The Illini Shop

I wish I could give 0 stars. Two days ago I purchased an iClicker here for $ 57.50 including tax. This afternoon I attempted to return the unopened product with the original receipt. I was told they could offer me $ 19.00 for it, as it was considered a «textbook» (for the record, an iClicker is an electronic device made of plastic and metal, and made up of 0% paper) and therefore not eligible for return after August, despite the fact that I had purchased it in September and not during August at all. The cashier who checked me out at the time of purchase also did not inform me that I would not be able to return it. In short, HORRIBLE customer service and I feel they take advantage of basically broke college students. Thanks for nothing TIS and I will be telling everyone I know not to shop here.

Ah, the good old days…
I always loved visiting TIS when I was in Champaign. Trying to search out a book in the middle of the racks and racks of books was always so much fun (or at least comforting…). I assume now everyone buys online, but I still think back fondly to book buying at TIS.
As to the rest of the store… their clothes are wonderful (I buy things every time I visit!) and I used to visit and get all sorts of sorority stuff… it’s not possible to resist this place. My personal favorite on this last visit (in October) was the improperly labeled pint glasses… Champagne instead of Champaign! Superb idea to sell them cheaply and I snagged one for fun and amusement.
Great spot that’s always packed on football weekends and definitely worth a stop in. Great deals on clothes and other fun stuff to show your Illini pride!

Meh — not great, not horrible, just average. Very strict about certain aspects of buyback. If you get any gunk on the pages they don’t buy it. Outdated? They don’t buy it. Class doesn’t use it anymore? Sorry kid, out of luck. Basically, you’ll find better prices (usually) than the IBS, but not as nice as IBE. I recommend buying online from Amazon Prime or
first. I also suggest students use the rewards card TIS offers to gain an addition 10% buyback rate from the standard 55%.

When I absolutely have to buy a textbook — as opposed to using Illini Book Exchange (
) — then I go to TIS.
In my opinion, it’s the cheapest bookstore on campus, tends to carry items other bookstores don’t (such as certain course packets), and has a great rewards program.
For each dollar you spend, you earn a point. After earning certain amount of points, you qualify for different prizes. There are several tiers with things like a free pizza from Papa Johns, free $ 25 gift certificate at TIS, free t-​shirt, etc.
They have new deals/​sales each month, and a constant buy 1, get 2 free t-​shirt section (though the «1» t-​shirt costs roughly $ 23).
One thing I don’t overly care for (but understand the need for) at TIS is their super strict return policies. You absolutely can NOT return course packets, reading packets, opened packets (anything wrapped up in plastic), EVER, and you’re only given a week or two after the first day of classes to return books for a full refund.
Another reason to make sure you sign up for their rewards card (other than the whole point thing) is that on your b-​day, you get a free t-​shirt! You’ll get an email a week or so before your b-​day telling you to stop by to redeem your free gift, so make sure you do it! You get to choose the shirt from their buy 1, get 2 free t-​shirt section, and they always have a great selection there.
If ever I need something for a class, I’ve always preferred TIS. Their operations run smoothly, which is something you definitely notice the few days before each semester starts when EVERYONE’s buying their textbooks. Despite the super long looking lines, you whip through faster than you’d think.

Definitely the cheapest book store on campus. I wish Amazon was more popular/​well known when I went to school, I would have saved a sh*tload on books. Oh well. I love coming here when I come back to campus — stock up on Illinois shirts — they are the cheapest here, there’s always some deal. One year they were giving out packets of kraft microwaveable mac & cheese with every book purchase. Towards the end of the selling season, we saw boxes there, and they just let us take a box home :) But if you want free stuff, the Illini Union book store always has nice big boxes of free samples at the beginning of each semester right outside the door by the bag check.
But cheap when they sell means cheap when they buy back…

At the beginning of every semester, I compare prices among the three campus bookstores. T.I.S. is almost always the cheapest of the three stores.
However, I can usually find all my books for much cheaper on
. My Discrete Math book cost $ 125 (used) at T.I.S., and I found it for 80 cents on Amazon.
My recommendation: email your professors before the semester starts to ask what books you’ll need. Order the books on Amazon or eBay.

I used to love T.I.S. bookstore, but lately I am so far from a fan. I’m now an off campus grad student and I ordered a textbook for class in plenty of time which they decided to not ship because they assumed I would want to pick it up… umm hello check the adress! So I got the book super late and was unable to be prepared for class which, if you know me, you know that that really bothers me, I’m sort of anal. Also it took over 4 weeks to get the course packets all copied and sorted out, super ugh.