Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Logo of The Mercer Cluster
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
Interested in Working for the Cluster? Ask about joining our Discord!

Avoiding bookstore horrors



It is the beginning of the new semester, but you find you have the same stress that al- ways accompanies the start of school: the overarching search for textbooks.

From the Medical School to the Law School, one of the things that affect all Mercerians is the stress of finding and buying textbooks before the first day of class.

What books do you need for your classes? Where can you find them? How do you know you are getting the best deal?

The list of questions goes on, but there are easy ways to overcome the stress of the book-buying experience.

While the campus bookstore is always an option for Mercer students, sometimes it proves to be a bit of a hassle.

From not ordering the right books to not processing some online orders before the start of the semester, the bookstore can cause some stress of its own.

“The bookstore labeled the books for my POL 353 class as POL 101 books, so the kids from that class bought up all of our books and then had to sell them back to the bookstore be- fore we could buy them,” politi- cal science major Liz Bibb said.

“The bookstore did not order one of my books for my Media Law class at all,” junior Lilli Luke said. “So I don’t have it yet.”

Another problem that many Mercer students complain about is the prices of books at the bookstore.

“I order all of my books on- line because it is so much cheaper than the bookstore,” Rebecca Payne said.

While all of these factors can pressure students, never fear: there are easy and cheap ways to buy and save money on your books.

If you are not interested in buying your books, Chegg. com offers textbook rentals that can “save you hundreds,” according to the website.

“We were students so we know textbooks cost too much and students don’t have money to waste,” Chegg advertises.

The website also boasts, “We thought there must be a better way, so we created Chegg. Every time you rent, you save money and also help the Earth –– we plant a tree for when you rent. Thanks to you, so far we’ve planted over 4 million trees.”

Chegg.com works by allowing you to search through the website to find the books you need, then allows you to rent books and pay only for the time you use them before returning them for free through UPS.

If renting is not your style and you own a Nook, Kindle or iPad, you can use these devices to buy electronic books, often at a frac- tion of the cost through Ama- zon.com, Barnes and Noble or Apple iBookstore. This helps you save money and space by allowing you to only carry one thing instead of loading your backpack down with books.

If you are interested in buying books, there are plenty of websites out there offering new and used books at discount prices.

According to DealOz.com students can save up to 97 percent on over 10 million new and used books and textbooks at “low low prices.”

“We search over 200 online bookstore prices to find you the best deal on any new & used textbooks. Save your online shopping cost by comparing 200 online bookstore prices before you buy,” the website says.

If DealOz.com is not your style, Amazon.com offers deals on new and used books.

“Shop our Textbooks Store and save up to 30% on the price of new textbooks and up to 90% on millions of used list- ings,” the website claims.

Both of these sites allow you to browse through their inventory and choose which books you need. You then buy your books and choose which type of shipping you want and where to have the books shipped.

But Amazon and DealOz.com are just two of the many online stores and websites that offer textbooks at low prices.

However, even online buying is not a surefire way to get your books because shipping options and dates can vary. But you never know what deals you might find or how much money you could be saving.


Comments

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Mercer Cluster, Mercer University