Berk Review Gen Chem Question...

[Ari1584]

i have just discovered that many of you really liked the review for gen chem from berkeley review. i went to their website to look at the price of the books bc i am thinking about ordering them. I looked at the shipping...and does this sound right? its like $32.00 just for shipping for two books?? is there anywhere i can get these books for cheaper? thanks!

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[JA Prufrock]

yeah their shipping prices aren't really fair, and the whole ordering process can be somewhat annoying, but their books are good.

 

[SN2ed]

Yeah, the prices are out there, but if you want some of the best, that's what it will cost. For me, there were two reasons why I didn't get TBR books:

1. Price
2. Not enough knowledge about them

I think once the company starts to gain more traction, both of these issues will probably be solved. I know that if I had known more about them, I wouldn't have cared too much about the price and immediately bought some of their books.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

i have just discovered that many of you really liked the review for gen chem from berkeley review. i went to their website to look at the price of the books bc i am thinking about ordering them. I looked at the shipping...and does this sound right? its like $32.00 just for shipping for two books?? is there anywhere i can get these books for cheaper? thanks!

The FedEx shipping prices are absolutely nuts. I probably shouldn't be saying this, because when it gets back to my boss, he'll give me crap. But the reality is that he's programmed into going to the FedEx box instead of the damn post office, even though fedEx is a millions times more expensive than the postal service. Trust me, a few of us have asked him why he loves FedEx so much.

I would recommend that you call and tell him that you would buy the books if it wasn't for FedEx prices and see what he says. If enough people do it, maybe he'll start using the post office instead.

Yeah, the prices are out there, but if you want some of the best, that's what it will cost. For me, there were two reasons why I didn't get TBR books:

1. Price
2. Not enough knowledge about them

I think once the company starts to gain more traction, both of these issues will probably be solved. I know that if I had known more about them, I wouldn't have cared too much about the price and immediately bought some of their books.

Aren't the gen chem books $50 for the pair including tax? What do books from other places cost? For instance, what do the EK gen chem book and 1001 gen chem questions books cost? Aren't those over $25 each?

As for getting more traction, don't hold your breath. They have no interest in expansion. Since I've been working with BR, they actually closed a center in Davis because they got tired of the commute. I'll admit that I never had to commute there, so I'm not sure how bad it is. But I get the feeling they like being the size they are.

 

[supertrooper66]

The FedEx shipping prices are absolutely nuts. I probably shouldn't be saying this, because when it gets back to my boss, he'll give me crap. But the reality is that he's programmed into going to the FedEx box instead of the damn post office, even though fedEx is a millions times more expensive than the postal service. Trust me, a few of us have asked him why he loves FedEx so much.

I would recommend that you call and tell him that you would buy the books if it wasn't for FedEx prices and see what he says. If enough people do it, maybe he'll start using the post office instead.



Aren't the gen chem books $50 for the pair including tax? What do books from other places cost? For instance, what do the EK gen chem book and 1001 gen chem questions books cost? Aren't those over $25 each?

As for getting more traction, don't hold your breath. They have no interest in expansion. Since I've been working with BR, they actually closed a center in Davis because they got tired of the commute. I'll admit that I never had to commute there, so I'm not sure how bad it is. But I get the feeling they like being the size they are.

are you the one who answers the phone when you call BR? if you are, then I talked to you today haha

 

[SN2ed]

Aren't the gen chem books $50 for the pair including tax? What do books from other places cost? For instance, what do the EK gen chem book and 1001 gen chem questions books cost? Aren't those over $25 each?

As for getting more traction, don't hold your breath. They have no interest in expansion. Since I've been working with BR, they actually closed a center in Davis because they got tired of the commute. I'll admit that I never had to commute there, so I'm not sure how bad it is. But I get the feeling they like being the size they are.

When I got the EK gen chem book it was in their study package for $80-90, so I don't know about the price of the book by itself (not on amazon anymore either). The EK 1001 cost me $20. However, shipping was under $10, whereas TBR is much higher. It was the combination of price and not knowing enough about TBR that caused me not to buy the books. Out of the two, the primary factor was probably not knowing anything about TBR. For instance, when I went to the website, since I knew nothing about you guys, I was skeptical when I saw the webpage. I don't like handing out my credit information to a site that I know nothing about, especially when there's no security things like verisign or hackersafe, etc. Now that I know more about TBR, I would have bought some books from you guys. Good to hear they're happy with their size, that's the important thing anyway.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

are you the one who answers the phone when you call BR? if you are, then I talked to you today haha

I stay as far away from the office as possible. Besides, I live about 450 miles from the main phone, so it's a bit difficult for me to get to it in less than five rings. You probably spoke to the big boss guy.

However, shipping was under $10, whereas TBR is much higher. It was the combination of price and not knowing enough about TBR that caused me not to buy the books. Out of the two, the primary factor was probably not knowing anything about TBR. For instance, when I went to the website, since I knew nothing about you guys, I was skeptical when I saw the webpage. I don't like handing out my credit information to a site that I know nothing about, especially when there's no security things like verisign or hackersafe, etc. Now that I know more about TBR, I would have bought some books from you guys. Good to hear they're happy with their size, that's the important thing anyway.

Yeah, it's crazy that they use FedEx for shipping. And they know it but won't change.

And hopefully you didn't try to hand out any credit card information at the BR site, because they don't take credit cards.

 

[PAGuyana]

Really, I'm interested in the Gen Chem booklet passages, but the darn shipping costs more than the book itself. Come on guys, it's fine to have certain business practices, but common sense needs to factor into your business model also. Plus you don't accept credit cards and only mail order in this day and age. What's the deal? Most of us are poor students and with today's gas and food prices!! You guys need to be a little more fair and understanding to us your customers. A very idiosyncratic business that will implode one day. Point your boss to this thread.

 

[LUCPM]

I know FedEX charges a lot for the shipping but I wouldn't trust USPS. I've had enough bad experience with them (i.e. 2-3 day priority mail took like 10 days!). I'd rather pay extra shipping charge for reliable delivery.

Considering their books (especially Gen Chem books) are one of the best, the price isn't really a bad deal IMO. I would rather spend a little extra money to get the best book and not worry about retaking the MCAT, etc. which will cost a lot more.

 

[nothing123]

Guys, if you really want the books as bad as I did then be persistent and browse around. Check eBay, craigslist, SDN, Amazon, etc. I was able to get the full package of 10 TBR books for less than $150 off of eBay with shipping included.

 

[prudvi]

I recommend these books even with the high shipping costs because they are so great at explaining things. I have went through the Berkeley Review chemistry and I am doing the Physics now. These books give so many practice passages for every section and they have great tricks on how to do the questions in the least amount of time. It would be great if you can find any some place else. I have looked but I did not find any.