Biology by Jane B. Reece, Neil A. Campbell (2004, Package)

Our recent purchase taught us some important lessons about buying textbooks. 1. Buy early, as soon as you know what texts you need.
2. Buy only from 100% sellers. Look at the feedback. If anyone says slow shipping, forget it.
3. If the book doesn't save you more than 10-15% (including the shipping), consider buying a used book at the bookstore or look around for a student selling books.
4. Pay immediately. The sooner you pay, the sooner it's shipped.
5. Work politely with your seller if things aren't going right.
6. Have a backup plan in case shipper is slow. (Example: copy the first chapter from a classmate's book--copyright laws entitle you to do this because you have purchased the book.

Here's how our recent purchase worked out. We read that shipping would be within 4 days. Feedback didn't look bad. We bid and paid immediately when we won--it was only a $10 savings over what the bookstore charged. We were told it "was given to shipper," but when we didn't receive it in a reasonable amount of time, we had to contact the seller twice. When we finally got it, the seller had taken six days from the day after our purchase to the time it was postmarked. Her suggestion was that we buy the book from the bookstore and return it when hers arrived. We found this dishonest and chose not to do it. We also chose not to leave feedback that was neutral or negative, because too often the seller turns around and gives you bad feedback when you've done nothing wrong. So, buying on E-bay is a gamble when you have a deadline. Follow our advice above and you are more likely to have your book when class starts.