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Ads tell textbook-buying students to "Get on-line, not in line." Varsitybooks.com bills itself as "your online college bookstore." Is the traditional campus bookstore on its way to extinction? Last summer the Colby Bookstore tested the on-line competition. A student picked six Colby classes and shopped for books at eight of the most popular college textbook Web sites. She got so frustrated that she asked to be let out of the project, says Barbara Shutt, book division manager, who oversaw the project. Only one company was able to ship all the books requested. Others had waits of up to six weeks for out-of-stock books. Still others didn't have the books needed or the correct edition, according to the bookstore's research. "No one else will sell all the books you need at Colby," said Bruce Barnard, manager of the Colby Bookstore. He admits on-line sellers can offer books cheaper, even with shipping costs, but says students should consider the total experience. "The typical student at a private liberal arts college in New England is demanding of convenience," he said. "We tend to cater here." However, Randy Stewart '00 had to log onto Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com when the Colby Bookstore was out of three required English books this fall. "It would have taken weeks" for Colby to deliver the books, he said. Instead, shopping on line, Stewart had the books in days. He compared prices at Barnes and Noble with his Colby Bookstore purchases and found them the same. "I should have checked them all at Amazon, though," he said. Occasional out-of-stock titles notwithstanding, Barnard is working hard to keep students shopping on campus. The Bookstore offers used books and custom publishing of professor requests. The store also makes immediate exchanges when students add or drop classes and buys back new and used books. Though bookstore sales were up this fall, Barnard says the store isn't about to dismiss the competition. While few Colby students have turned to the Web for textbooks, the on-line companies are "in it for the long haul," said Barnard. "Web stores like varsitybooks.com expect to lose money for some time." Eventually, though, they intend to make a profit. So far, on-line textbook sellers are best at targeting public institutions, where booklists must be made available if requested in writing—a rule that doesn't apply to Colby. Some on-line sellers have begun partnering with schools and, in some cases, have completely taken over student textbook sales. Looking ahead, Barnard said, "We know there's a battle, a long drawn-out war."
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