School Price Matching Policy

By: Dylan Doyle, Eastern Campus Staff Writer

This Fall semester marks the introduction of the new price matching policy at the campus bookstore. The policy provides students with the opportunity to save a potentially substantial amount of money through a relatively simple process.
Here’s how it works – compare the price of your books with the price listed on Amazon or Barnes and Noble’s website, an employee will verify the price and then the campus bookstore will offer you that same price. That’s it. Already purchased your books? The bookstore will refund you the difference if you provide them a proof of purchase and the price you could have gotten it for within the first week of your class starting. This works with new, used, and used rental textbooks, but not for new rentals, digital books, access codes, or bundles that contain either of these items. It also has to be the same exact version of the book, so make sure they have the same ISBN. Additionally, only books sold directly by Amazon or Barnes and Noble at their standard prices are eligible, meaning you can’t price match with the marketplaces these sites provide or use any promotional or membership-based discounts they might normally offer.
Despite these limitations, this new policy will certainly be useful for students who are using FAFSA to pay for their books since they are required to purchase their textbooks through the school bookstore. Normally, these students are locked out of the promotional discounts offered by outside sources, but this policy provides them with a nice alternative.
“It’s a great idea to help… college students keep money so they can use it toward other stuff they have to buy,” said Ian Page, Business Administration major, when introduced to the policy.
After comparing some of the bookstore prices against those of Amazon, several opportunities to save money were found ranging from a slim $12 discount on a new PHIL 2020 book to a massive $92 discount on renting an ECON 1210 book.
Many of the students on the Eastern campus shared Ian’s appreciation for the price matching, but also brought up a recurring issue: of the more than 20 students interviewed only two had even heard of the policy! The school has been advertising through several different channels, including emails and social media, but perhaps more on campus advertising is needed.
Gary Bernard Jones 2nd, Fashion Design Major, recommended that the school bookstore, “Put a poster up somewhere.” While Zachary Johnson, a Criminal Justice and Political Science Major, recommended that “they could make an announcement over the phone, leave those voice messages.”
Laurie Nelson, manager of the Eastern Campus Bookstore, felt the price matching was a win-win. “We feel anything that benefits our students, benefits our bookstore. Our commitment has always been to ensure that our students can access everything they need to succeed in the classroom. The price match program is another example of the bookstore’s latest efforts to ensure student are prepared for the first day of class, with the correct learning materials, at the most affordable prices.”
Nelson also said that the price matching is here to stay, so even if you already have your books for the start of the Fall Semester you’ll still be able to save some cash in the Spring Semester or even sooner if you’re enrolled in an eight week class.
Zachary Strike, Interior Design Major, seemed very interested in the new policy, “any chance I get, anything to save money.”

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