Students now have access to automatic textbook price comparisons when they go to the Syracuse University Bookstore’s website to buy or rent textbooks.

Offered for the first time this semester, the price comparison feature provides more buying options through popular websites like Amazon.com and allows students to shop competitively for their textbooks.

Kathleen Bradley, the text and general book division manager, has worked at the bookstore for more than 20 years and said this new feature has been in the works for the past six months.

“We had to fine tune the website in order to make sure that everything worked smoothly for our students when they purchased their textbooks,” Bradley said.

In the past, Bradley said they simply didn’t have the technology available to offer a price comparison feature. Now that technicians have set the new option up for the bookstore, SU students are able to potentially save money on textbook purchases, she said.

The purpose of the website’s new feature is to expand upon the textbook selection offered through SU’s bookstore and to make purchasing textbooks as inexpensive as possible for students, she said.

“Sometimes students see the Syracuse University Bookstore as really expensive, but it’s almost always the book itself that is pricey, which is usually due to custom printing,” Bradley said. “However, we try our absolute best to offer the lowest prices to our students, which is one of the reasons why we’ve worked so hard to provide a price comparison feature like this.”

Klaire Moller, a sophomore majoring in psychology, said that she wasn’t aware that the bookstore’s website offered this feature, but she would definitely use it when she purchased her textbooks in the next few days.

“I never thought about comparing the prices of my textbooks, so the fact that the bookstore’s website does it for me is awesome,” Moller said. “Last year when I bought books I just dealt with the fact that they were expensive and bought them through the bookstore. Now I know I can save myself some money, which is great.”

Lan Pham, a junior mechanical engineering major, was aware of the new price comparison tool and plans on utilizing it in the near future when she purchases her textbooks.

The bookstore’s website makes it easy to find the right textbooks for specific classes, Pham said, adding that the price comparison is useful when certain books are especially expensive.

Bradley added that the bookstore has received positive student feedback so far, and plans on continuing to use the price comparison feature in upcoming semesters.

“This new feature — it’s competitive, but it’s also transparent,” Bradley said.

The bookstore is competitive in finding the best prices for students and the new price comparison tool allows them to be transparent about the prices offered at the bookstore and through other outlets, Bradley said. Ultimately, she said, the new feature is designed to benefit students.

Said Bradley: “We are always looking to improve in order to help our students — that’s what we’re here for.”

Published on August 27, 2014 at 12:01 am

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