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survival
guide
University Bookstore
more than textbooks
By Thad Paulson
Special to the On-line Forty-Niner
Molly Engel does
not need the University Bookstore on the Cal State Long Beach
campus anymore. She graduated this spring and is finished
buying texts for classes at CSULB. However, she remembers
well her encounters with the University Bookstore during her
five years of attendance.
"I still have
so many books in my car," she said while pointing to
a handful of textbooks in her Honda's trunk. "The teachers
always change the required texts from one term to the next,
so I can't sell them back. That business law one was like
a hundred bucks, or something crazy like that."
The stash of books
in Engel's vehicle is the major complaint that this recent
graduate has about buying books.
"I was spending
hundreds of dollars easily, every semester," said Engel
regarding the expense of schoolbooks. "Textbooks are
one of a college student's major expenses."
The Bookstore is
a business so it cannot possibly buy back every used text,
as most will never be sold again, according to Chris Findell,
who has been a student assistant at the Bookstore for four
years. The real issue is the price of books when they are
initially purchased.
"Buying used
is the best way to save money obviously," said Findell.
"The buyback money that you'll get is always a very small
percentage of what you originally paid, so buying them cheap
up front is the best option. Finding used books that you need
is the hard part."
One option is buying
from a store's shelf. University Text on Bellflower Blvd.
was the major competitor for the Bookstore for years, but
it closed its doors permanently this summer. Chain bookstores,
such as Borders or B. Dalton do not have the specialized textbooks
required for many classes, in Engel's experience.
"Buying novels
and stuff at Borders is an option, but getting them used at
places like that is not," she said. "You can get
a $15 book for like a buck fifty at the University Bookstore
or online if you can find it used."
Another option
in the search for cheaper textbooks is buying from students
who sell their old texts privately and usually at bargain
prices. However, these occurrences are very rare.
"Required
books change in a given class from semester to semester,"
Engel said.
Returning books
during the first weeks of a given semester is common, even
the norm at CSULB, according to Findell.
Both Engel and
Findell have experienced instructors who frequently change
class texts and reading schedules. Classes are often canceled,
and many students decide to drop classes as late as three
weeks into a semester. The Bookstore allows a three-week grace
period for returning books at the beginning of a semester,
giving students time to make decisions about changing their
schedules without risk of losing money on unused books.
The emergence of
online book retailers, namely textbook sites, gives students
more options in a pursuit of used books and less expensive
new books. The bookstore will usually be the most practical
route in the journey for schoolbooks, according to Engel.
Purchasing used
books bought online can be risky business. Amazon is the largest
of the numerous online bookstores, and gives access to countless
used texts.
The new books online
may be a few dollars cheaper than at the Bookstore, but used
books are sold by private sellers that list their books on
the site hoping to get a greater return on their books than
a bookstore would give.
The shipping time
for used books is usually around 1-2 weeks, depending on the
seller. However, one can never be sure what condition a text
is in.
Returning new books
to an online retailer may also prove to be a hassle, when
considering dealing with shipping and reimbursement of funds
between the buyer and the retailer. Returning used books online
is may not be an option at all. Used book sites often do not
offer refunds and most private listings explicitly reject
them.
The Bookstore has
been known to receive required texts late or in small quantities
that sell out fast, according to Engel.
"There were
lot's of times that a book wouldn't be in the bookstore, for
whatever reason," Engel said. "Then we'd have an
excuse not to read for a week! Seriously though, the best
advice I can give to a student is to get your books before
the semester starts, you can always bring them back if you
don't need them."
Findell gives similar
advice to incoming students.
"I would tell
students to get their books before school starts. The first
two weeks are crazy in here (the bookstore) and books will
be gone," he said, "You can't find an used book
after the semester begins, so you should buy them sooner than
later."
The first two weeks
of any semester is the busiest time for the campus bookstore,
according to both Findell and Engel. Findell describes the
typical scene at the Bookstore on the first weeks of a given
semester.
"Students
wait in line for, like, an hour or even more sometimes, just
because so many people don't buy their books early,"
he said. "You have to wait to check in backpacks, and
then wade through the book isles, which empty fast. Then you
have to wait forever to buy the books. Make sure you bring
cash, the 'cash only' line is always shorter."
The Bookstore on
campus is something that is used by many CSULB students, as
textbooks are not the only order of business for the campus
store. Every school supply a student needs will most
likely be there, from graphing calculators to erasable pens.
"We do $23
million in business a year, and much of it comes from anything
but books and school supplies," Findell said. "The
entire upper level is full of magazines
and greeting cards and stuff like that. Parents just love
this place, I think."
"Many of the
Christmas and birthday gifts that my friends and family have
received over the past five years have 'CSULB' on them somewhere,"
Engel said, "You can't get this stuff anywhere else."
The Bookstore is
located on Upper Campus, between the Food Courts and the Psychology
building.
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