The Optimist

It's that time again: time to shove every book that was never used in class this semester into a backpack and lug them down to the McGlothlin Campus Center in hopes of getting some cash back for the trouble.

But what are the chances that any of that money initially dropped will be returned to students' pockets?

The bottom line is to arrive early in the week and expect to get back about half of what was paid for it.

The amount of books bought back at semester's end depend on two things: the need for it next semester and the need of the wholesale provider, said Tammy Powell, text and media manager in The Campus Store.

If next year during the fall semester a professor changes the book used in a certain course, the chances of that book not being bought back go up.

Some of the books will be bought back on behalf of the wholesale provider, but once a certain quota is filled, the book will no longer be bought back.

The price the book is bought back for depends on how much was paid for it. In general, this is about half of the initial cost of the book.

If the book was bought used, it will be half of that price, and in the same way for a book bought new.

The advice from buy-back officials is to study early so books can be returned as early as possible. If not, the risk of not getting back nearly what was paid for the textbooks is great.

"Have your IDs with you and bring whatever came with the book you bought. If it came with a CD, have the CD," Powell said.

Email Smith at optimist@acu.edu

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