Every semester, thousands of U students walk out of the University Bookstore with a heavy load of books, and a serious shortage of cash, grumbling all the way home about how much they spent. The sick thing is- they’ll be back next semester doing the same thing – getting robbed blind by our friends at the bookstore at time of purchase, only to get chump-change back on their books when they trade them back in at the end of the semester. I know, because I used to do that. Every semester, your book has been outdated by a new edition hasn’t it? After spending way too much on tuition, what’s another $500 right? Wrong. That’s a total joke. I’m aware this isn’t earth-shattering news to any student and is kind of a cliched topic. But if everyone were being careful with their cash, the bookstore would either be out of business, or competing by lowering their book prices. Last week I went and purchased 4 books at the University Bookstore. Three were used, all 4 were paperback. The bill? $242. That did it for me. I went online to amazon.com and easily found all 4 books for a grand total of $74, with an additional $20 for shipping via 2-day express mail. I returned my $242 worth of paperbacks back to the bookstore today after receiving the replacements in the mail. Unfortunately, Aug 30th is the deadline for full refunds, but be aware for upcoming semesters. I’m so mad at myself for not doing this several semesters ago. I just never had thought of it. I hope there will be a few freshmen that read this that will save themselves hundreds or thousands by the time they graduate. When it comes to textbooks, don’t buy in to the convenience of the U bookstore. It’s total piracy. Boycott the bookstore by shopping for textbooks online, until they treat you with enough respect and fairness to not rob you every semester.
Matt Monson, SeniorCommunications