end. So an estimated 7-14 days deliver really means about 9-26 calender days. Even then, remember that it is an estimate and not a hard and fast rule.

>> 'til next time - DW <<