The financial burden of buying textbooks is always one of the biggest concerns for college students. The average college student spends between $801 and $904 on books and supplies within one academic year, according to the National Association of College Stores website (www.nacs.org).

When this much of anyone’s hard-earned money is being funneled into one place, shopping around to find the best prices becomes an option.

“Normally I buy all of my books online,” said Sacramento State junior Grace Hermley, a business administration major. She added that books are usually cheaper through independent online retailers.

The aisles of the Hornet Bookstore seem to contradict the notion that textbooks are cheaper online. According to the NACS website, students are reportedly purchasing only 23 percent of their textbooks online.

For sophomore Mallerie Niemann, an english major, the list of required books for this semester seems to be neverending. Her 15-unit schedule requires a total of 16 books, which comes to a sum of $536.95 through the Hornet Bookstore’s website.

If she had ordered all of the textbooks from private sellers through Half.com, just one of websites that sells textbooks, her total before the cost to ship them would come to $375.35.

Getting all of these bargain books to Sacramento might be a little bit more difficult than one would imagine. Generally, books ordered online from private parties are shipped via the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) Media Mail service, sometimes called “book rate.”

The average cost to ship a textbook with media mail is somewhere between three and four dollars, but can take anywhere from two to nine business days, according to the USPS website. This means up to two weeks of class without the required books, which could put a damper on a student’s relationship with his or her professor.

With shipping time being a factor, some students may shy away from buying their books online due to a simple lack of initiative.

“If I wasn’t so lazy, I would definitely look online,” said freshman nursing major Tim Manousos. He added that he probably already waited too long and that rush shipping charges might negate any cost differences.

So does the Hornet Bookstore rely completely on last-minute sales? Certainly there are other factors involved as to why students shop at the Bookstore instead of online. According to Bookstore employee Eloina Zapata, shopping at the Bookstore also offers a much greater level of convenience. Students can have their books today, as opposed to getting them two weeks from now. Additionally, they can pick up any other supplies they need, whether it be notebooks, or a bag of CornNuts.

Some people might say that textbook prices are unfair, or even outrageous, but this has little to do with the bookstores themselves. After the costs associated with keeping the bookstore open are figured into the profits, most stores only make about 4 cents for every dollar spent on new textbooks, according to the NACS website.

“In most cases, the money that is made goes back to the institution or into student programs to help defray other costs of higher education,” the NACS website states.

Despite these facts, online textbook suppliers have been gaining popularity among students. However, the Bookstore doesn’t seem especially worried.

“Some books are available at a discount online,” said Julia Milardovich, the director of Bookstore Services. “However, the student needs to make sure that it is the correct edition and the book is in good condition.”

And the Bookstore has even done some research to see if online book suppliers pose a serious threat.

“Our focus group research tells us that students are not concerned about price when the book is used as an integral part of the course,” Milardovich said. “Price becomes a concern when a book is required, but not used.”

Cody Kitaura can be reached at [email protected]