The Quest for the Perfect Textbook

Students have enough to worry about in the first weeks of the semester without the stress of going broke finding their required texts, so I went on the search for the best book bargains that had me fighting crowds on campus, fighting for bargains online and taking my chances with a new bookstore on the block.

I began my hunt for my Math 105 book at Valley's own bookstore, and from the moment I walked into the crowded shop, I began to work up a nervous sweat. Dozens of students were running around with their schedules in hand trying to find someone to help them sort out the complex alphabetical filing system.

When I finally managed to weave my way through the aisles to find my book, it was like finding the lost ark, but the textbook may as well have been made of gold for the $126.00 price tag; there were no used copies to be seen. It also didn't help that the line to pay was near infinite, so I decided to seek out a less panic-filled environment.

As I went to check the ASU sponsored textbook exchange board in Monarch Hall, I was accosted by a very energetic man who handed me a flyer for a new bookstore across the street. After I found no leads for my math book from my fellow students, I decided I would check out the Off-Campus Bookstore, located at 13326 Burbank Blvd. It is just around the corner from Valley College - an easy walk for any student so, of course, I drove.

Let me say that there is no real parking for this bookstore, and I had to put my tenuous parallel parking skills to the test. The store itself is small and looks like a mini-DMV with arrows on the floor to point you in the right line. The staff was very helpful and found me a used copy of my book that cost $88.63, but it looked like it had been attacked by a clan of badgers so I politely declined.

My last refuge was the Internet, where I found the web site CheapestTextBooks.com. Unlike most of the other pages, this one offered the prices from 10 other sites and compared the prices with shipping costs. In the end I found that Amazon.com had a used copy for only $56.00, shipping included. Now said shipping could take up to two weeks and there was no guarantee of the real condition of the textbook, but they also had a 30-day return policy if I wasn't satisfied.

This quest really opened my eyes to how much work needed to be done before I even had a chance to do my homework, but if you can hold off a few weeks and love to find a bargain, it looks like the Internet is a student's best friend when it comes to saving a buck and their sanity.