Amazon opened its 12th pick-up location in the country in Akron over the summer. It is located on the storefront of The Edge apartment buildings at 290 E. Exchange street, next to Arby’s and only a few stores down from Chipotle.

Such locations make picking up and returning items bought online much easier for not only those living on campus, but also commuter students, especially during the beginning of the semester when textbooks need to be bought, rented, or returned.

Here’s how it works: when ordering from Amazon, you can choose your package to be shipped to Amazon@Akron.

Once your order is processed, you will receive an email with a barcode link and locker number. These are needed to open up the locker which, when your shipment arrives, will house your package until you are ready to pick it up.

When ready to pick up, you can activate your barcode by phone, by printing it out, or by using one of the self-serve kiosks in the store.

Once in the store, you can scan the barcode on the locker which holds your shipment. The locker will open and you’ll be able to get your item.

There are also employees at the location who can answer questions and help you through the process.

If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can get free one-day shipping to the Amazon store on some items. If not, you can get two-day shipping to the store for free.

Students can receive a trial version of Amazon Prime for six months. After that, the membership is $50 per year.

If you want to return items at the Amazon store, you can bring the items in and use one of its kiosks to print out a return label. You can also get boxes and use tape at the store.

There are many benefits to having this Amazon store so near to campus. One no longer must worry about theft or about missing a pick-up time; and, on top of this, the time to wait for your goods to arrive will always be shortened. Ordering and returning textbooks at the beginnings and ends of semesters will be much easier too.

Amazon@Akron’s store hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Purdue University and the University of Cincinnati are two of the other twelve schools which have an Amazon store on or near campus.

Students should make sure to use this resource, as it simplifies much in the process of ordering and returning goods online.

Grant Morgan contributed reporting to this article.