ECU Dowdy Student Stores - Welcome

Dowdy Student Stores

ECU Dowdy Student Stores

Welcome New Students & Families to ECU & ECU Dowdy Student Stores
We know when students are starting college the information can be overwhelming. The staff of the ECU Dowdy Student Stores would like to help you in any way we can. We hope you'll find the information on this web site helpful, but always feel free to call on us with any questions you may have. If we can't help you, we'll find someone who can! The Dowdy Student Store is located in the Wright Building in the central area of the main campus – just around the corner from the entrance to Wright Auditorium. [click here for campus map] We're your headquarters for textbooks, discounted computers and software, school and art supplies, and ECU imprinted clothing and merchandise. We also offer many services to help students save time, money, or both! Come by and see everything we have to offer at the Dowdy Student Stores. Some of our exciting programs include In-Store TEXTBOOK RENTALS, the ability to set-up a BOOKSTORE ACCOUNT, TEXTBOOK RESERVATIONS, ACADEMIC DISCOUNTS on SOFTWARE and COMPUTERS, and more!
Open House & Presentations Be sure to check your ORIENTATION schedule and look for our presentations with important and helpful information about the many options for buying or RENTING textbooks, Textbook RESERVATIONS, and also the presentation about the ACE computer program. These will provide a great deal of information for both parents and students. Plan to attend our Open House, usually held on Day 2 of orientation. New students can register for a chance to win FREE textbooks in our orientation drawings. An entry form and free T-SHIRT voucher will be given to each student at check-in. Other small gifts will be available throughout the store during Orientation! Check your bag for information from ECU Dowdy Student Stores! There's also a FREE GIFT voucher for family members at check-in.
Online Textbook Reservations & Online Ordering
Students taking classes on campus can purchase textbooks online and have their books boxed and ready for pick-up during Fall semester move-in weekend! There are two options for doing this: Textbook Reservations and Online Ordering. Either option will offer both convenience and time savings. TEXTBOOK RESERVATIONS Through our TEXTBOOK RESERVATION program, students sign up to have STORE STAFF look up their fall semester schedule, identify and pick the required textbooks, charge the books on the student-provided credit card or bookstore account, box them up, and hold them for the student to pick-up during Move-In Weekend. The deadline for Textbook Reservations is July 31st so that orders can be charged during the North Carolina Tax-Free Holiday Weekend, saving the student from paying NC sales tax on the books. By reserving books early, the student also has a greater advantage in securing less-costly USED textbooks since the supply is greater at that time. LINK to Textbook Reservations for FALL 2011 Semester ONLINE ORDERING Through our ONLINE ORDERING system, students login, select the course and view the textbooks for that course. The purchase is made online at that time. Distance Education students can have their books shipped to their home address. On-Campus students can choose two convenient pick-up locations: Dowdy Student Store in the Wright Building and College Hill (large parking lot at the bottom of College Hill Drive). To order your textbooks online, visit the Dowdy Student Store Online Textbook Ordering site. For in-store pick-up, students must allow at least 3 business days for processing. To take advantage of the NC Tax-Free Holiday Weekend benefit, online orders for individual books must be placed during the Tax-Free Holiday, August 5-7, 2011 (pending 2011 approval from NC legislature).
Yes, We ALSO Have RENTAL Textbooks! You can RENT textbooks through ECU Dowdy Student Stores for many courses! At orientation you'll find out more about this money-saving program! In addition to rental textbooks, Dowdy Student Store has several online agreements with companies such as CourseSmart that offer e-books and digital chapters. When using any online vendors for purchasing or renting books, or buying digital chapters or online access to books, be sure to read return policies and conditions for dropping a class. When renting a textbook, whether from Dowdy Student Stores, or another vendor, always pay attention to the return date to avoid having to pay a late fee or penalty.
Cash Back for Your Textbooks
The BOOK BUYBACK program at the ECU Dowdy Student Store is one of the best in the country allowing students to sell back their books at the end of the semester for CASH! Not all textbooks are suitable for this program, such as those bundled packages that include a textbook, workbook, CD, and/or an Internet access code. However, the bookstore has met with faculty and identified certain textbooks that will be used again in the next term. The best reason to sell books back ON CAMPUS is that MORE USED BOOKS STAY ON CAMPUS rather than being taken off campus and sold to other wholesalers across the country! [view details online here]

ECU ACE Initiative Lenovo ThinkPad & Apple Computers
Choosing a computer is an important and expensive decision! ECU recommends that all students have access to a computer, and certain university majors have requirements that students have a laptop meeting certain minimum specifications. Let us help you through this decision-making process by explaining what a typical student needs in a computer and how the technical support and warranty play such a critical role in your decision. [view details online here] In addition to Apple and Lenovo, Dowdy Student Store has agreements with other manufacturers such as Dell and HP, that offer academic discounts to college students. Visit our web site for links to these ECU specific web sites to find pricing information.
North Carolina Tax-Free Shopping Holiday The North Carolina Dept. of Revenue offers a special tax-free shopping holiday for students and their families to save money each year! Certain purchases made during Tax-Free Weekend, the first weekend in August, will be exempt from sales tax. Of special interest to ECU students is that most textbooks, computers and computer supplies, school supplies, and apparel will be tax exempt. [See NC Dept. of Revenue web site for details] Check the store web site for special hours during tax-free weekend.
Wright Building Store Hours for Summer: Monday - Friday: 7:30am – 5pm Wright Building Store Hours for Fall and Spring Semesters: Monday - Thursday: 7:30am – 7pm Friday: 7:30am – 5pm Saturday: 11am - 3pm Hours may vary and will be posted on our Store Hours page for special events, holidays, and the start of each semester.
Join our E-mail List! Students and families are invited to join our E-mail list to keep up with news from Dowdy Student Stores. Sales and Special Promotions Book Buyback Dates Where to find Special Coupons and Offers Dates of the NC Sales Tax Holiday Join today by clicking here and completing our simple form.