Depends on what you're looking for, but as a general rule, not really. But as a more detailed, personal opinion goes:
For Exam Krackers, which is quite cheap to begin with, there's no difference I can see in the editions in the study set over the years (I've compared with friends when they bought theirs new). EK Bio 1001 has been a time waster for me. 1001 series is really only if you don't have the basics down and need drilling besides that. Having compared EK Verbal 101 ed.1 and 2 side by side, the passages are ordered differently, but 99% identical. Berkeley Review uses some new passages (again, I've compared) in their newest editions, but the older ones worked just fine to get 30+ scores for people when they came out and still do now. My edition is older, so I'm probably going to sell for like $75-100 (including shipping) when I'm done, which isn't too bad if you just pick up EK Bio and Verbal. You're set for the 3-month study plan from there for like $100 if you're relatively thrifty.
Beyond that, there are great free online resources you can look into. Khan academy can supplement the EK series nicely if you can't afford the TBR sets (I use it a ton for physics myself and it's a life saver). WikiPre-med isn't bad either from what I've browsed through, though I've never used it.
Basically, for all the die hards on here using the 3-month plan (and I'm using a variation), it's not the only way to do it and it's certainly not the cheapest. There isn't any way around the cost of practice tests though, and they expire after a year, so buy those last. If you're not able to spend so much on them, buy the last set (AAMC 7-11) as they're newest. Same goes for the books: there are probably a billion illegal torrents for nearly every company you can imagine, but definitely not the best route to go.
I'd recommend browsing the books your friends have, seeing what you like best, and building a study schedule/materials list. No need to buy everything (made that mistake: I have a freaking bookstore ready to go when I sell these things).
Good luck!
