"NO REFUNDS will be given at any time on textbooks being returned because they have been or will be replaced by books from other sources."
1) This may be the only business in the world that will not allow you to return a product because you found a better price. Many businesses, realizing that some money is better than no money, even match the price that you find at another source. Try that, Bookstore.
2) This may be the only business in the world that feels that it is necessary to ask, specifically, "are you returning this because you found someone else that is selling this book without requiring your left leg and firstborn child?"3) This may be the only business in the world that can ask this question and actually feel that it will get an honest answer! The use of the Honor Code to make more money has to be against some other Honor Code, somewhere.
Then again, maybe I'm just bitter because two of my books, written and printed by the instructors themselves, were over $70--used!
13 comments:
That arm, leg, first-born picture is hilarious. I was surprised by the new policy, too (and it is a new policy) and I was assaulted by that man, too. So when I started to actually read the policy, I was also curious as to how they would enforce that. So here it is:
It's not honor at all. If you're returning your books, you have to actually show that you've dropped the class from your schedule. Crazy, huh? It actually makes sense, though. They need to know how much to order and stuff, but people who buy and then return kindof mess up those calculations.
Anyway. The policy papers encourage students to decide right away the source where they'll buy their text books instead of "borrowing" from the BYU bookstore until they find a better price.
Here's a link to the text book refunds page, but I don't think that it explains what I just said above.
http://www.byubookstore.com/ePOS/this_category=229&store=439&form=shared3/gm/main.html&design=439
Wow. And now I feel like one of those blog spammers: I've been looking at a lot of blogs, and yours is the best! Visit this link!
Hmm. And that link isn't going to work since it didn't all come through.
Cicada: Thanks for the alternate point of view--always welcome. But I've got to find some way to complain about the bookstore without just resorting to the "$70 for used" rants, and you just ruined it. So...
C'mon... $70 for used!!! It's ridiculous!
Is that in reference to one textbook? Or is that your textbook total for the semester? Because if it's the textbook total then I'm afraid I'm not going to let you complain. I was really excited to find out that my textbook total for the semester is only $250. And there's one textbook that costs $100 that I'm hoping I won't even have to buy at all (I think I should be able to find everything I need on the internet). Maybe I will have to buy it, though. Anyway. Your total of $70 is an unbelievable bargain.
Oh, Cicada, you sweet, misguided soul. I made my average of $300 total. The $70 is the price of one USED textbook.
Okay. Now I'll let you complain. Now... if there's only a way we can get around this... Like, what if I added the class that you have the textbook for... and then I dropped it and returned your textbook? Ha! Ha HA!
Anyway. The BYU Bookstore's website explains that used textbooks actually jack up the price of unused textbooks. So although used textbooks are a better deal for the student at the moment, in the long run, they actually hurt students as the prices of new textbooks rise.
Sounds to me like the bookstore is trying to make themselves feel better about their extortion.
I don't need any books this semester. It's awesome! My Ethics professor decided to post all of the reading online in .pdf format. Science prof said we could use any biology book written in the last ten years. Same with music..
Umm, yeah, basically. The bookstore is evil. But only on the top floor. The second floor is remarkably cool about letting you return things for no reason at all. Sometimes even without a receipt.
And I'm all about shafting the top floor in whatever legal way you can think of.
So evil. My only way of sticking it to them is to go w/my sister when she buys her books and flash my "I'm an employee so I get a 10% discount on my textbooks, suckahs" card when we get to the cashier.
My sis is very sweet to give me the opportunity.
Umm, Nemesis, why wasn't I told of this "magic card" BEFORE I bought my books?
It's not a new policy -- it was in place when I was a student and I left in 2002.
I gave up on buying books at the bookstore. I just hit half.com and saved money. If there was anything I couldn't find, THEN I went to the bookstare, but never before. (Usually those were BYU-published or bran' new.)
The trick is to figure out what books you need, best you can, well before the semester starts.
On average, I saved about $200 a semester this way.
But I didn't have a super-expensive major either. Nor were most of my books super rare. But I never told anyone this till after the semester started because often I could only find one used copy anywhere online.
There're lots more sites now, though, and probably more people selling.
Anyway, love your site! You should check Cicada's out!
Thanks for the comment, Th. Cicada's got the best blog around, I think that's common knowledge.
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