Can textbooks be purchased for less money at national chain college stores?
• Unless they are old editions being sold as remainders, it is unusual for textbooks to be available at regular college stores or superstores. • However, many books used in classes are not traditional textbooks. Courses in the humanities and social sciences, for instance, often use trade books, most of which are prepriced by the publisher. While there can be price differences between stores on these books, often the books are not really the same. For instance, there are dozens of editions of Shakespeare with different editors, illustrations, annotations, or even paper quality. There can be significant price differences between editions. • See the FAQ: Purchasing your textbook from an off-campus merchant or over the internet for additional information about buying your textbooks somewhere other than your college store.
