By Michelle King and Vanessa Smith
It’s a scenario most students go through at the end of every semester. In many ways, it’s an exhausting college experience:
- The feet are tired
- The backpacks are too heavy to carry so they kick it along the never ending path to the front of the line
- Time stands still as the minutes seem to drag into hours
- The holidays are coming and they want to scrounge up extra cash for presents
Where are they? In line at Buffalo State College bookstore, waiting to sell used textbooks back, hoping not to hear the dreaded words, “this is an old edition.”
Barnes and Noble bookstore manager Lynn Puma said in an earlier interview that she hopes to give students 50 percent buyback for books. She said the problem is with many publishers coming out with new editions yearly it is difficult to do.
Some students don’t sell their books back, feeling that it is a waste of time. Sophomore Steven Olewnick spends about $700 a year on textbooks and does not resell them to the bookstore.
“I probably should, but I don’t, and I sometimes buy books online anyway because it’s cheaper,” he said.
The cost for books and supplies in the 2004-2005 fiscal year was $900, according to the BSC Office of Institutional Research. This is an increase of $100 since the 2000-2001 school year.
Robert Dix, a secondary education major at BSC, said he usually spends about $400 to $500 a semester on books.
“The prices are insane. They are extremely expensive,” he said. “I try to register early so I can buy used books but it still costs [a lot].”
Alicia Willower, also an education major, shared a similar experience.
"I usually get my books covered by a Pell grant because I’m a single mom and I don’t make a lot of money,” she said. “But I usually have to take about $400 to 500 dollars from financial aid to go to the bookstore.”
Many students are looking elsewhere to buy textbooks, including the Internet, where some sites have a guaranteed buyback. Of the many Web sites for textbooks, some of the more popular ones are:
- Amazon.com
- Half.com
- Varsitybooks.com
- Bigwords.com
- Ecampus.com
There is also competition from local stores, including the College Store in Amherst, frequented by University at Buffalo and BSC students.
Manager Tom Jacobs said his store has been losing profits due to the rise in students turning to online sites, but contends that not all pricing is firm.
“We do have flexibility,” he said. “For new books we make a 20 to 25 percent profit from what it costs us.”
This means a new textbook costing $100 at the College Store has a $20 to $25 profit. Puma said the profit margin at Barnes and Noble is the same, with a maximum profit of 25 percent.
Jacobs added the importance of book buyback for his business.
“We’re at the mercy of what publishers do and what teachers order. We live and die from being able to buy the books back,” he said. We don’t want to leave any student behind.”
Puma said there are two ways to ensure a 50 percent guarantee: Either the book is still considered a new edition or the professor did not put in a new order for the following semester.
Consider these tips provided by Bookbyte.com when book shopping:
- Check the store's buyback policy.
- When shopping online, see if the site has a buyback policy.
- Ask professors about using an older version of the text; many are available for less online.
- Be careful when buying shrink wrapped books- many are non-returnable at full retail once opened.
Michelle King can be contacted at kingmk23@mail.buffalostate.edu
Vanessa Smith can be contacted at mj_whatson@yahoo.com
|
