How to buy textbooks (the right way)

A week before classes began, I received e-mails from two professors.

They were salutations – hearty greetings to the new semester and invitations to get a head start on some work while summer was winding down. Included at the bottom were the titles of the textbooks we were to be using and a tip to find these hardcover, new edition books online for a discount. 
  
Eager to save myself some of the stress involved with the long lines and limited supplies at T.I.S., I went online and searched for these reading materials.

What I found on the World Wide Web were drastic discounts on those necessary books.

Amazed at how much I could save with such little effort, I quickly ordered the books from my parents’ house in California and was pleased to see them delivered to my Bloomington residence a few days later.

It was a thrilling experience to return to town already prepared for my two classes – but unfortunate that I still had to go to the bookstore before I would be completely ready.

So one day during Welcome Week, I handed my backpack to a girl at T.I.S. and ascended the stairs to find my materials.

After maneuvering through a mass of sweaty and loud students, I picked up a basket and roamed the aisles looking for my books.

It was useless trying to ask the employees for help with finding anything, as they were distracted by the mobs of freshmen demanding their attention.

Finally, I gave up completely on trying to find the unlisted material for one of my classes and made my way down to the register.

After checking out I realized what an absurd amount of money these textbooks had just cost me. In a monetary daze I sat on the steps of T.I.S., turning the books over and over in my hands and finally rationalizing to myself that this was all for the good of my education.

Once school began I discovered that a textbook – which cost more than $100 – was not required for one of my classes. So in a bit of a disgusted rage over feeling as though T.I.S. had taken advantage of me, I returned there one last time.

Thankfully, I had my receipt and procured a full refund.

Unfortunately, I still do not have the books for the class that was previously unlisted at T.I.S.. Not only could I not find them there, but they were out of copies at the Indiana Memorial Union Book Store and at Boxcar Books as well.

While I wait for Amazon to deliver them, I can only wonder how convenient it would have been if I had known about these books with enough notice to have ordered them at a discounted price before class even began.

Professors ultimately fail to realize what a great help this is.

Please, profs, save us some time, money and headaches and give us the reading list well ahead of time.