More options available for book-buying students

Cha- Ching, Cha- Ching, is the most common sound heard at the Georgia College & State University bookstore.

Many students think the prices at Pawprints Bookstore are expensive, but how expensive are they really?

Students often experience sticker shock at the checkout, especially that first semester. Are the prices reasonable?

Jack Jennings, junior physical education major, doesn’t think so.

“I think the prices are extremely too high since we only use the books for a semester,” Jennings said.

Like most college campuses, the flow of books at the bookstore is not one way only; Pawprints buys books back as well.

“When we sell back used books, they give us a fourth of the price that we paid for then. However, when they sell the used books back to us, it’s double the price of what they bought them from us for,” Jennings
said.

Other options do exist. Some students sell their used books independently. Barnes and Noble, Books a Million and the various college campuses in Macon are only a short drive away. With the rise of online bookstores, students may wonder if that is a good option.

Many customers may not know that the store does not determine the price of books. The publisher determines prices. According to Connect2One: An Alliance of Independent College Bookstores, in an editorial written for use by college bookstores, “Campus bookstores generally earn less than four cents of net profit from each dollar spent on books.”

Linda Gable, Pawprints bookstore manager, broke down the expenses and profit margins for the GC&SU Pawprints bookstore. At Pawprints, “the publishers and authors determine the prices.” The bookstore profit is a “25 percent margin on a new book and a 30 percent margin on used books.”

Some readers might think that this means a 25 percent margin of profit from each book, however, the profit is affected by several variables. Publisher’s printing and editorial costs, author income, college store personnel salaries and freight expenses are a few things that contribute to a low margin of profit. All of these things are deducted from the 25 percent margin. That is how a bookstore can earn only four cents to the dollar.

A comparison with other university bookstores and online companies show the difference in price. At GC&SU, the text for French 1-3, Rapports, is $77.75 new and $58.50 used. The companion lab manual is $47.75 new and $36.00 used. At the University of Oregon Bookstore students pay $82.36 new for the text and $47.56 for the lab manual. The books are not offered used. An earlier edition of Rapports can also be found at allbookstores.com. Prices ranged from $25.95 used to $82.75 new. These ranges are typical of the other online services; however, buying online normally involves shipping and handling charges. Students won’t be able to use financial aid funds anywhere but Pawprints until checks are cut. Also students don’t get the luxury of looking at the book before buying it. Returns can be time consuming, and online booksellers don’t always buy books back. In addition, shipping can take up to eight weeks.

Students might benefit from learning some money saving strategies. Professors may suggest a different book or an older edition. Sometimes a different book with the same information could be used. Also, research into alternative book sources like online book sellers and flyers that may save the student money. Remember to take into account return and refund policies and shipping times for online companies.

One option many people don’t consider is the library. If a student can’t
afford to buy a book, he may be able to check it out from the library until funds become available. You could also post flyers urging people who are finished with the class to sell their book. This option is not always easy or profitable

Junior mass communication major Erik Fletcher has some very enterprising ideas for saving money.

“Students should organize a book trading event on front campus. Everyone would bring a book and put it on a designated table. Each book will have the same value, and students would be allowed to leave with the same number of books as they came in with,” Fletcher said.
“That way we bypass the bookstore, save money and develop great friendships along the way.”

As with students buying books, when it comes to selling them back, Pawprints is not the only option. Students can sell their books to others who are taking the same class the following semester.

Two options that may not immediately spring to mind are keeping the books or donating them. If you keep your books, you can use them in other classes. This technique works best for English texts and texts from your major. If students donate their books, they can use it as a charitable deduction on their taxes.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 25 2002. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry