Some students look for alternatives to high-priced textbooks
by Hannah Riddle, posted Sept. 4, 2009
College students can typically expect that back to school means bad news for their banking accounts. One of the expenses that hits the hardest is the cost of books. But, but there are options that some students may not know about when purchasing textbooks. There are advantages and disadvantages to purchasing textbooks at the University of Missouri bookstore, as well as other options locally and online.
Some students don’t mind going through the bookstore, and find that signing up for MU’s Early Bird program is less of a stress for the start of classes. Early Bird allows students to register online at the end of each semester, and have books for their new classes ready for pick up when students return to campus. Many students said they would rather pay a little more for the convenience of the Early Bird program.
“I like that it’s faster, and the bookstore is more likely to have the book I’m looking for in stock,” said Kiara Goodwin, MU sophomore. “However, I am thinking about trying something that would be as convenient, but not as expensive in the future.”
Mizzou has other resources for students at the campus bookstore. It is well staffed with people to help gather books for students, and at the end of the semester, the bookstore buys a number of the used textbooks back for future use.
Some students, who don’t prefer the bookstore on campus, often use popular Web sites such as Amazon. This site may have new or used textbooks that students are looking for at a cheaper price.
MU junior Jaleesa Garland has used Web sites like Amazon.
“I like the convenience of just typing in the title of the book I want, and it is always available to me, in a couple of days after ordering it’s right at my front door,” Garland said.
Goodwin also said she used Amazon for an online class this summer, and the book she purchased offline was cheaper than the MU campus bookstore.
“The book was almost $100 in the bookstore, and I got it for around $70 online,” Goodwin said.
Also, as an alternative to online purchases and the MU bookstore, there is a local business in Columbia that offers cheap prices. Formally called, Beat the Bookstore, The Textbook Game is a store in downtown Columbia. The store promises to sell and buy back books for better prices than the campus bookstore, according to their Web site. The Textbook Game is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m to purchase and sell books at all times during the semester.
And for students not looking to keep their textbooks, there are book rental services. A popular Web site, Chegg, provides students with the option to use their books, and then return them. The process is simple: students go online and find their books, and are charged the amount for the rental. Chegg even sends students the shipping label and a reusable box to send books back at the end of the given semester.
“Students on over 6,000 campuses across the country have saved millions of dollars with Chegg, and made us No. 1 in textbook rentals,” according to the Chegg Web site. “Over 98 percent have said they will recommend us to their friends.”
MU sophomore Erin Benney saved money by getting her books through Chegg this semester. “I saved close to almost two hundred dollars by renting my books from Chegg,” Benney said. “I went to the bookstore here on campus to find out which books I needed, and then went online and Chegg had them. Even though I did save, the only draw back I could see from renting instead of buying is you don’t get to sell them back for a little cash at the end of the semester, you just send them back to Chegg.”
Whether new or a returning student here on campus, remember there are many options to go about purchasing textbooks.
For more information visit these Web sites:
