By Violet Vasquez/reporter

With books sometimes costing as much or more than tuition, TCC students look for convenient, yet cost-effective methods of buying their textbooks.

Students can purchase their books through the on-campus bookstores or their online ordering system as well as through other alternatives.

Each campus offers a bookstore where students can make their purchases face to face. Managed by Follett, the bookstores offer a wide selection of textbooks.

According to employees at the NE Campus bookstore, purchasing books early can be an advantage for students.

“Come early,” said NE Campus bookstore employee Evelyn Leggett. “The earlier, the better.”

Students also might find the online ordering system convenient.

They can order textbooks through efollett.com with a credit card. All orders are fulfilled by whichever bookstore is chosen.

However, if the book is not available at that location, it will be transferred from a different campus. Once the order is fulfilled, students can pick up their books.

NE Campus bookstore employee Brandi Wright said students have been using the online ordering system more recently.

“The online system is extremely great. It has really grown,” she said. “It is also a great way to avoid long lines.”

Using other Web sites provides another alternative to purchasing textbooks.

Craigslist.org, half.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble. com are just a few of the sites that offer college textbooks.

Some companies, such as Chegg.com, now offer textbook rental services.

Follett is currently under a new pilot program with UTA to test textbook rentals.

Wright said students should be careful when purchasing books on some Web sites because they do not always know what they are buying.

“The book may be missing pages, in really bad condition or just the wrong book. And you may not be able to return it,” she said. “As a student, I recommend buying books through the bookstore. That way you know what you’re getting.”

Students have also started using Facebook and MySpace to buy, sell and trade textbooks.

NE Campus student Megan Rambo said she has used Facebook for her textbook purchases.

“There is an application called the marketplace where you can search for books on sale,” she said. “I personally think it is legit because most of the time the book is being sold by either one of your friends or someone in your network.”

The student activities’ official posting board is another alternative.

Each campus has a posting board in its Student Center or a designated area.

Before students can post their books for sale on the bulletin board, the postings must have an official approval stamp. The stamp legitimizes that the book is being sold by a student.

“We make sure that the book seller is a student,” said Karen Raulerson, NE student development coordinator. “They must include their phone number for the posting to be approved.”