Starting a new chapter each semester doesn’t have to be so expensive.
Representatives from Samees’s Textbooks said they have been selling UNM textbooks for less than the UNM Bookstore since 2008.
Students from CNM and UNM have bought books from Samees’s Textbookssaid Brian Yu, Samees’s Textbooks manager, but he refused to say how much his sales have increased. Textbook sales are bound to grow as more students become familiar with the services Samees’s provide, he said.
“Our sales have increased from last year so we have been getting a percentage of UNM’s customers in our store,” Yu said.
Melanie Sparks, the UNM Bookstore director, said she has not noticed a drop in sales since Samees’s opened up west of campus along Central Avenue.
Both bookstores buy their books from publishers and wholesalers based on what professors have requested.
The UNM Bookstore is contracted with the University, which Sparks said will keep their customers.
“The thing that makes the UNM Bookstore is that we are a part of the University, so all of the proceeds go back to the University,” Sparks said.
Student Kathryn Romero said she saved $90 last semester by going to Samees’s to buy her books.
“I would recommend anyone buying their books at Samees’s,” Romero said. “I mean, if you can get the same book for $50 less, why wouldn’t you? You can support your school in other ways than buying their books.”
Student Samantha Brown said she shops at the UNM Bookstore because it’s conveniently located on campus.
“I kind of like buying my books at the Bookstore even though they are more expensive,” Brown said. “It’s just like right there, and I feel like you are supporting your school more if you do buy your books there rather than an outside source.”
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Sparks said having Samees’s across the street benefits students.
“The advantage of having Samees’s is that when we run out of something at the bookstore students are able to go and get the book in a timely manner if it’s something they need right away,” Sparks said.
While students have the option to buy their books from online alternatives such as amazon.com or half.com, sophomore Rabia Friedman said she still prefers to buy at Samees’s Textbooks.
“I don’t have to worry about waiting for my books on Amazon to come in,” Friedman said. “It’s basically the same price with all the shipping and handling, and it’s more convenient.”
GRAPHIC:
The Daily Lobo compared prices from five randomly selected textbooks available at both Samees’s and the UNM Bookstore.
Class: ANTH 130
Bravo For The Marshallese, Barker
Bookstore new: $40.75
Bookstore used: $30.75
Samees’s new: $34.00
Samees’s used: $25.50
Class: BIO 123
Biology: Concepts Connections 6/E, Campbell
Edition 6
Bookstore new: $154.75
Bookstore used: $116.25
Samees’s new: $151.14
Samees’s used: $113.40
Class: ECON 106
Principles of Microeconomics 5/E, Mankiw
Edition 5
Bookstore new: $164.50
Bookstore used: $123.50
Samees’s new: $170.00
Samees’s used: $127.50
Class: RELG 107
Experiencing World’s Religions (Custom), Molloy
Bookstore new: $103.75
Bookstore used: $78.00
Samees’s new: $89.32
Samees’s used: $67.00
Class: STAT 145
Basic Practice Of Statistics W/CD Paperback, Moore
Edition 4
Bookstore new: $127.00
Bookstore used: $95.25
Samees’s: new: $105.60
Samees’s used: $79.20
