Spring Break
Buying back books: UA students decide where to sell used textbooks for best price
Nick DeMoss
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
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Many bookstores offer similar buyback pricing - typically 50 percent of the book's original value - if the book will continue to be used on campus. If the book is not going to be used on campus, bookstores will either refuse the book or buy it at a reduced rate, later selling it to a wholesale distributor that will eventually sell it to a different school.
Arkansans have an advantage, however, after the passage of a law in 2007 that required professors to submit their textbook choices for the fall semester by April 1. This allows bookstore owners a definite plan for their semester-end buyback. As a result, the owners can pay more to students because there is no guesswork in the buyback strategy, said Steve Wilson, general manager of the Campus Book Store Inc. on Dickson Street.
Wilson said he worked with state Sen. Sue Madison, whose constituency includes the UA, to craft the legislation.
When selling back textbooks, timing is everything - the sooner students sell their books back, the better, Wilson said.
"If supply exceeds perceived demand, there are going to be books out there that are basically worthless," he said.
The Campus Book Store purchases textbooks all year, though the highest volume of incoming books is at the end of semesters.
Another option for students is Beat the Bookstore, located on Garland Avenue. As the name implies, the store is designed to provide students better deals than the university-owned store.
However, no Fayetteville bookstores would specify rates, with the general consensus being that a best-case scenario is 50 percent of the original value. Mike Carron, co-owner of the Fayetteville Beat the Bookstore, said low inventories mean more books will be taken.
"Realistically, if a book has any value at all, we give students money for it," Carron said. "We can buy almost anything that comes in regardless of whether or not it's on the book list."
If the book will not be in use at the UA the next semester, it is sold to wholesalers or Internet sites such as Amazon.com or Half.com, he said.
The University Bookstore, located in the Arkansas Union, is the only on-campus bookstore. Like other bookstores, it adheres to the 50-percent buyback rate if the book is needed on campus.
"We definitely are paying the max dollar amount to our students," said Ali Sadeghi, director of the University Bookstore. "We are not profit-driven; we are service-driven according to our charter with the university."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Simmons Mattresses
posted 5/26/09 @ 11:14 AM CST
Textbooks can often be very expensive and it's great to be able to sell them back. While the bookstore does what it can to give students a fair price, I have found that more money can be made back if you sell your textbooks to other students on sites like Amazon. (Continued…)
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