Every college student has to buy their own textbooks. The hassle of not knowing which book to buy or rent, where to purchase it and how much to spend on a textbook can be stressful. It may even cause some anxiety. Believe me, as a freshman who is just beginning her college career, I know the struggle. In today’s society, we are very fortunate to have access to several different resources where we can purchase the semester’s required materials. Colorado Mesa University provides the Maverick Store, and near Colorado Mesa University is the Textbook Brokers.  

The Maverick Store is located on campus in the University Center. For people who need a quick and easy way to pick up their books, the Maverick Store is just the place to go. The store even has a website. You can order your books online and have them shipped. You can also go into the store and pick them up.

There are a couple of drawbacks to this particular bookstore, however. During the first couple of weeks of the semester, the Maverick Store was always busy. I remember going to return some books I purchased, and the line zig-zagged to the back of the store. The prices for books were also more expensive compared to Textbook Brokers, located just across the street at 1144 N 12th St.

I ended up going to Textbook Brokers and spending about one-third less on my books than I did at the Maverick Store. When I went into Textbook Brokers, the employees explained how their business works.

“We always have lower prices on textbooks than the Mav Store,” one employee said to me. I handed him my schedule for the semester and he came back to the counter with an armload of books that I needed. Not only were the prices for the books cheaper, but the service was great! Everyone working there was friendly and happy to help. For those of you who enjoy bargain shopping, I would highly recommend Textbook Brokers.

There is always someone who doesn’t have the time to go shopping for textbooks in a bookstore. With the help of modern technology, online book orders can be made. There are several online websites where you can purchase the semester’s textbooks. Some sites are Chegg Textbook Rentals, Barnes and Noble, textbooks.com and my personal favorite, Amazon.

I asked two students, Amy Willett and Nicki Schwulst, their opinion on buying textbooks.They prefer buying and renting books from bookstores rather than online. Willett ended up buying her books from the Maverick Store because she didn’t know where else to go. Schwulst, on the other hand, went to Textbook Brokers. Schwulst said the reason she had gone over to Textbook Brokers was due to the fact that the Mav Store was busy.

Whether you buy books at the Maverick Store, Textbook Brokers or online, the most important takeaway is to find the place that is the most convenient and most comfortable for you.