Book
buy-back program guarantees the best price
By Oscar Montealegre
On-line Forty-Niner
Although
many students are opting to buy their books
from bookstores that are not affiliated
with Cal State Long Beach, the University
Bookstore is making a strong effort to retain
its customers by buying back most of the
books students purchase.
Books may be sold back to the university
all year long. However, prices do vary from
selling books in the middle of the semester
as opposed to the end of the semester.
“The price difference varies, it all depends
on the book and whether the book will be
used next semester by the instructor,” said
Nancy Stone, used book coordinator of the
University Bookstore.
If students decide to sell a book now it
would be re-purchased at the wholesale price.
However, if the professor informs the textbook
office that the book will be used next semester,
the price will increase.
Books do not get sold as often as the end
of the semester since students are still
using most books and are aware that selling
the book at the end of the semester favors
students, Stone said.
“It is evident that the majority of the
books that we buy back are at the end of
the semester by the long lines we have of
students wanting to sell their books back,”
Stone said.
The University Bookstore had catered a special
offer for students that would buy certain
books back at 50 percent of the original
value. Now it has enhanced the special offer
by buying books at 55 percent of the original
value on selected books.
In addition, the University Bookstore is
willing to match any special offer or price
that is given to students by any competing
bookstore. Nevertheless, the “guaranteed
best price” offer does not apply to Web
sites that sell books at a better price
than the University Bookstore.
“I really have no complaints on the book
buy-back program,” said Meagan Cisneros,
a junior at CSULB. “The money is not that
bad. But I do wish that the price of books
will get cheaper because they are too expensive
now.”
Students do flock to the Bookstore to sell
their books back at the end of the semester,
but the buy-back program annoys some students.
“It’s cool that they buy books back, but
most of my books they buy back are for pocket
change,” said Chris Mora, a senior at CSULB.
“I spend like $300 to $400 on books and
I probably only get $100 back.”
“Students seems happy selling their books
back, we do our best to give them the best
price available,” Stone said.
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