Many of the students here at De Anza have encountered the enthusiastic representatives of Varsitybooks.com. They explain their corporation and its premise, college textbooks for up to forty percent off.
Of course with a statement like this, it’s going to intrigue many students wanting to escape the high cost of purchasing textbooks. But how much do you actually save? Is it worth it to buy textbooks online?
Varsitybooks.com was founded in 1997 with a theme to provide a “faster, easier, and less expensive” way to purchase textbooks. By the use of this web-site you are able to look up your school, find your courses and purchase the required textbooks.
There are obvious advantages of buying textbooks online: you can escape the lines at the bookstore, no sales tax, and possibly save a little money. On the other hand, the downfalls include a one to three day wait for textbooks, shipping charges, an arduous return process, and the risk of getting little or no savings at all.
With all this in mind, still the most important issue is whether or not you any save money.To compare prices of Varsitybooks.com and the De Anza Bookstore I picked some typical courses and the books required for them.
I first went to the De Anza bookstore and jotted down the prices. I then went online to Varsitybooks.com and checked out the same books.
In my little experiment, I discovered prices, meaning the prices probably are very similar to De Anza’s. Typically you can save a couple bucks on textbooks, or even worse, come up with no savings at all.
One of the biggest drawbacks to savings is that Varsitybooks.com does not sell used textbooks. Although, once you buy a book, you have the ability to sell it to the De Anza Bookstore after its use.
“As long as there is a demand for the book, the school will always buy it, regardless of where it was bought,” Jim Ladd, Director of Foothill and De Anza Bookstores, said in regard to the buyback policy.
Keep in mind that this comparison was only from one online bookstore to De Anza’s bookstore. My advice is to look at your situation, see what option you prefer, check prices, and then make your decision.
