Chris Jordan | Echo
The price of college is expensive, and many students are turning to cheaper textbooks to save some extra cash.
College students are often looking for the best deals. There are a few factors that are looked for when shopping, but when it comes to textbooks, the most persuasive thing is the number next to that dollar sign.
Textbook sale and rental has become a booming industry, leaving behind a trail of competitive retailers, both in stores and online. Collegebookrenter.com (CBR) is a growing textbook sales site run by CEO John Wittman. Students are often cautious about sites such as CBR, wanting to make sure that deals are more than a gimmick or scam.
Often online book rental sites can allow misleading transactions. For example, a common scam used by sites is making the rental period of a book shorter than a semester, making late fees unknown and inevitable, according to Wittman.
"There are no gimmicks. (CBR) is straightforward and fair," Wittman said. "It is a very easy site to use and we work hard for customer service."
Wittman also mentioned that renting books on CBR is "One term and one price," guaranteeing that a rental lasts a whole semester, for the given price and without disguised fees.
CBR, along with other textbook sites such as Chegg and Amazon, is going to great strides to enhance customer service, according to Wittman. Many distributors are now offering free shipping with purchases. However, shipping is not always dependable and timely.
Despite living in this technological age, many college students still turn to getting their textbooks through their universities.
"I can appreciate students getting their textbooks from different sources," said Stephen Mortland, manager of Taylor University's bookstore. "Students are going to be looking for the cheapest books."
Generally, bookstores are known for having higher prices compared to online sources, mentioned Mortland. However, Taylor has an upper hand.
Tree of Life is a Christian bookstore organization that owns 21 college campus bookstores, including Taylor's. This allows the store to be able to buy in bulk quantities, which makes prices significantly lower.
Tree of Life also monitors online pricing on sites such as Amazon, ensuring that their prices stay competitive.
Online shopping may seem more convenient, but buying from brick and mortar bookstores is still a quicker and easier transaction. There is no waiting for shipping and there is also the safety in knowing the exact condition of the book you are buying.
"When the bookstore is at its highest efficiency, we are more convenient," said Mortland, comparing Tree of Life to online sites.
Tree of Life also provides an online service, keeping up with the competition of customer service. Students are able to purchase all their books online and pick them up ready to go at the campus bookstore, so they can avoid searching for books and long lines.
Low pricing and high convenience are desirable when it comes to textbooks. Both CBR and Tree of life offer these things generally, but when it comes to a specific book, it is good to know the options.
