Whether it involves using their phones, their computers or their feet, NIU students have a plethora of options to choose from when buying their textbooks.

The most conventional approach is to make their way to the two bookstores on campus and find the classes they registered for on little cards lining the shelves of the store’s towering bookshelves. Like thousands of students before them, this is the most common way students are buying their books.

Some students, though, have opted for a more contemporary way to secure those precious piles of paper required by each of their professors.

“I’ve been buying my books at Half.com for two semesters now, and it’s easy and cheap,” junior biology major Josh Lucas said.

For students like Lucas, clicking their way through sites like Half.com and Amazon.com’s marketplace allows them to purchase both new and used books and have them shipped to their home.

According to Amazon, customers can expect their order in four to 14 business days.

“I think that the ease of coming here in person, and knowing that you can come back and return them if you don’t need them, outweighs getting your books from an online bookseller,” said Lee Blankenship, owner of the Village Commons Bookstore.

Blankenship said he makes sure to have the right textbook or edition, so there isn’t any confusion when students come to pick out their books. He also said having a knowledgeable staff on hand when a student has a question is something that you can’t find on a Web site.

However, both the VCB and University Bookstore offer online services. Through the bookstores’ Web sites, customers not only can purchase, but reserve books and then pick them up on their own time.

“We started our online service mainly for NIU’s extension students or those living off campus four or five years ago,” said Mitch Kielb, acting director of the Holmes Student Center.

Kielb said he had received more than 150 orders within the first days of August. And although the bookstore has an 800 number for ordering, the Web site allows students access 24 hours a day.

“I just don’t have the patience to order books online, ” said Gigi Betts, communication graduate student. “I ordered from online sites before and didn’t get them until the middle of the semester.”

Carrying two hefty bags of books from the VCB, Betts said that online book buying wasn’t worth the hassle and preferred looking for her textbooks personally.

“I don’t think that I’ll buy any books online,” said senior computer science major John Schonings, echoing a similar opinion to Betts. “I’ll probably just buy my books here on campus.”

One benefit of buying your textbooks from local vendors is the option of putting the usually large expense on a student’s financial aid account. “You can’t use your NIU OneCard to put your books onto your school account on a Web site,” Blankenship said.

And although both bookstores on campus maintain very similar prices for both new and used books, students can find deals online.