With the sky-rocketing prices of textbooks, some college students are opting to purchase their books online.

The Internet has become an integral part of many college students’ lives, and some have decided to rely on the Internet instead of bookstores.

Junior finance major Kim Bell said www.ecampus.com is an option she prefers to use while shopping for inexpensive textbooks.

“It’s kind of like Wal-Mart; sometimes you find stuff cheaper, sometimes you don’t,” she said.

Bell believes finding cheaper books is worth the searching and comparing.

“Only if shipping is free; otherwise you’re paying the same thing,” Bell said.

Some students pay for their textbooks out of pocket and thus prefer to search around for the best deal.

In some cases, that means waiting until the last minute to buy books so they can avoid buying books that their professors may not require.

Senior finance major Tom Schlink believes buying textbooks online can be cheaper, but not always the most convenient.

“You have to wait for shipping. Sometimes they lose your orders; that actually happened to me last year. I had to wait two more weeks,” Schlink said.

Schlink said the Village Commons Bookstore is the best resource for getting books because of the store’s wide selection.

Furthermore, some students believe there is a lot of inconvenience involved with buying books online and do not opt for that method.

“I don’t have time,” said junior math education major Paul Okimoto. “I get [books] in between classes.”

Other students take textbook buying and selling into their own hands. Bell said she sells her books and negotiates for the best price.

Okimoto said he does not sell his textbooks to other students. However, he and his friend are sharing a math textbook to save money.

Lee Blankenship, the manager for VCB, does not see online prices as a large threat that can lower sales.

“We’ve been hearing [about online books] for over 20 years,” Blankenship said. “Convenience is a large factor. Sometimes you get a deal [online]; sometimes you don’t.”