Students who wait in the lengthy lines at the University Bookstore every semester are not only responsible scholars they're also law-abiding citizens.
While buying books from the University Bookstore is always legitimate, some online suppliers use illegal practices to obtain texts, selling books that are printed overseas at substantially cheaper prices than legitimate bookstores can offer, according to William Adamczak, manager of textbooks at the on-campus bookstore.
"These books produced overseas for cheaper costs were not intended to be imported back and sold here," Adamczak said. "It is illegal because of copyright issues and these sources have been taken to court."
However, the illegitimate status of these books has not prevented students from purchasing them, according to Adamczak.
"Books bought online have affected sales," Adamczak said.
Many students openly encourage other students to buy online and discourage bookstore purchases.
"I think bookstore prices are ridiculous because you can buy them cheaper online and even sold used [at the bookstore] they're expensive," said Evan Hamberger, a junior business major.
Adamczak acknowledged some books that are expensive at the bookstore can be found for less at many outside sources. He explained these higher costs are due to business logistics and university affiliation.
"With freight costs, college store operation costs and college store personnel costs, the college store income is minimal," Adamczak said. "We [also] give back part of our sales to the university for them to use for their budget."
According to Adamczak, adding to the school budget helps students in the future, though they may not be able to see it directly.
Outside textbook resources are becoming a huge a problem for the bookstore, he said. Some students, however, still find incentives to shop on campus.
"I'll buy [books] here sometimes," said Brittany Burton, a graduate student in the School of Social Work and a cashier at the bookstore. "But I get a discount here also, which helps."
Though bookstore employees are offered a slight discount on items, this only accounts for a tiny percentage of students on campus. Other students are looking for cheaper sources.
Burton suggests that students wait until after classes start to see if the professor is even planning on using the textbook.
Other students have developed further sources for obtaining discounted books.
"I normally just look for older friends in the class and buy them for dirt cheap," Hamberger said.
Adamczak reminds students that the bookstore will buy back books at a substantial margin. The bookstore buys back almost all books, even if the edition is old, according to Adamczak, but students will get the most money from Half Back-stickered books.
