Recalling the frantic bustle of holiday shopping, ISU students have been packing area bookstores in a rush to get their book shopping for the new semester done.

Unfortunately, that energy doesn’t bring with it the holiday thrill of opening a new present.

Further, textbook purchases can produce a lot of stress by proving to be a tremendous cost for students. According to the National Association of College Stores’ Web site, the cost of books and supplies for the average student ranged from $801 to $904 for the 2005-06 academic year.

It’s not surprising, then, that a common concern for students is the reasoning behind the high cost of books. The average gross margin (the difference between the publisher price and the bookstore price) is reportedly 22.4 percent, which covers personnel costs, transportation costs and various store-operating costs, according to NACS’ 2007 College Store Industry Financial Report. Subsequently, the vendor typically makes 4.4 cents for every dollar of textbook sales.

Rita Phillips, book division manager at University Book Store, said the current gross margin for the store is 25 percent. That margin is then distributed to cover the costs listed above and, if costs are high enough, can actually result in a loss for the store. After covering costs, the book store makes less than a dollar per book overall, she said.

At times, the store doesn’t make even that.

“We actually lose money on the books sometimes because the shipping costs offset the margin,” Phillips said. “Textbooks are not a high-margin item; the publishers set the price and the faculty decide which books are going to be used.”

According to the NACS Web site, college bookstores are different from traditional bookstores in that they are “service-driven” and “attempt to provide the lowest possible prices for students, as opposed to trying to make the largest profit.”

Despite the daunting final costs, Phillips encouraged students to purchase their texts from UBS for several different reasons.

“Because we’re owned by ISU, we listen to the faculty, that’s the main thing,” Phillips said. “It’s our job that we’re providing the correct educational material for our students.”

Students have various reasons for choosing the stores from which they purchase their semester books.

Kayla Conrad, senior in meteorology, said she used to purchase her books from UBS, but has gone to Campus Book Store, 2300 Lincoln Way, for the past two semesters, prefers CBS to UBS.

“They [CBS] have more used books here,” Conrad said. “[And] I think they’re cheaper.”

Some proponents for UBS cite convenience as the main reason there.

Many bookstore customers are indifferent to which store they shop at – understandable, considering both stores are close to campus and their prices are usually within a dollar of each other’s.

Page Mega, sophomore in communication studies, purchased her books from UBS this semester, but has also gone to CBS in the past, as both stores have proven to be equally convenient.

“I go with both stores,” Mega said. “There is really no favoritism.”

On another hand entirely are the students who purchase their books online. According to the NACS Web site, students reported purchasing 23 percent of their textbooks through the Web, and one-third of those sales came from college bookstore Web sites.

The NACS reported that online book purchases are significantly cheaper because some publishers sell textbooks to wholesalers or retailers overseas at prices “that are greatly reduced in comparison to those available to U.S. college stores and other retailers.”

Mark West, junior in aerospace engineering, said he often purchases his books online from either Amazon.com or Half.com.

“It’s cheaper,” West said. “I save between $100 to $150 per semester…which includes the price of shipping.”