2008 Woodie Awards
Colgate Exchange Is A Good Alternative To the Pricey Bookstore
John Kelly
Issue date: 1/21/05 Section: Commentary
During my opening semester at Colgate I was fortunate to participate in many of the long-held traditions that make this school unique. For starters I spent a few hookup-less nights at the jug (a streak sure to continue after this gets published), watched the Raiders football team pummel the Patriot League competition, and endured the below zero temperatures of Hamilton. I also had the unfortunate experience of being tooled by the Bookstore Buyback system.
After my last final of the semester I headed downtown eager to fatten my rapidly slimming wallet with bills in return for my now useless books. After I plopped down more than $400 on my textbooks I expected quite a hefty return on my investment (so much so I even snuck in a few old books from home, thinking I was beating the system). Boy was I wrong! After staring at the measly $80 and some odd cents resting in my hand I realized the joke was on me.
As a naïve freshman I depended upon the enlightened ways of upperclassmen to guide me. However, walking up the stairs I spotted a number of these supposed role models walking like blind dogs toward a destiny of financial ruin.
These same students are supposed to be the best and the brightest (although I have met many who rarely exhibit these traits) and consistently make informed decisions. Therefore I concluded there had to be more obvious reasons at work for this blatant stupidity. I believe that the lure of cash, time and convenience tricks them into a lifetime (or at least four years) of getting continually ripped off.
After further review it is obvious that none of these aspects are legitimate for losing money. First and foremost, the idea of receiving cash for books appears better on paper than in reality. After spending more than $400 on books, a 20% return on my investment is nothing to get excited about. This implies that inflation on books parallels to the inflation of the 1980's. I can't understand how after using a book for four months, it loses 80% of its value. It would be appropriate for students to use this system if there were no alternatives, however right in front of our faces is a perfectly constructed website that was solely created to elicit cooperative bargaining between Colgate students. We should be grateful to the diligent workers who have created the Colgate Book Exchange. Also, the belief that the book exchange saves time is completely ridiculous. After spending nearly a half hour on the line I realized how valuable my time was. I understand that the book-trading program is open for five days (beginning Monday of finals week), but if my last final is on Friday then I'm forced to take multiple trips to the bookstore. Therefore, my only option was to wait a half hour in line Friday afternoon. Finally, the most outrageous student excuse is convenience. Personally, trucking 60 lbs. of books down to the bookstore on the Colgate Cruiser is not what I consider convenient. In addition, the bookstore was only able to accept little more than half of my books and I was forced to stand outside in the freezing weather waiting to lunge a heavy backpack of my shoulder for another trip up the hill.
After my last final of the semester I headed downtown eager to fatten my rapidly slimming wallet with bills in return for my now useless books. After I plopped down more than $400 on my textbooks I expected quite a hefty return on my investment (so much so I even snuck in a few old books from home, thinking I was beating the system). Boy was I wrong! After staring at the measly $80 and some odd cents resting in my hand I realized the joke was on me.
As a naïve freshman I depended upon the enlightened ways of upperclassmen to guide me. However, walking up the stairs I spotted a number of these supposed role models walking like blind dogs toward a destiny of financial ruin.
These same students are supposed to be the best and the brightest (although I have met many who rarely exhibit these traits) and consistently make informed decisions. Therefore I concluded there had to be more obvious reasons at work for this blatant stupidity. I believe that the lure of cash, time and convenience tricks them into a lifetime (or at least four years) of getting continually ripped off.
After further review it is obvious that none of these aspects are legitimate for losing money. First and foremost, the idea of receiving cash for books appears better on paper than in reality. After spending more than $400 on books, a 20% return on my investment is nothing to get excited about. This implies that inflation on books parallels to the inflation of the 1980's. I can't understand how after using a book for four months, it loses 80% of its value. It would be appropriate for students to use this system if there were no alternatives, however right in front of our faces is a perfectly constructed website that was solely created to elicit cooperative bargaining between Colgate students. We should be grateful to the diligent workers who have created the Colgate Book Exchange. Also, the belief that the book exchange saves time is completely ridiculous. After spending nearly a half hour on the line I realized how valuable my time was. I understand that the book-trading program is open for five days (beginning Monday of finals week), but if my last final is on Friday then I'm forced to take multiple trips to the bookstore. Therefore, my only option was to wait a half hour in line Friday afternoon. Finally, the most outrageous student excuse is convenience. Personally, trucking 60 lbs. of books down to the bookstore on the Colgate Cruiser is not what I consider convenient. In addition, the bookstore was only able to accept little more than half of my books and I was forced to stand outside in the freezing weather waiting to lunge a heavy backpack of my shoulder for another trip up the hill.