VIU’s bookstore is offering a new student service this year with their online textbook comparison tool.
The comparison tool allows students to compare VIU pricing with online competitors making it easier for students to find the best price.
Retail operations manager, Mike Thibodeau, said this is the bookstore’s way of becoming more transparent and beneficial to students.
“We know what year it is,” said Thibodeau. “It is time to change the image of the bookstore.”
Thibodeau said on-campus book sales have been dropping steadily over the years with the availability of digital texts and e-books. This new tool is a way for the bookstore to not only help students find the best price, but has also led to prices dropping in the store itself.
“We are being both proactive and reactive,” said Thibodeau. “We want to be more competitive with our prices.”
The website does the research for you, with a menu where a student can select the courses they are taking, and the books for that course come up with their online comparison.
The tool is not just limited to the physical copies, but also has the option of purchasing course packs, e-books, or digital textbooks. Students can order and pay for their books online, and have them sent to their house or held ready to pick up in the bookstore.
Thibodeau said he hopes this transparency shows how the bookstore is trying to help the VIU student community.
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