 "Photo: Photo by Ben Doing")
The beginning of another semester has students once again looking to not only find the textbooks they need, but to find them at a good price as well. In Oshkosh, there are three local options to turn to. Students can buy books at University Books and More in Reeve Memorial Union, or at Harry’s Bookstore on Wisconsin Street. Another newer option is to rent books through Textbook Rentals, Inc. on High Avenue. All three offer differing incentives to get students into their stores.
Harry’s Bookstore offers coupons and holds raffles with partners such as Time Warner Cable to help drive business, said manager Laura Hendrickson. She said it’s hard to judge how well these incentives work because of the difficulties in tracking responses, but it helps to bring students into the store.
This semester Harry’s has also started a loyalty card program. Hendrickson explained that for every $150 spent, $5 goes back onto the card so students can use it to save on the next semester’s books.
“So if you’re here for four semesters and you spend $500 each semester, you’d get 10, 15 bucks each semester to spend for the next semester on clothes or books,” she said. “It accrues as long as you’re here.”
Poor economic conditions have had a detrimental effect on business for Harry’s this semester because people are shopping around est possible price for textbooks, Hendrickson said.
“A lot of people either go online now to check and see if they can get a book cheaper than they would if they just bought it from us,” she said. “Or they ask their friends. If they’ve taken the class, they can get it for half the price.”
Hendrickson also said Harry’s tries to give the students an opportunity to buy used books more often.
“We search all summer long for those used books,” she said. “And I think we do a pretty good job. The University usually has more new than used, it seems.”
At University Books and More, increasing enrollment has offset any potential loss the store would have seen due to the economy, said bookstore director Joe Blohm.
“I think one of the reasons we haven’t [seen a decrease in sales] is because enrollment has been up,” he said. “And enrollment has probably been up because of the economy. Our sales have been the same the whole way along.”
One of the biggest incentives that bring students into University Books and More is their affiliation with the University, Blohm said.
“We’re owned and operated by the university,” he said. “We have all the books that the students are supposed to have. They don’t have to go to other places to get their books. If an instructor wants to get a book from India or Russia or wherever, we’ve gotta track it down and get it if at all possible.”
Students can also reserve their books in advance or order them online to have the books shipped to their house, which makes for an additional incentive for students to shop with University Books and More, Blohm said.
“Some of the other stores have advertised that they’re the used bookstore,” he said. “But in sheer numbers of used books, we probably have as much as they do. The problem is that if we can’t get enough used books for the class, we also have to have enough new books to supply the entire class.”
A third option students in Oshkosh now have is renting textbooks. The university has not had an official rental program since 1969, but a new business, Textbook Rentals, Inc., gives students that option.
A vote by the student body ended textbook rentals at Oshkosh. Juniors and seniors at the time voted overwhelmingly to switch to buying books, while freshmen and sophomores of the day were evenly divided on the issue, Blohm said.
“The students at the time did vote to move from rental to purchase, and ever since it’s been just purchasing,” he said.
Co-owners Kate Machado and Mike Hannan opened Textbook Rentals, Inc., in February. Both are originally from Oshkosh, which led to the decision to start the business here, Machado said.
“We went through school, and we didn’t like the cost of textbooks and the scheme to buy back for very low prices,” she said. “So we just tried to come up with something that would be a more affordable option for students to help them save money.”
“For the most part, everybody saves money and seems to be really interested in the idea,” she said.
While the economy has had adverse effects on textbook purchasing, business at Textbook Rentals, Inc. has seen a positive impact, Machado said. While the first semester was a little slow, business has increased dramatically. With so many people looking to save money, more students are interested in renting books instead of purchasing them. Average students have saved upwards of $150 this way, she said.
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