As students return this semester to the beautiful stately oaks and broad magnolias of the University, they also return to endless construction, inadequate parking and the doom and gloom of the infamous budget cuts.
Unfortunately, students also return to the uncut price of textbooks.
While some students find the purchase of “mandatory” overpriced books for all of their classes futile and simply go without them, the majority flock to their local bookstore — like the LSU Bookstore or Co-op — looking for the best deals.
Well, boys and girls, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are no deals to be found. However, you will find long lines, corporate greed and endless frustration.
Personally, corporate greed is my favorite.
As someone working on a business minor, it makes financial sense for men in expensive suits to gouge the hell out of poor college students for the newest edition of their textbooks.
As someone with a soul, it makes about as much sense as a Shake Weight.
The reason the men in expensive suits can get away with this price gouging relies on the fact many students don’t know of any other options — or have never heard of the Internet.
Online shopping isn’t as scary as people make it seem. In fact, when done correctly, it can save you a lot of money.
For example, let’s compare prices of one of the more expensive textbooks on my reading list.
“The Universe,” required for my Astronomy 1102 class (an elective, mind you), is being sold at the LSU Bookstore for $130.55 new and $97.90 used, according to its online catalog.
One quick click over to Amazon shows the same book is being sold directly by Amazon for $95.46. It’s definitely a nice discount considering Amazon doesn’t charge sales tax. That’s almost a $50 difference after tax is added by the LSU Bookstore.
While online shopping can render bad experiences — slow shipping times, a misadvertised product or someone stealing your credit card information — using reputable sites like Amazon can easily help keep your financial transactions secure.
Other sites such as eBay, Craigslist and Buy.com also can be great sources to finding great deals on things besides textbooks. Amazon offers so many more ideal solutions for customers that traditional brick-and-mortar stores couldn’t.
The main gripe I used to have about online shopping involved shipping times and prices.
I always wanted my item as soon as I bought it. I didn’t want to wait five to seven business days for the new toy to come in.
However, Amazon helps alleviate the problem with Amazon Prime.
Unlike the greedy men in expensive suits, Amazon acknowledges the poor college students and offers a one-year trial of Amazon Prime for free — simply type in your .edu e-mail address, and you’re set.
Amazon Prime offers customers free two-day shipping on any and all products — no matter the cost — as well as free overnight shipping for only $3.99.
The service costs $79 per year, which may seem expensive at first, but calculating the price out comes out to only about $6 per month — the approximate price for standard shipping.
Therefore, as long as you order one thing from Amazon per month, the service pays for itself. Plus, the items will arrive much more quickly.
So instead of rushing out to your local brick and mortar this semester for books, movies, video games or anything else — other than maybe groceries — take a few minutes to compare prices to online retailers.
Not only will the item generally be cheaper, you may avoid sales tax and even have the product shipped to your door for free.
Talk about a welcome back present.
Adam Arinder is a 21-year-old communication studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_aarinder.
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Contact Adam Arinder at [email protected]