Why I Hate The Cornell Store

Each term The Cornell Store sells all new textbooks at list price, and for larger classes offers used books for a little less. You can get a better deal on books through Amazon or any other online store, or simply by walking down to Kraftees in collegetown.

My statistics book was on sale for $129.00 at The Cornell Store, but I was able to purchase it online for $85.00. Problem was, I had a problem set due last week, and the book I'd ordered hadn't come. So, I purchased a copy from The Cornell Store with the intention of returning it within the 7-day return period in order to receive my full price back.

This morning, I brought the book back to return it, but was told that due to a small crease in the corner of the paperback cover I would only be able to receive the "used" price, or $94.00. The book has a flimsy paperback cover and by leafing through a few pages I had managed to decrease its value by $35.00. I returned it anyway, figuring I'd at least saved $9.00 by ordering online. Still, this seemed like complete bullshit, since the crease was hardly noticeable.

This afternoon, I returned to the textbook section of the store. Sure enough, back up for sale at the "new" price was the book I'd returned a few hours before. I knew because it had that small crease on the cover. Yet there it was, ready for someone to purchase it for $129.00.

Does anyone else see something wrong with this?