(Photo illustration by CU Independent/Adam Milner)
With so many options for getting books, it’s not always clear what the right choice is.
Students can go to Web sites like Chegg.com and rent their books for the semester. Other popular sites include Amazon.com, Half.com and Textbooks.com for purchasing textbooks.
“I bought all my books on Textbooks.com,” said Sophia Kirshner, a junior sociology major. “I’d say it was at least 30 to 50 percent cheaper than the bookstore.”
Those involved in the textbook business say the university and professors often have no say in how much books cost.
“The prices of the books are determined by the publishing company,” said Jason Katzman, assistant director for Academic Resource Support at the Book Store. “Textbooks have been increasing in price for everyone, online included. The price depends on the book.”
With all of the possible options, competition for students’ attention is high.
“We’ve never had 100 percent of book sales at the university to begin with,” Katzman said. “We’ve had a lot of competition over the years and this is just a different type.”
Katzman said the university is not losing money because of online sources and that online purchases or rentals haven’t changed the overall percentage of books sold to students.
While profits may not be down, the Book Store is still trying out new ways to make textbook purchasing easier for students.
This is the first semester the Book Store has tried in-store pick-up.
“You can order anything online and come pick it up,” Katzman said. “That’s something you can’t do in other places.”
Aside from in-store pick-up, Katzman says there are other positive aspects of the Book Store.
“Our service that we offer to the students isn’t offered anywhere else,” Katzman said. “It’s helpful, especially to freshmen. And what I’ve found is your time is more valuable than your money.”
However, this isn’t true for everyone.
Molly Morrison, a senior philosophy major said the organization of the Book Store is fine.
“It only took me five minutes to find all my books,” Morrison said.
But when it came to money, she says she has a different opinion.
“The services are a little overrated,” Morrison said. “For me it’s really the prices. I would be willing to put more effort into finding them if they were just cheaper.”
Unlike online textbook sites, the Book Store offers buyback on students’ books so they can sell them at the end of the semester.
Some students say they believe this isn’t enough of an incentive.
“I like the buyback, but I got $27 back for the $300 that I bought them for,” Morrison said. “If you know someone who’s going to have the same classes as you, sell your books to them.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jesse Flint at Jesse.Flint@colorado.edu.
