TUITION
ADDITION
by Kim Perrone
College
textbooks: They keep you up at night, weigh too much, and cost up to $1,000
per year ... on top of tuition. Fortunately, you don’t have to approach
book-buying like a novice in your first year.
BOOKLIST
BREAKDOWN
Upon receiving text requirement lists, do not buy everything. Many professors
divide the list into core, secondary and “suggested reading”
sections. Chances are, you’ll burn midnight oil for the texts at
the top of the list. Be sure to acquire those selections. However, books
you’ll need for only brief periods throughout the semester can either
be borrowed from the library, or from a student who didn’t know
better.
You can also hope to be taking the same course as your roommates. Sarah
McEachern, a student at Providence College, MB, experienced this scenario;
“Three of us bought a book together and shared it,” she says.
STUDENT EXCHANGE
Search campus bulletin boards, lamp posts, etc., for flyers from individual
students wanting to sell used texts. You might even wind-up blessed with
the book of a fastidious note-taker!
Kick off used-book searches early, since you won’t be the only one
looking for deals. Also, pay attention to the edition for sale. If you
need edition four, but can only get the third one used, confer with the
professor to see if you can live with the difference.
SECONDHAND
SOURCES
To find larger selections of used books, try Student Association/Union
“start of semester” sales on campus. Some campuses, such as
the University of Alberta, also have Student Union stores that sell books
on a consignment basis.
As well, the Inter Varsity Christian Fellowships at Grande Prairie Regional
College and the University of Lethbridge offer a used-book sale at the
start of each semester. It’s run by volunteers who sell students’
old books on consignment, thereby supporting the chapter.
Many schools, like Edmonton’s Grant MacEwan College and the University
of Alberta, provide their own online student book exchanges, free of charge.
Cheryl Langelier, director of Information Services for U of A’s
Student Union, says the online registries have been very popular this
year. “The most recent stats we have show ... an average of 1,000
hits each day the first week of school.”
Try www.universitytraders.com or www.books4exchange.com to connect with
used-book sellers at a variety of schools.
LOOK
MA, NO LINES!
For new books at a discount, check out www.bestbookdeal.com. It searches
59 online bookstores worldwide. Just ensure that the shipping costs, delivery
time and return policies don’t make the deal a lot less remarkable.
IS
IT A KEEPER?
Post-semester, consider offering your used books for sale in the same
venues you searched, or take advantage of the “buy back” system
that many campus bookstores offer. However, sell them quickly. If you
wait too long, new editions will make your copy less marketable.
Hold on a moment, though. Don’t forget to build a library of texts
that apply to your major. “Some of the books I had were ... useful
in my ministry,” comments McEachern. “They were an investment.”
BOOKSTORE
BOOGIE
Boogie down to that bookstore before the line stretches across campus!
It’s no secret that bookstore lines at the beginning of a semester
are far from appealing. However, keep in mind that ordering books cheaper
elsewhere could result in backorders and high shipping fees.
Your campus bookstore will have what you need when you need it. Plus,
many bookstores are developing online components so you can skip the lines.
“[Campus bookstore staff] invest a huge amount of time and energy
in getting the right stock in,” says Bruce Peters, manager of Providence
College Bookstore. “Service for the students is number one.”
Many bookstores such as this one will even try to reduce prices on the
most expensive books.
Furthermore, as McEachern cites, “The money goes back into the school,
and that helps costs go down in other areas.”