TCH News

Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: News

"I thought I was going to have enough in my checking account to go get my books, but they ended up costing me double of what I thought they should have been," said Dije Alliu, a student currently enrolled at SCCC.

Another student was able to save almost half on her total for books this semester. In the school bookstore, her total would have been over $600. Fortunately, she was able to get the same books for around $350 from booksellers on the Internet. She saved $90 on one book alone.

However, the bookstore is not out to get everyone's money. The breakdown of book prices comes from the average cost of the publisher price and increased 20 to 25 percent, said Ellen Pooley, Assistant Manager of the SCCC bookstore.

Pooley explained that the school bookstore is privately owned by Follett Higher Education Group. Follett tries to acquire as many books as possible from the "buy backs" from students and "want-listing" to wholesalers, putting out a list of used textbooks wanted for the store. In addition, the store purchases directly from the publishers.

"We may not get as good of a deal as universities because we don't buy as many books," Pooley explained. To complicate maters, some used books are not readily available because certain courses require special packages, with a workbook and an online access code, to be bundled with a text. If these packages are required, then the bookstore can only buy new texts.

"You don't make money selling books, you just don't," Pooley said, noting that "the college receives a commission for every textbook.

"We are doing the best for students and to give them the best values," Pooley said. Buyers "have the right to shop anywhere, just be careful."

This Buyer Beware credo was emphasized by Alliu, who warned, "You have to be careful when buying online because sometimes it's the summary version, Canadian version, or not the exact book you need for class."

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