Amherst Books has years & years of customer service. We are not only dedicated to providing speedy, effective & safe service, we pride
ourselves on providing textbooks to students at competitive prices. We try to get used books whenever they are available.
In these trying times we need your support!
Reasons for ordering your books from us:
All graduate students, faculty & staff at the Five Colleges get a 10% discount on all purchases. (Please let the bookseller at the cash register, by email, or by telephone, know who you are at time of purchase!)
Re: desk copies: publishers these days require the instructor to ask them directly for desk copies. Do a web search using the words “desk copy” & the publisher’s name, to get information. Let us know if we can help.
At Amherst Books instructors (for UMass instructors see below) can order their textbooks using our on-line form (please, no students!), by email, or you can print out a PDF Requisition Form.
Drop it by, call it in to 413.256.1547; or fax it to 413.256.1621. We'll always acknowledge receipt as soon as we receive the order. If you don't get a response, please let us know—it means something got lost in the ether!
For UMass instructors only:
We can no longer compete with the UMass on-line ordering system; if you list your books on SPIRE, it is not worth our while to order them, so please do not ask us to carry them. Books ordered soley from us will appear on our webpage making you fully compliant with the law.
Information we will need:
Your institution
Your department
Class name & course number
Estimated enrollment
The author or authors, editor or editors of each text
The titles & any particular edition you want
—we always try to find the cheapest edition if you don't specify
Anything else you want to tell us, e.g.
—if a title is recommended rather than required
—if you know that a title will need special handling
—if you want a desk copy
Buybacks
We will buy textbooks at our discretion.
For Students
Whether you go to school at Amherst College, Hampshire College, or the University of Massachusetts, we ask you support us in these trying times by purchasing your books from us & supporting other local businesses. Like many other brick & mortar shops, the pandemic has hurt us all. We believe a thriving local community needs local businesses & we need your business—or, what in the old days, used to be call your “custom.” Customers were those who were accustomed to shopping, or customarily shopped, at local businesses.
The store is open for browsing & textbook purchases. Feel free to email us with questions, but we don't take coursebook orders by email.
If you drop a class textbooks will only be returnable until the end of add-drop. They must be in new shape & your must have your receipt. Please note that we will begin to return books immediately following add-drop.
If you must shop on-line, we suggest going to Bookshop.org. They are like a books-only Amazon, except that if you order from them & associate your purchase with Amherst Books, they will give us a cut. (Using the provided link will automatically associate your order with us.)