Some students use the Internet for textbooks savings, in spite of risks

In light of the recent tuition hike, students are looking for ways to cut down the cost of… In light of the recent tuition hike, students are looking for ways to cut down the cost of education more than ever. An increasingly common tactic involves logging onto Web sites, like Half.com and Amazon.com, in search of a better deal on textbooks than campus bookstores can offer.

“It is so much cheaper,” Pitt senior Ricky Wilson said about online book buying. “I found a copy of ‘Russian Folk Belief,’ by Linda Ivanits, for $7 on Amazon.”

The same book at the University Book Center costs $24.95 for a new copy and $18.95 for a used edition.

Junior Emily Long has shopped for textbooks online since her freshman year.

“I have a system,” she said. “I make a chart with the price at the Book Center and the best price online, and go with whoever is cheaper.”

She estimated that her system saves her about $100 each semester.

The Book Center has felt a change. John Burns, the store’s textbook manager, said he has noticed a significant drop in sales since the rise of online book buying.

The appeal of shopping for texts online is not difficult to understand: no seemingly endless lines in which to stand, no hulking box of textbooks to lug home and, best of all, a potentially smaller bill to foot.

The National Association of College Stores reported that the average retail price of a new textbook is $68.00. Half.com, one of the most popular sites for buying used texts, claimed that the average price of a textbook on their site is $ 17.34.

Dave Feller, Half.com’s director of marketing, said Half.com users save an average of 60 percent on textbooks.

But Half.com is hardly the only option for online textbook shopping. Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Barnesandnoble.com all feature sections for purchasing textbooks. There are also many smaller sites dedicated solely to textbooks, including eCampus.com, Textbookx.com and Swapbooks.com.

Students not only have a plethora of options for to buy books, but also how to buy them, as well. Half.com, Amazon.com and Textbookx.com connect buyers with sellers and act only as an intermediary in the transfer of funds. eCampus.com and Barnesandnoble.com sell both new and used textbooks directly. Amazon.com and Walmart.com sell new textbooks, often at discounted prices.

But if you are waiting for the catch, wait no longer. Students should be aware of a number of problems that may arise when buying books online.

Students might accidentally purchase the wrong book. There are a number of different textbooks with a generic name like “Chemistry” or “Psychology.”

There are also often several editions of a title.

Feller said the best way to search Half.com is to use an ISBN – a 10-digit identification number that marks any book unmistakably. Most books feature the ISBN above or below the bar code.

But Burns, defending the bookstore method of book buying, pointed out a complication involving ISBNs and said they could be misleading.

Consider the Calculus 101 package as an example. The package includes a text, two homework manuals and a compact disc. The entire package has an ISBN, but so does each individual piece.

“A person will type in the ISBN for the main book, see the picture, and think ‘Oh, that’s my book; I’ll buy it’ – but they won’t get the discs or manuals,” Burns said. “A lot of homework will depend on the disc or manuals.”

Burns also pointed out that, most often, the packaged sets are used for the biggest classes.

Feller, coming from the online side of book buying, said buyer-seller communication is essential to ensure that the seller has exactly what the buyer needs.

Another problem arises when buyers must trust the seller’s word that textbooks will be sent promptly – or at all. Feller said dishonest sellers are “very, very, very uncommon” on Half.com. He added that, before buying, users can view a seller’s feedback profile, which lists comments from others who have bought from the seller. Amazon.com and Swapbooks.com feature similar systems.

According to Feller, late shipments are rare.

But returns are also difficult online. It is up to the seller’s discretion if the return will be accepted, regardless of the reason.

Students should also know that, sometimes, the best deal may actually be at Pitt’s Book Center. A random sampling of five textbooks found that the average difference between the Book Center’s price for a new copy and the best price online was $28.77, in favor of books online. The average difference between the price for a used copy and the best price online, however, was $6.59 – only a small difference after a shipping and handling fee is added.

“The Textbook of Medical Physiology,” by Guyton and Hall, cost $56.25 at the Book Center. Neither Amazon.com nor Half.com could beat that price.

Oakland’s independent textbook stores present a third option. Marcy McAninch, manager of Got Used Bookstore at 3601 Forbes Ave., said the store tries to undercut the Book Center.

“We do a price comparison of the top 50 titles, and the feedback is that we are usually lower,” McAninch said.

The same random sampling showed Got Used’s price to often be $2 or $3 cheaper than the Book Center – a small sum, but perhaps worth a walk down Forbes.

All things considered, Burns is sure the Book Center is the smartest place for students to shop. Only they can make a guarantee, he said.

“[The online stores] do not get a phone call from anyone if they sell the wrong book,” Burns explained. “No math professor is going to call them and say, ‘Why did you sell my students the wrong package?'”