By Julie FrenchThe Daily Northwestern
Both the Norris Center Bookstore’s Web site and NUOnlineBooks.com have seen steady increases in sales since the sites went online, according to representatives of both booksellers.
The number of students using Norris’ online service has doubled each quarter since a Web site upgrade a year and a half ago, said bookstore manager Linda Fish.
“We pull your books, you avoid the long lines and your parents can pay for them,” Fish said of Norris’ online system.
Norris’ upgrade allows students to buy any new or used book available at the store. The previous system required students to purchase all of a course’s books as a set. Students pay in advance and pick up books at the store after receiving an e-mail notification.
There is no extra cost for ordering online.
Weinberg freshman Max Johnson said he reserved books for two classes online because he knew his time would be limited after break.
“It’s a lot more convenient to do it this way,” he said.
The upgraded Norris site also lists prices, allowing students to comparison shop from their desks. It does not, however, list ISBN numbers.
At NUOnlineBooks, sales have nearly doubled since the site began in fall 2005, with more sales coming in daily, said Jonathan Webber, the site’s founder.
NUOnlineBooks links class reading lists to books for sale on Web sites such as Amazon.com, as well as any books that Northwestern students are attempting to sell. Students who arrive at those sites through the NUOnlineBooks portal can ask that a percentage of the sale be donated to an NU student group or charities such as Evanston-based Family Focus.
“I think having the ability to buy a book from someone down the hall and not lose whatever Norris takes is a huge advantage,” said Webber, a SESP junior said. “We’re very open in encouraging students that if they can find books elsewhere they should take information from our site and go get them somewhere else.”
McCormick senior Jay Zeschin said he’ll buy his books from NUOnlineBooks.
“I would normally go to Amazon anyway,” he said. “I might as well give (NUOnlineBooks) the commission.”
Zeschin said he’s bought all of his textbooks online since the fall of his sophomore year, after he received the wrong book through the old online reservation system at Norris. He opened the sealed package before he realized the mistake and was unable to return the books, he said.
But not all students are willing to wait for online orders to arrive.
Ali Moskowitz, a Communication graduate student, said she would rather just buy the books in person because most of her professors require her to have her books right away.
Fish said people like Moskowitz appreciate Norris’ convenience and come back.
“Some people have always shopped elsewhere,” Fish said. “(But) I get a lot of repeat customers, which means they liked it the first time.”
Reach Julie French at [email protected].
