“This place nickel and dimes you for all you’re worth,” a friend told me of WashU. “Think of the bookstore – they have a virtual monopoly. They charge way too much.”
This was my third day of orientation. I hadn’t even registered for classes. My CD player and speakers were still lying packaged underneath my bed. Apparently, the bookstore’s reputation precedes itself.
Intrigued, I went into textbook buying with a skeptical eye. I decided to try and beat the system by buying online, either through the national retailers or through bookcellarz.com. I spent about an hour or two comparing bookstore prices with online prices in a bout of spendthriftness that saved me over $100. I came into the game too late to buy from bookcellarz.com, but the online stores were still stocked.
I started with half.com, ebay’s direct sale non-auction site. I picked up a new copy of A Writer’s Companion by Richard Maurius (required for E Comp 199) for $15.35 after shipping and handling. The bookstore was asking for $32.00 for a new copy and $24.00 for a used one. So far, I’d saved $16.65. Tomer: one. Bookstore: nil.
Half.com had some smaller successes for me, too. I got a brand new Crying of Lot 49 and a used Memories of a Catholic Girlhood (also required for my E Comp class) at a savings of $7.40. We’ll cut the bookstore some slack and call that one a tie, even though my used copy of Memories was in much better condition than the raggedy used ones the bookstore sold.
Moving on to BarnesandNoble.com, a big winner for me. I found a used copy (very good condition) of Introduction to Physical Anthropology for “Introduction to Human Evolution” for $19.00 less than the bookstore price. Two to nothing. BarnesandNoble.com also sold a used copy (not so good condition, no extras) of Peter Gray’s Introduction to Psychology for $21.40 under the bookstore cost of a new copy packed with a study guide and cd-rom. I’m hesitant to call that a victory, but throw in a $5.75 savings on a new Bedford’s Handbook for E Comp 199, and I’ll give myself a point. Tomer: three. Bookstore: nil. I left Barnes and Noble’s online store feeling good. Not only did I pick up two points on the bookstore, I also got free shipping because I ordered more than two textbooks.
I next visited ecampus.com. A used but good copy of the textbook for my film class cost about half of the bookstore price of $54.25, and a new copy of my math book for Calculus II weighed in at $14.50 less than the bookstore’s. Tomer’s on a five-zero run. If I were a basketball team, I’d be calling the benchwarmers up to give them some play time before the end of the game.
To the bookstore’s credit, I couldn’t find copies of either Casts of Thought for my E Comp class or Taking Sides for my psychology seminar for any less than the bookstore cost. I signed online a few days later, and still no luck. Damn. I guess the final score comes out to 5 to 2.
All in all, I think I’ll shop online next semester (read: stay tuned for the play-by-play of the next round of Tomer vs. bookstore). It’s a great way to save money, and better for the environment. The bookstore doesn’t have the same selection of used books that the online retailers do, and buying used saves trees and energy. The only down side I experienced was the problem in verifying editions. A lot of the used books are an older edition than the ones WashU uses, and sellers don’t always note what edition they’re selling. That said, I foresee big savings, and another Tomer win, for Spring 2002. Maybe we’ll go best 3 out of 5 for next fall.