By Kristin Woffinden
Follow the line out of the Bookstore entrance on the third floor, glance at the mixture of happy, grumpy, impatient or anxious students that fill the line, continue winding through the computer section and out the door again until finally locating the end of the seemingly never-ending line.
This is a normal scene in the Wilkinson Center during the beginning and end of semester when students flock to buy books for the semester and then to happily sell them back. Though the long lines and prices may be daunting, purchasing and selling back textbooks at the BYU Bookstore has its benefits.
“We have the largest text book buy back in the country,” said Tom Hirtzel, the textbook manager.
Students who sell their books back at the end of the semester can receive about 60 percent of the new price. This is higher than the industry norm of 50 percent, Hirtzel said.
Many students appreciate the benefits of textbook buy-back at BYU.
“You may not get as much money as you would selling your books in different ways, but you usually always get something,” said Esther Smidt, a 21-year-old home and family living major from West Jordan.
Though the BYU Bookstore tries to buy back as many books as possible, it does have cut offs and cannot buy books back if the professors order new editions, Hirtzel said.
Hirtzel does admit that the BYU Bookstore cannot beat the prices online on sites like Amazon, but he assures that when selling books, the Bookstore is the only place where students will receive 60 percent of the new price of the book.
Students choose to buy and sell back books at the BYU Bookstore because of convenience. When Joseph Ballstaedt, a 22-year-old visual arts major from Cottonwood Heights, is feeling lazy and doesn”t plan ahead, he prefers to make the jaunt to campus and buy his books there. Factors such as shipping and handling charges deter him from using Amazon for his textbook transactions, he said.
Other programs are available to students who don”t want to brave the crowd at the bookstore. Book Exchange, a program on BYU”s Web site allows students to buy and sell books to each other. A fan of the book exchange, Morgan Ball, a 25-year-old biology major from Spokane, Wash., prefers to use this method because it is a way to purchase the used edition when the Bookstore has sold all of its copies.
Even though BYU tries to offer great buy-back programs, it cannot do much to control the prices of textbooks.
“We are commissioned by the university to keep prices as low as possible,” Hirtzel said.
According to a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office, textbook prices are raising at an alarming rate. College textbooks have raised twice the rate of inflation in the past two decades, much faster than the rising tuition rates and other education expenses. College stores across the country, including BYU”s bookstore have a small gross margin in comparison to other retail businesses.
After expenses have been paid, a college store makes about four cents for every dollar”s worth of textbooks sold, according to the National Association of College Stores. Most of this profit goes back into the universities or into student programs to help defray the costs of higher education. This is the case at BYU, where the Bookstore supports programs on campus like clubs and sports, Hirtzel said.
Students often break the bank for their school material needs. According to the NACS, the average college student spent on average between $801-$904 on textbooks and school supplies, depending on the institution they attended during the 2005-2006 year.
To help combat these skyrocketing prices and the shattered piggybanks, BYU Bookstore will implement a VIP program this coming fall to benefit those who purchase their books at the BYU Bookstore. This program will give special treatment to students who make all textbook transactions here at BYU, opposed to buying online. These awards may include assured buy back at the end of the semester. The exact details of the program are still being decided.
Stretch your textbook dollar
-Purchase your books early before the used editions are sold out.
-Keep all receipts and return if unneeded for a full refund at the Bookstore.
-Sell your books back. Come early the first day of Buy Back to beat the crowd and grab a complimentary candy bar on the way out.
-If you can”t sell your books back, use BYU”s book exchange.
