The College Bookstore Comparison

The college bookstore isn’t to blame for inflated textbook pricing. Students first learning about the high cost of textbooks often direct their dismay towards bookstore employees. However, bookstores simply act as the middlemen in the process. Bookstores are facing challenging times themselves. Due to inflated prices, alternative teaching methods and increased competition from the Internet, the local bookstores now find themselves in a battle for their share of a increasingly diluted market.

You’ll find that some of the stores serving your campus are doing a better job than others providing competitive prices, a large selection of used books and good customer service. Those are the merits to use when judging competing stores at your campus. Let me first explain the typical ownership structures for local bookstores and how each structure can affect the customer service and price you'll receive:

Institutional University Bookstores

School-Sponsored Leased University Bookstores

Private Off-Campus Used Bookstores

Co-op College Bookstores

Franchise\Trade Bookstore

Comparison Shopping Tips

When comparing price and service at your local bookstores, make sure you find out if they offer additional discounts in the form of promotions or coupons. Some bookstores may even offer price and coupon matching; this could save you from having to make multiple purchases from different stores. If that’s the case you’ll want to find out what they require as proof before they’ll match a price.


Another important aspect to examine is the refund policy at each store. Some bookstores may be trading you a better price for a more restrictive refund policy. If you’ve bought books from multiple stores, each offering a different refund deadline, you’ll need to remain cognitive of the different dates. College bookstores tend to strictly adhere to their refund policies. You'll find the allowable refund period for most college bookstores typically lasts two weeks into the semester. Make sure you treat your receipts like cash and understand the store specific rules until those deadlines have passed. If you think you might need to drop a class, align your purchase with the store that offers the longest refund deadline possible.

All College Bookstores are not Created Equal

Begin your next semester doing a thorough investigation of each bookstore serving your campus. Find out which of these characteristics applies to each store. You’ll also want to identify any quirks like a private store across the street from the college of your major providing excellent service to those students. Once you understand which stores at your campus offer good prices and customer service, researching and shopping for your books each semester will be much easier!

Now it's time to examine the offerings from the Internet:

Online Booksellers

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