Bookstore beats Beat the Bookstore

Sticker shock is generally the most common reaction from students shopping at Weber State University's Bookstore at the beginning of each semester. Many students seek to lessen the impact on their wallets by purchasing their textbooks from sources off-campus such as Beat the Bookstore. Others use online stores like half.com, or eBay. Are the alternatives really worth it though? Melony Aleshire is a senior at WSU and said she feels the money saved by shopping elsewhere is worth it. She begins each semester doing research, sitting in the isles between the rows of textbooks, taking notes. "I usually come in here and write down all the ISBN's, and I write down all of the prices, then I get online and I see if I can get it cheaper somewhere else," Aleshire said. "I usually buy them on eBay, or other online bookstores." Aleshire said sometimes she is able to save money online, but sometimes she is forced to buy from the WSU bookstore to save time. Beat the Bookstore, located at 4305 Harrison Blvd. in Ogden, is one alternative to WSU's bookstore. They advertise that they will sell books for less, and buy them back from students for more. So how much can students save by shopping at Beat the Bookstore? "If you do everything; if you sell them to us and buy them from us; about 10%," said Dave Winward, Ogden Beat the Bookstore Owner. That is, if you compare used books between the WSU bookstore, and Beat the Bookstore. One downside to Beat the Bookstore is that there are many empty shelves, and because new books are rarely stocked, it is nearly impossible for a student to find all of the books they will need for a single semester. Math 1010 is a good example. It is a class nearly every student on campus gets to experience at least once during their university career. This class offers the choice between two textbooks, depending on which professor teaches the course. The hardback edition is what is used in this comparison. The cost to purchase this book new from the Weber State University Bookstore, is $90.70. The same would be true to purchase it new from Beat the Bookstore, if it were offered. The used price for this book at WSU Bookstore is $68.00. Used from Beat the Bookstore; $65.30. That is a savings of $2.70 when you buy it used at Beat the Bookstore. But what about selling it back? If students adhere to the guild lines which were explained earlier in this article, the results may be a surprise. Beat the bookstore will buy this book back from students for $35.00. WSU's bookstore will buy it back for $45.35. That is a difference of $10.35. When you compare shopping for this particular book at these two bookstores, you will actually save $7.65 on the hardcover math 1010 book if you buy and sell at the WSU Bookstore. Not all books will turn out this way, but is it really worth traveling to get books when you will only save a couple of dollars on average? Shopping for your textbooks is also a good way to save money. This method requires quite a bit more planning however. There is research involved that needs to be done in order to assure that the book you are getting a great deal on is in fact the one the professor requires. There are pros and cons to shopping online. One obvious pro is the savings. Students can save more than 50 percent on average shopping online if they know how to do it right. Another pro is that you can usually get a brand new book for what you would normally pay for a used edition. Some cons include shipping problems, deadbeat sellers, and getting the wrong book by mistake. Selling your textbooks back can also be much less frustrating if students do it in a timely manner. If students sell their textbooks back during the first five days of the buyback, the bookstore will give them 50 percent of the new book price, even if the book was purchased used. Just remember, the same books are not used year after year. Selling books back is nearly the same no matter where you go. If the book is not being used next semester, don't expect to get any more than wholesale at the buyback.

You can reach Nick Dragon by calling 626-7624