Illustration by Alexandra Nelipa
Online stores help college students with school needs.
By Kyle R. Cotton
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Thanks to the Internet, students have more options then ever when it comes to where to get textbooks.
Amazon Prime, a benefits program launched in 2005, is a source used by students.
Nursing sophomore Flora Palanca, uses a student version of the program offered free for the first six months.
“The Prime program has been a great value to me,” she said. “It helps to find great deals on $300 textbooks.”
“As a student, it does give me great deals on textbooks, both as rental and buying outright,” she said.
Other sources, such as Chegg and the Alamo Colleges network of online bookstores, offer benefits that go beyond shipping.
The Alamo Colleges’ online store is competitively priced and sales revenues go back into the system for scholarships, donations and clubs, said Melvin Johnson, bookstore manager at this college.
“We have clubs help us with our drop bags in the spring and the fall,” he said. “The last couple of years we had the Black Student Alliance help, who we paid $500, which came from online purchases – thus feeding back into the system.”
The online store also sells campus-themed clothing and accessories. Orders are processed within 24 to 48 hours.
As for Chegg, it operates almost as a student resource site – with internship information, career resources and 24/7 tutors – on top of its textbook sales. It offers up to 90 percent off physical textbooks as well as a bevy of student help services for paid subscribers.
David Gonzalez, theater sophomore at Northeast Lakeview College, said, “I’ve saved a couple hundred (on Chegg). Typically it’s cheaper to buy books online.”
“My experience has been a good one – can’t really complain thus far,” he added.
