Online bookstores offer alternatives for students

By KATE DAILEY
Collegian Staff Writer

For most students, the necessary evil of buying books at the beginning of each semester is a frustrating experience -- long lines, high prices and crowded stores. New online bookstores are trying to capitalize on students' frustration by offering a large selection of college textbooks through the World Wide Web.

Two such sites are www.varsitybooks.com and www.bigwords.com. Not only do they promise larger selections with no crowds, they both claim to sell books at cheaper prices than traditional bookstores.

"We're 100 percent tailored to the getting the students the books to where they live easily, quickly and less expensively," said John Bates, co-founder of bigwords, which began selling books in August.

Many students find the crowds and lines that come with traditional bookstores incentive enough to look for online alternatives.

"Go to the student bookstore on College Ave. around 3 p.m.," Kevin Ryan (freshman-theater) said. "It's ungodly … There has to be an easier way."

At online stores, not only do students not have to stand in line at a bookstore, the sites are open 24 hours.

Another consideration is price. Because online companies do not have the overhead costs associated with maintaining a bookstore, they are able to offer more competitive prices.The bigwords site offers students the options of new, used or rental books, all at prices cheaper than many traditional stores. The varsitybooks site sells new books at 15 to 40 percent off regular list prices. Both companies have additional shipping and handling fees.

"What we've noticed is that a lot of students, Penn State students in particular … have begun to realize price savings and convenience savings," said Eric Kuhn, chief executive of varsitybooks.

Despite the Web sites' immediate advantages, they have their share of inconveniences.

Once books are ordered, it can take up to eight business days for them to arrive, depending on the company. Another problem in ordering books over the Web is selection.

"What we found is that they don't seem to have the stock that we do," said Tom Fankhauser, textbook department manager at the Penn State Bookstore. "You might have to go to five to six different (sites) to get your books."

Although both sites offer over 300,000 titles, there is no guarantee a book will be available. Furthermore, many teachers require packets made specifically for their classes, making a trip to the bookstore inevitable.

And while both sites stores allow books to be returned, purchases must be sent back within a given time period, and shipping costs will only be paid if the return is due to a company error.

Despite the problems specific to online shopping, the future of online books looks promising, Kuhn said.

"We expect to be a source for Penn State students for years to come," he said.