A friend of my kids said that she bought the used books so cheaply on Amazon, that she made money selling them back to the college bookstore.
I believe that...as I say, I love buying the books online just to see how much more cheaply I can get them! (although the bill is often a “gulper” either way...)
We purchase almost all of our books through Amazon. Before buying, I either preview the book online (sometimes I find previews on other sites if Amazon doesn’t give one), read the reviews customers post, or go to a store and review the book myself. Still, sometimes the books aren’t appropriate after all. In fact, I’m in the process of returning a few for a refund now. That’s why I find the recommendations here so valuable.
After reviewing so many books (and now returning a few), I now keep a warning list of books to avoid and the reasons why. I don’t want to forget which books I shouldn’t purchase. That reminds me, eventually, I’d like for us FR homeschoolers to share information on books to avoid, too, as most of us are probably buying online.