Students use Facebook to save on spring textbook costs
Some bookstores don't have an address or a physical location.
Some Central Michigan University students browse aisles as easily as scrolling down a page.
Facebook's role in the lives of college students is continuing to evolve, becoming an alternative to purchasing textbooks at a campus bookstore.
Textbook Exchange is an open group created by senior Andy Les Paul with over 1,700 members. Another group, CMU Book Exchange Swap, was created by senior Nick Erickson and is frequented by around 1,300 students.
Both pages exist as a network, for students to cut the bookstores profits out of the used book purchasing process by using the power of Facebook to exchange and sell among themselves.
Alumna Tasia Bass, who graduated in December, previously used the CMU Bookstore preorder service before discovering she could save hundreds by renting and purchasing books from other students.
"Between Facebook and Amazon, I saved $200 to $300," Bass said.
Bass graduated from CMU last fall with a B.S. in English Literature and a minor in Public Affairs, but that wasn't always her plan. Students in art, mathematics and science courses often have limited alternatives because of online access codes and other non-textbook course materials, Bass said.
"Having to buy books was half the reason I dropped my economics minor," Bass said.
She recommends buying books through Facebook, but Bass advised students to be careful to purchase the correct books, as different professors may use different editions.
Senior Benjamin McDonald, who is attending Kalamazoo Community College but plans to return to CMU in the fall, advises students to take advantage of the online opportunity.
"Anybody that's strapped for cash should definitely find students who are selling books," he said.
McDonald estimates he saved $200-$300 by purchasing used books from students and through Amazon. He once found an algebra textbook, $102 in the bookstore, for only $10 on Amazon.
Livonia Junior Josh Palmer rented his JRN 551: Case Studies in Public Relations textbook, normally $170 new and $116.75 used on Amazon, for free on Facebook. Farmington senior Kelly Potter responded to Palmer's post asking for the textbook within five days, and now the PR major is ready for JRN 551.
"Every time I've (bought/rented a book on Facebook) it's been easy," Palmer said. "A lot of people from my major are on there looking to buy and sell books."
Palmer's arrangement was made through the CMU-exclusive group Integrative Public Relations. This page is just one of many groups that are available for students of specific majors.
