By PrepPick Editorial Team · Last updated 26 October 2026
PrepPick has one job: help you buy the right book in the right edition, or tell you when you don’t need to buy one. This page sets out what we check for our guides, and what we don’t claim. PrepPick.in is owned and operated by LendLink Tech Private Limited; more on the About page.
What we check, in short
- the exam pattern and syllabus, from the official notice
- the edition, language and ISBN of each book we name
- prices on Amazon.in, Flipkart and, where available, the publisher’s store, with the date checked
- what buyers report, paraphrased
- fake-copy and old-edition risks
- whether free official material does the job first
We don’t physically test or score books, and we don’t quote or name reviewers.
1. Official notices first
Each guide starts from the exam body’s latest notice, syllabus or information bulletin, not from a list of popular books.
| Exam | Official source |
|---|---|
| SSC CGL and other SSC exams | Staff Selection Commission notices |
| NEET (UG), JEE Main | NTA information bulletins and notices |
| NEET (UG) syllabus | NMC syllabus notice |
| CTET | CBSE’s CTET information bulletin and public notices |
| IBPS PO and other IBPS exams | IBPS CRP notifications |
| SBI PO | SBI recruitment advertisement |
| UPSC Civil Services | UPSC examination notice and calendar |
From the notice we note sections, questions, marks, time, negative marking, medium and any change from the last cycle, and we match each book to that pattern. Our guides link the notice they rely on and say when it was checked. A “2027” label on a book cover doesn’t tell you the 2027 syllabus; only the exam body can.
2. Editions and ISBNs
For each book we record what the listings show: title, publisher, author as credited, edition, year, language, ISBN-13, page count and MRP, and for PYQ books the latest paper included. We use the publisher’s own listing where it gives these details, then the Amazon.in and Flipkart listings we link to.
When sources disagree, the publisher’s listing wins over a seller’s headline. A cover year and a copyright year can differ; where a listing shows both, we report both. If a detail can’t be confirmed, the page says so instead of guessing.
3. Prices, with dates
Each buying guide shows when prices were checked, for example “Price checked 26 Oct 2026”. We note the MRP and the lowest prices we found on Amazon.in, Flipkart and, where available, the publisher’s store, and we flag third-party and print-on-demand sellers. We compare combo packs with the separate books. Prices change often, so always confirm the price, seller and edition at checkout.
4. Buyer reviews, paraphrased
We read buyer reviews on Amazon.in and Flipkart and discussions in student forums, and look for points that come up repeatedly. On our pages:
- feedback is paraphrased in our words, not quoted;
- individual reviewers are never named; we name only the platform;
- complaints are reported alongside the praise;
- bursts of near-identical five-star reviews, duplicates and reviews of older editions get less weight;
- delivery and seller problems are kept separate from the book’s content.
These summaries describe what buyers report. They aren’t surveys, and they don’t prove an error rate. A specific error claim becomes a correction only after we check it against a reliable source, such as an official final answer key.
5. Star ratings are context, not our score
If we mention a retailer’s star rating, we give the platform, the number of ratings and the date we saw it. We never turn it into a PrepPick rating, and we give no scores of our own.
6. No paid placements
Publishers, authors, sellers and coaching institutes can’t pay to include a book, rank it higher or keep it off a page. If we ever receive a free copy, the page will say so.
Amazon Associates (Amazon.in) is our only affiliate programme. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Flipkart and publisher links are not affiliate links. Affiliate links are marked as sponsored, and each guide carries a short disclosure before its first affiliate link. We choose the book first and add buying links afterwards. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
We use Google AdSense to show ads. Google and its partners use cookies to serve them; see our Privacy Policy. Advertisers don’t choose or influence what we recommend.
7. Fewer, better books
There is no single best book for everyone, so our picks follow these rules:
- Free first. NCERT textbooks and official question papers and answer keys come before any paid book. Many PYQ books reprint papers that the exam body gives away; we say when the sorting and solutions are worth paying for. Where an exam body doesn’t release its papers (IBPS, for example), we say that the PYQ books are memory-based.
- By preparation stage. Beginner, practice, final weeks and repeat attempt each get a different list.
- One of each kind. One guide, at most one PYQ book, and a clear skip list for duplicates and overpriced combos.
- Buy only one, and a budget pick. If you can afford one book, we name it.
- Edition and counterfeit warnings. We tell you which ISBN to match, which “(Old Edition)” listings to avoid and what to check on delivery.
Popularity alone isn’t a reason to recommend a book, and commission is never one.
8. Updates
We revise a guide when we learn of a new official notice, exam date or pattern, a new edition, a broken link or a stock change, or when a reader reports an error we can confirm. Substantive changes are listed in a dated “Updated: what changed” note at the end of the guide. An updated date isn’t a promise that every seller’s price or stock is still the same today.
Corrections
Email contact@preppick.in with the page link and the detail you think is wrong. For a book, include its title, edition, language, ISBN and page number; for an exam detail, the official notice.
We check the report against the edition and a reliable source. If the error is confirmed, we fix it and note the update date and what changed on the page. We can’t help with orders or refunds, because we don’t sell books.