By Scott Smith
Staff Writer
This is a story of buyer beware and what could happen if the elements come together and decide to take your money. It is a story of a last-minute email, changed curriculum, and an unfavorable bookstore return policy.
Buying books is just a part of college life here at Cameron University. Over the past few years, I have learned to wait until the last minute to purchase my study material in case my professors change their mind about which book or access code, if any, they will use. It just so happens that one of my purchases this year developed into a perfect storm of events that ended up, unnecessarily, costing me money. $86.00 to be exact.
It was late morning Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 when the email arrived in my inbox. At my earliest convenience, I opened the email and read the message. The email stated that we would not be using the access code that was in the required books section of the syllabus for one of my courses. There was only one problem, I had already bought the book.
The first thing that went through my mind was that I just saved $86.00. Yes! I made plans to return my unopened, unscratched, online access code the following week when I would be on campus for a class. I consider most books and access codes to be a costly part of my college career, but in this case, it was money back.
It was a week later, on Jan. 19 when I walked into the bookstore and presented my access code for return. I was greeted by Sher, the clerk at the desk. She gave me a strange look and then told me that it could not be returned, that it was too late, that Friday the 13th was the deadline. How could this be? She pointed to my receipt and there it was, No returns after 1/13/2013.
In a last-ditch effort to convince Sher that I was worthy of a refund, I showed her the email from my professor. I explained that I received the email on the day of the return deadline, that I live out of town, and felt as if I were being punished for a last-minute decision that I had no control over. I detected a rise in my heart rate and a warm feeling in my face as it changed color. I needed to calm down or it wouldn’t be long until I received the, ‘High Heart Rate’ warning from my Apple Watch. Sher explained there was nothing she could do, and we were past the point that the access code could be returned.
She said, “The only way to return the code is to drop the class.”
I wasn’t going to do that, so I left, vowing to myself that I would take this all the way to the President of the University. It was a true George Costanza moment (Seinfeld). Fortunately, after talking with my wife and hearing about her once feeble, unsuccessful attempt to return her book, I realized that I’m not the only student that has ever been hosed.
I calmed down somewhat, but not before emailing my professor about the situation. I’m not sure what I expected to happen at that point.
Nothing happened. Just a suggestion from my professor that I use the material for a study guide. I thought to myself, an expensive study guide.
In the grand scheme of what a college education costs, $86.00 isn’t that much, but in other areas, it’s quite a lot. $86.00 will buy around 27 gallons of gasoline, approximately 66 Taco Bell Bean Burritos, or about 277 packages of ramen noodles. Through the optics of real-world purchases, one can see the significance of losing this much money.
Through some deliberation and a few suggestions, I decided to write this story. Originally, my motives were to expose corrupt policies and bring down the bookstore, but as time went by, I decided that I would turn it into something positive. My loss, your gain.
I returned to the bookstore looking for some answers. Sitting down with the campus bookstore manager, Hannah Chaney I hoped to glean information about the return policy. As usual, there are explanations for the way things are. Hannah was very gracious and explained that the return policy many times corresponds with drop dates for classes and that new, unsold books have to be inventoried and returned to the parent book company.
She also gave information about other options.
“After the return date is passed, students always have the option of selling the books themselves or selling them back to the bookstore.” Chaney said.
Chaney and I also discussed the possibility of professors being made aware of return deadlines. She said that it wasn’t something that happened in the past, but would be considered in the future.
So, that’s my story. My money is gone, but there are a few things you can do to minimize the risk of losing yours: Be aware of bookstore policies and make yourself of the last day for returns. Don’t take the plastic off of your material until your professor decides whether to use it or not. Check for updates in Blackboard and be aware of drop dates.
Through my story, hopefully you can avoid the frustration that was dealt with and oh, by the way, I have a nice unused access card for Criminal Justice if anyone is interested in purchasing it next semester.