In an era of Amazon, eBay, and sites like Wei Xiong (’15)’s ScholarOasis.com, incoming students are more wary than ever about buying textbooks directly from the Bookstore. This lead’s to unquestionable trouble on their part, but the Gettysburg College Bookstore is working to combat the rising costs of books, despite their competition.
Textbook director, Michael Lippincott, works with professors to offer the best possible option for students. Whether it involves choosing paperback over hardcover or the fifth over the sixth edition of a nearly identical piece, they do what they can to make the inevitable purchase an easier experience.
Before the textbook orders are processed, new and used books are separated by course for purchase!
In addition to these efforts, the Bookstore offers a variety of incentives for buying through them. By ordering online, with student charge, a ten-percent discount is applied to your order and your books are pre-packaged and ready for you— before the general student population can access the books.
Campus tour guide Emily Whitcomb (’18) expresses her support for the Bookstore’s textbook efforts when she leads prospective students through the College Union Building. “The students and staff of the bookstore really go above and beyond to help you out with pre-ordering textbooks or being a second parent on campus! Definitely a great resource!””
Whatever the deciding reason, be sure to consider all of your textbook options for your new classes.