There has been some speculation among students as to whether the convenience of the campus eFollett bookstore justifies its climbing textbook prices—especially since students have been finding alternative methods of buying their books, such as the websites of Chegg and Amazon.
Since students need many books for each semester, searching for alternative websites to purchase them helps keep the cost down.
“I feel like we’re already spending a lot of money to be here and I’m paying my way through, so it’s really annoying that they’re charging us so much for books when they’re so much cheaper online,” said Brook Bignell, freshman, undecided major.
Bignell needed 12 books this semester and saved around $250 by buying the majority of them through Amazon.
“The cheaper it is, the more students are going to buy,” said Brittany Esser, freshman education major. “Not everyone has $400 a semester.”
Esser needed eight books this semester. She purchased all of them through the campus bookstore for convenience and wishes she had gone to one of the fast-growing alternative vendors.
The campus bookstore does have its benefits, most of which seem to involve its expansive selection of Muskie gear.