Textbooks

Buying textbooks at Oberlin can be pricey. Some books for science classes can run you upwards of $200.

The Oberlin Bookstore is the "official" place to buy textbooks. Most of the basement is filled with books for classes, organized by department and course number; pick up the books for your classes and pay for them and you're done. Unfortunately, they are one of the most expensive options available to you.

Books that have been used in past years' classes are likely to be found at Mindfair, which is in the left half of the Ben Franklin store downtown. Even if they don't have it right now, they can order it for you, normally cheaper than you can get it off Amazon. You'll still have to wait for it to ship though...

Libraries are your friends, and so is OhioLINK.

Of course, there are many places online to buy textbooks:

• Oberlin is a part of Campus Book Swap, a network that lets students post their used books online, and search for books they need, so you're buying direct from fellow Oberlin students. No shipping worries here.
• Ebay
• Amazon
• Half.com

You might be able to find cheaper used books online, but as some of the books for classes are obscure, you might end up paying list price for them anyway. Besides, they have to be shipped to you, and even though Amazon's usually pretty good about shipping, it's possible that the third week of classes will roll around and you still won't have all your textbooks.