10 things to keep in mind when shopping medical books online

The best thing about shopping online for medical books is that you don't have to go to a shop. You can purchase your desired medical book from the comfort of your home.

Another benefit is that the choice of product available on an online shop is much wider compared to an average physical bookshop simply because there is no limit to how many product can be listed in an online catalogue.

Purchasing medical textbooks online certainly has its pros and cons. Just as there are many benefits of buying medical books online, there are also many disadvantages, and one of the biggest disadvantages is getting the wrong book, or purchasing the same material under different titles.

Listed below are 10 things to keep in mind when shopping medical books online:

1. Know the correct ISBN number

Do you ever pay attention to the ISBN number of the book you are planning to purchase? ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number and every book is assigned a unique ISBN.

Instead of always searching for your preferred medical book by the title, try to find out the ISBN number of the book because the ISBN number is always unique and there is never the scope for confusion.

2. You don't always have to worry about what edition you are buying

You may be inclined to buy a medical textbook of latest edition. Naturally the latest books are costlier compared to older books. If you want to save some money and if the information in the book isn't time sensitive, you can easily purchase the previous edition book. Sometimes the updated information in the latest books is minimal but the price difference is great. You can ask around if there is no emergency, you can take your time researching before finally settling down on a particular edition.

3. Spend some time reading reviews

Although every online bookseller allows its buyers to leave reviews, when it comes to buying textbooks, especially medical textbooks or Engineering textbooks, reviews become all the more important.

For example, on MyNextBook.in you will notice that many buyers leave reviews after having purchased their favourite book. Since most of the customers of MyNextBook are school and college going students, they leave objective and useful reviews to help fellow students.

4. Check out different vendors for the same book

You don’t have to necessarily purchase the first medical or engineering (or that matter any other) book you come across while browsing the online catalogue. There might be many vendors selling the same title. Compare prices and then settle for the best price.

5. Check out if the website offers a sample chapters

Many online bookstores offer sample chapters, including the online bookstores selling medical and engineering books. A glimpse at the sample chapters will give you an idea of whether you want to finally purchase the book or not. In the long run it can save you lots of money and effort.

6. Maintain a handy list of books that you would like to purchase even if you are not planning to purchase right now

These days you can take notes using your mobile phone or even with various online apps available. For example, you can create a Google Keep note to maintain a list of books that you would like to purchase in near future or maybe some other time.

Online bookstores like MyNextBook.in also allow you to maintain your own wish lists – have come across a book that you would like to purchase but not right now? You can add it to your wish list. Later on you can always visit your wish list and directly purchase a book.

Why make a list when you know what books to buy?

Making the list gives you a choice. Since, ideally, you should be making a list when you are not hurried, you are in a relaxed state of mind and this way you can make good choices and you don’t have your back against the wallto.

7. Once you start buying books, stick to your preferred online bookstore

When you shop repeatedly, you begin to accrue credit points provided by many online bookstores, whether you are purchasing medical books or any other subject. This way, you gradually begin to get discounts as a repeat customer. You can also join their mailing list so that they can give you privileged offers that they normally don’t provide to new customers.

8. Pay attention to the expected delivery time

When you are ordering your book online, pay close attention to the expected delivery time. Although vendors try to give you as accurate an estimate as possible, eventually, when the book leaves their premises, it is completely in the hands of the courier service when the book reaches you.

So, when you are planning your study schedule, keep in mind that the book may take 2-3 days more than the expected delivery time mentioned in the shopping cart.

9. There is a reason your online bookstore publishes a terms and conditions page – pay attention to it

The terms and conditions page is usually published to avoid instances of misunderstanding between sellers and buyers. Usually, the company publishes the defined conditions under which both the parties need to transact.

The terms and conditions page will tell you what happens if you receive a damaged book. They tell you what is your return policy. They inform you how difficult or easy it is to get a refund in case you are not satisfied with the condition of the book (usually the online bookstore is not responsible for the contents of the book).

10. Purchase multiple books at the same time

Whereas we wouldn’t advise you to purchase multiple books at the first instance, but if you have had a good experience with an online bookstore like MyNextBook there are many advantages of buying multiple textbooks at the same time.

One of the biggest reasons why people buy multiple books at the same time is the possibility of getting a discount. Most of the websites encourage you to do more shopping by offering attractive discounts.

This is where making a list of books that you would like to purchase comes in handy. Instead of randomly buying books to avail discount, if you have carefully-prepared list of books that you need to prepare, you can order them online in one go and save lots of money.

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