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Students who comparison-shop for everything from groceries to gas can now do the same for textbooks by purchasing electronic versions, finding discounted books online, and even renting.
Until recently, bookstores have had almost exclusive access to instructors' required reading lists. The stores' near-monopoly and the high costs of selling specialized academic texts have led to budget-busting prices.
Finding out which books are required in enough time to order online is easier now, thanks to the passage of House Bill 1025 on April 28. The bill requires colleges to post book lists at least four weeks before the term begins.
Purchasing electronic textbooks (etexts) offers convenience, cost savings, and the satisfaction of helping save a tree. Etexts can be downloaded immediately, accessed online, viewed on an iPhone or printed out. However, access may be limited to one year. One of the largest retailers, CourseSmart.com, offers over 7,000 virtual volumes.
The etext is carefully formatted so that page numbers remain identical. Applications embedded in the text allow students to take notes in the virtual margins, copy and paste, and highlight text.
For students who prefer the paper version, going online, at least to order a book, can still be worthwhile.
Textbooks.com, the largest online textbook seller, offers nine million texts at up to 90 percent off. The site offers free shipping on orders over $25, year-round textbook buying, and a 10 percent resale bonus.
Students have 30 days to return texts for a full refund, compared to five days at the EvCC bookstore.
Online retailers are able to offer lower prices partly because they have lower overhead than brick-and-mortar stores, and partly because the customer base is so large: retailers can rely on volume rather than high margins on individual books. For instance, retailers such as Amazon.com sell some new texts with a margin as low as 10 percent above wholesale, while campus bookstores typically add about 25 percent.
Another option is Ebay, where selection is spotty, but prices are often only a fraction of retail.
For students willing to risk the possibility of slight variations and owning an illicit copy of the text, the savings at Ebay can top 70 percent.
"It was cheaper, but it took a long time to arrive," says student Alex DeRoest of his textbook order from Half.com. Online orders may take up to 10 days to arrive and some are only a few dollars less than the bookstore.
"Students also need to be careful they have the correct information, not just the title or author," says Kerri Kirk, bookstore director, so it is important to search for books by ISBN.
Students can also go low-tech and save: the book exchange board outside the MPR in the Parks Student Union has hundreds of listings at the end and start of each quarter. No fees and motivated sellers mean textbooks can often be found for much less than in the bookstore. Drawbacks include cash-only transactions, no refunds and an unreliable selection.
An option for students who do not need to keep textbooks long term is renting. Sites such as Chegg.com allow users to borrow books for 60, 90, or 120 days, often for about one-third of retail.
Finally, while some students may experience the fleeting urge to bronze (or burn) their calculus textbooks, many students prefer cash. Most online retailers accept textbooks for resale, as does the EvCC bookstore, regardless of where they were purchased, as long as they are still being used for upcoming quarters.
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