Every semester, the Bradley Bookstore sends students a list of books required for their registered classes.
For unsuspecting first-year students, the bookstore acts as a reliable and opportune alternative to other book distribution services. However, it seems as students advance through their college years, the bookstore becomes increasingly obsolete.
While features such as email reminders from the bookstore are designed to be convenient, many professors have different requirements or don’t utilize certain books throughout the course, thus defeating the purpose of ushering students to order books early.
Students have also run into the issue of the bookstore not having the required textbooks in stock. The backorder delay negatively impacts the student’s learning experience, rendering them unable to start assignments or study for upcoming exams.
Given that registration starts toward the third quarter of the semester, the bookstore has plenty of time to estimate how many students are in each class. If the store over-orders, they can carry the books over to the next semester.
Buying textbooks through the bookstore is often not worth the hassle, especially because getting them through Amazon is easier and sometimes cheaper. Textbooks for many subjects are notoriously expensive, so college students will often share links to other websites where books are listed for a better price.
Although the bookstore’s attempts to be helpful may seem beneficial, it is often more cost and time-effective for them to buy their books from a source outside Bradley.