As of today, the Tufts campus has awakened again for the spring semester. Students have to force themselves to get back into the swing of things, like eating in Dewick and Carmichael and rushing to class early in the morning. Speaking of class, a new semester also means new books, and of course, the joys of textbook shopping.
It seems that wherever you look, there are ads for online booksellers. Turn on the TV or radio and you're likely to see and hear Tom Green screaming about www.Bigwords.com. There's also www.VarsityBooks.com, www.efollett.com, and the pioneer, www.amazon.com, for any student's textbook shopping needs. Each site has its special features and attention-getting ploys to draw in customers. Not only are there promises of fast service and cheap books, but also there are also sweepstakes entries, scholarship applications, and even offers for free pagers at the various websites.
With all of the hype that has been generated within the past year about online bookstores for college students, it seems like these companies like to think that the standard college campus bookstore is non-existent.
However, this is most certainly not the case here at Tufts. At this time of year the bookstore is jam-packed with students feverishly gathering all the books for their classes. The Tufts bookstore has worked hard to keep up with the competition that has arisen from the online bookstores.
"It used to be that I didn't feel that we had any competition, but everyone and their mother are selling books now," said Neil LeBeau, the manager of the Tufts bookstore.
LeBeau, however, does not feel that the surge of online bookstores has really hurt the amount of business that the bookstore generates. "I don't think [the online bookstores] are affecting us any more than any other bookstore," LeBeau said. He has noticed, however, that as each semester goes by, more and more students go online to buy their books. He attributes this to the fact that sometimes the prices are better online, but also notes that the Tufts bookstore's prices beat the websites' sometimes as well. The better deal basically depends on the particular case and what books are needed.
The proliferation of Internet access, particularly on college campuses, has led to a boom in e-commerce, despite its risks. Most often people have different experiences when it comes to shopping online. "The folks who are going to shop online are going to shop online no matter what," LeBeau said.
To better compete with the online bookstores, the Tufts bookstore emphasizes the element of personal service for its customers. LeBeau also stressed that the bookstore is able to provide used textbooks at a reduced cost for students, as well as a convenient return policy. Students can return their books up to 30 days after purchasing them for a full refund, as long as they have the receipt.
LeBeau said that the biggest complaint about online bookstores that he hears is that it's difficult to return books. "Right now it's kind of a hassle," he said.
Each of the online bookstores has a different return policy, but they each basically require that if someone wants to return books, he or she has to pay for shipping to return them to the company.
The bookstore also buys back books at the end of each semester, and despite the sometimes laughable prices, this is a service that online bookstores cannot yet provide. Efollett.com advertises a new buyback policy, which offers 50 percent of the price paid. The fine print revealed that this only applies to books being used next semester, and that this service is not yet available at Tufts.
Starting for the fall 1999 semester, the Tufts bookstore began offering the service of reserving books online through its website, www.tufts.bkstore.com, prior to the new semester. For the fall, the bookstore did not advertise this service, and only about 10 people used this service, according to LeBeau.
Advertising for this service was more prominent for the spring semester, and about 125 students reserved their books in advance. Students are required to pre-pay with a credit card for this service right now, but at the beginning of last semester they could order their books and pay when the books were picked up.
"We're looking to change the policy so that students can use a school debit or not pre-pay for this service in the future," LeBeau said. He also said that many students had already picked up their reserved orders at the bookstore, as of early Tuesday.
LeBeau is not too worried about the potential threat of online bookstores. He strongly supports the Tufts bookstore and the services it is able to provide to the students and faculty.
"We support the University and provide jobs for the student workers. We do a lot for the University that people don't always realize," LeBeau said.
