To put it bluntly, the bookstore’s refund system needs to change.

I understand where the rules come from, and I realize as well as anyone that no system is perfect but some are better than others. The refund policy in the Laker Store needs some modifications because as it stands right now, there are some potential disadvantages that present themselves.

Why am I saying this? Well, have you ever had to buy a book after the first week of classes for any reason? I was in such a situation recently. I needed a package of small booklets for one of my classes, but failed to double check what the class number was. Unfortunately, I bought the wrong book. Now, being an Amazon customer, I’m used to having 30 days to return my product if needed. With this mindset, I tried returning my new book later that day in the exact same condition, only to be reminded that book can only be returned with the receipt during the first week of classes. My only other option was to sell it back to the bookstore, where I received $28 for that $90 book I bought earlier that same day. When buying the correct package that I needed, I used the money I had just gotten back for the book I sold. So long story short, I lost about $60 due to this apparently costly mistake.

With that being said, the first point I want to bring across is to remind everyone to make sure you know exactly what books you need before buying them, because if the current policy doesn’t change, that’s really the only solution to ensure problems like this don’t arise in the first place. As a general rule of thumb, make a note of all your course numbers prior to your trip to the bookstore so you can tell them your courses and they’ll lead you to the right books. I know this should be common knowledge, but obviously people such as myself would benefit from a reminder.

As far the bookstore’s policies are concerned, I really feel there needs to be a chance to the rule about refunds. As I stated before, I understand where the rule comes from. After all, we really only need the first week of classes to make sure our schedules are the way we want them to be. I also understand that it should be expected that students know what their course numbers and classes are before buying anything to ensure mistakes like these don’t happen, as I implied. Like I said, no system is perfect. Life happens, so there’s always bound to be something like this coming up now and then for whatever reason. I think there should still be a way for students to receive a refund if necessary. It may not have to be a full week like during the first week of the semester, but even a few days would be helpful to people who don’t realize until after the fact that they bought the wrong books.

As bad as it is that I can’t get my money back, I feel I can at least get the word out about this issue. I’m not asking for much, just a small change in the rules. No matter what the reason is for a mistake such as this, I feel there should always be a window for a solution, even if it’s a small one.