Many American University students found alternative means of buying their books this semester instead of purchasing them from the campus bookstore. They said they found better prices for books at various Web sites.
Curtis Harris, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said he bought all of his books on Amazon.com for this semester because the books at the AU bookstore are "very overpriced." He said he bought his books at the bookstore his freshman year at AU but then discovered that Amazon.com offered cheaper books.
"Half of my books were about half as expensive from Amazon as they would have been from the bookstore, and the others were at least a few dollars cheaper," Harris said. "Amazon has independent sellers who sell books used for very little."
Sabrina Sussman, a junior in the School of Communication, bought most of her textbooks this semester from CheapestTextBooks.com, a Web site that compiles a list of used textbooks sites and lets you compare the prices. She also used IBeatMyBookStore.com, a Web site that was plugged by the AU Student Government last year.
IBeatMyBookStore.com is a used book database created by two Bentley College students, Jack Creahan and Nick Taylor. The site allows students to buy and sell textbooks on their campus by contacting each other through e-mail. Students sign up, post books they wish to sell and search for books they want to buy.
"We have received praise from all levels, including students, student governments, college newspapers and statewide organizations," Creahan said in a press release. "Help from these groups has played a critical role in getting the site to where it is today."
The site is used at over 20 colleges and universities across the nation.
Sussman said she likes IBeatMyBookStore.com because usually students are more understanding and are willing to strike a deal on the price of the book. She said she still uses other Web sites to buy most of her books because of the limitations of IBeatMyBookStore.com.
"The Web site is confusing and the selection is not that good because not that many people know about it," Sussman said.
AU Student Government President Ashley Mushnick said the SG can no longer promote IBeatMyBookStore.com because the university has a legally binding contract with Efollett.com as the sole provider of books for AU students.
"I have heard complaints from students that they pay outrageous prices in the bookstore," Mushnick said. "I am working with administrators to improve things, but it is complicated."
Mushnick said that if faculty members would submit their book lists sooner, students could get better deals on books because the bookstore could buy back more copies and there would be more used books on the shelves. She also said the national Efollett corporation is more expensive in general than Amazon.com, and there is nothing the bookstore can do about that.
JoDe Nowland, the Director of Auxiliary Services at American University, said that the university can't tell students not to buy books from alternate sources, but they encourage buying at the bookstore.
"We recognize that high prices in the bookstore are a common complaint," Nowland said. "But the bookstore is competing with online folks like Amazon and Barnes and Noble who don't have to worry about rent and the overhead that comes with running a store."
Nowland cited some benefits of buying at the campus bookstore, like face-to-face communication, the instant gratification of having your books rather than waiting for them to ship, and the convenience of returning or selling back textbooks right on campus.
Kristie Miller, a senior in the School of Public Affairs and SOC, said she bought her graduate level books in the AU bookstore but her undergraduate books online from Amazon.com and Half.com. She said at the graduate level, most people want to keep their books, so they are usually not sold online at a lower price than in the bookstore.
"The books in the bookstore are expensive, but I think that the bookstore does what it has to do to make a profit," Miller said. "The prices are what the publishers set them at and the bookstore can't help that professors demand new editions, which keeps the prices up."
Besides high prices, students also complain about the buyback option in the bookstore. Sussman said she has sold her books back to the bookstore in the past but that many times it is not worth it.
"You pay $100 for a book at the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester you get $5 back," Sussman said. "That's why I sell my books through IBeatMyBookStore.com and other Web sites, where you get more money back."
Miller said she sold her books on Half.com at the end of her freshman year but it was "a lot of effort with not much return." Now she keeps many of her books. Harris sells his books back to the bookstore because it is "too much effort" to sell them on Amazon.com or similar Web sites.
