Buying back books: UA students decide where to sell used textbooks for best price

By: Nick DeMoss

Posted: 4/29/09

Finding the most reasonably priced textbooks can be difficult, but for UA students, the best option is to shop around before making a final sale.

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."

The University Bookstore staff is proud that 35 percent of books offered are used, cheaper editions, exceeding the national average by 10 percent, Sadeghi said.

A new option for students is the Hog Auction, which can be found at the University Bookstore Web site. The process is similar to using Ebay, Sadeghi said, and allows students to set their own buying and selling prices.

"Students can use Hog Auction to sell their own books at their own price. We make no money off of it," he said.

The last day to sell books at the University Bookstore is May 9.

For bookstore owners, the condition of the book being sold back is a deciding factor on the amount that can be given to students for it.

Representatives from Beat the Bookstore, Campus Book Store Inc., and the University Bookstore said that water damage, missing pages and the amount of marking/highlighting in a book all affect the buyback deal. Selling books without their accompanying CDs also greatly diminishes the buyback rate.

For Tyler McBride, a sophomore English/journalism major, the best option is to rent textbooks online and avoid the entire buying and selling process. McBride said many of his books are novels and plays for which the buyback prices are typically lower.

"Obviously, I'm not buying super expensive textbooks, but in my experience, (renting) has been cheaper for me," he said. "In past semesters, I had several books I would have only gotten $2 or $3 for," he said.

The best plan for UA students looking to make top dollar on used books is to compare pricing at local stores and on the Internet before making a sale.

"If you think you're not going to use that book, make it available for other students to use," Sadeghi said.