Sell textbooks back

Ben Smilowitz

Knowing that the deadline for Campus Bookstore returns is today, I felt the urge to write a late plea to the student body of Washington University. Return your books today and buy elsewhere!

I’m sorry it took me so long to get this letter to you, but I’ve been frustrated with the Campus Bookstore and I finally saved money going elsewhere. Consider this: You can save money by purchasing your books online, at other stores, and from other book purchasing programs on campus.

Are you too busy? Need one of your books now? What about shipping? These are all reasonable questions. Here’s what you need to do: First, check the ISBN numbers on the back of your books.

It will take you literally one minute per book to check the prices online. If you save one to three dollars on each book, and you have 10 books like me, your average saving could be at least $20. That’s at least $20 that you keep for yourself-along with the knowledge that you joined this protest with other students who are frustrated with the high prices offered by our own, university-endorsed Fortune-500 provider. They even sell course selection guides! With all the money they’re making off students, you’d think that they would provide at least one service other than the unattended bag-checking offered the rest of the year.

If you need one of your books now and you can’t wait a week, consider purchasing only that book at the more expensive rate and return the rest of your books. I only need two to three of my books over the next week so I probably won’t return those. Do you like to buy used books? Barnes and Noble sells used books online and they’re less expensive, too.

Shipping costs will ultimately depend on which website you use. Barnes and Noble is not charging shipping fees for an order of two or more books. Some students even found cheaper prices at local, off-campus bookstores.

Why not transform the bookstore into an entity that meets the needs of the students on campus? We’re paying so much for tuition that we can afford pricey books, right? Wrong. Financial aid doesn’t include books and most students have a very limited income. A look at other schools may be wise for finding solutions.

At the University of Connecticut, the campus bookstore, or UCONN CO-OP, is a non-profit organization that actually has students (the consumers) on its board of trustees. The campus store is full of apparel, books and all the styles of our own bookstore, yet it charges less than market rates for books because the store only needs to cover its costs. At the end of every academic year, the bookstore sends its “members” or consumers a check for a small percentage of the cost of their books. Not only did I acquire cheaper books, but I also received a check for plus/minus twenty dollars.

Sending a message to our book-selling money-machine won’t be easy. But if you think that our “bookstore” has overlooked the needs of the students on this campus, or that your money could be better spent elsewhere, join me and return your books today!

There are so many options. for starters, check out www.bn.com, www.amazon.com or www.half.com. Instead of complaining about the high prices, like so many others and I have, you can easily return your books today and actually take a stand, using your buying power to send a message to our bookstore.

Ben Smilowitz, class of 2003, is majoring in political science. Contact Ben at [email protected]

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