This year’s huge Boston University freshman class has increased textbook sales dramatically over previous years, despite the further establishment of online textbook purchasing sites like amazon.com and half.com, according to Barnes and Noble bookstore’s General Manager Mike Gore.

Though Gore said there is generally an increase in sales from year to year, the bookstore has seen an even greater increase due to BU’s larger student population.

‘There’s 1,000 additional freshman this year,’ he said. ‘Freshman are the largest book purchasers, and they have the largest classes.

‘If enrollment was the same ,[then sales would] pretty much be the same,’ he added. ‘Textbooks generally go up about three percent every year anyway.’

Despite the store’s increased volume, Gore said textbook returns have remained steady.

‘It’s too early to say [there is a change], we’re seeing a lot [of returns], but no more than normal,’ Gore said.

Gore said this year’s textbook sales have been well-organized within the store, and said the staff has been preparing for the start of the semester for weeks.

‘It is going really smooth as far as we are concerned,’ he said. ‘We had 21 registers going on the text book floor.’

Store staff efforts to gauge productivity have shown that the store has the ability to move 250 people through the entire process in less than 25 minutes, Gore said. It takes an average of five minutes per person when the store is not as busy, according to Gore.

Gore also said they have been getting a lot of positive feedback from students on the speed of the textbook buying process. Greta Tinay, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, said her book-buying experiences have been smooth because the store is so well organized.

‘Even though I’ve only bought books twice, I haven’t encountered any problems that couldn’t easily be fixed,’ she said.

Gore said a decent number of students have been purchasing their books prior to the start of classes. He said some students come in early to get their hands on a somewhat limited supply of cheaper used textbooks. The store ‘had very good days on Saturday and Sunday really good days,’ he said.

‘I got there as early as possible in order to get more of my textbooks used and at a discount,’ Tinay said.

Gore said online sales of textbooks have not cut down on in-store sales, which he said was likely due to the fact that students can always make sure they get the book they need without the hassle of shipping.

‘Students know they can walk in and get the book off the shelf here, and they don’t have to pay shipping,’ he said. ‘If it’s the wrong book or the class changes then they can do it here rather than online.’

Tinay said the extra convenience is why she came back to Barnes and Noble to buy books this semester.

‘Although I hear it is cheaper to buy them online, I prefer being able to see what I am buying and knowing for sure that it is the book I need,’ she said.