My program was about to begin and neither my college nor local/online bookstores had 2 of the required textbooks in stock.
Amazon had an excellent source for the books; not only was ordering simple and quick, the prices were competitive, and I was granted access to free online chapters until I had the book in-hand. It was super-easy to check on my order, as I was regularly notified of the shipment status.
As an added bonus, I was able to use Amazon's student shipping offer to save me $!