By Frank Tovar
BYU Bookstore
In 1906, the BYU Bookstore started in a small broom closet, carrying only school supplies and textbooks.
Now celebrating 105 years of service to the BYU community, the Bookstore has grown into one of the largest campus bookstores in the nation, employing hundreds of students while selling books, BYU apparel, school supplies, academically discounted computers and software, gifts and more.
You can purchase textbooks online at byubookstore.com. Click on the tab BYU Textbooks to access “mybooklist.” Follow the mybooklist prompts (including logging in with your Net ID), click “Buy mybooklist,” complete the transaction and your materials will be shipped to you or reserved for you to pick up at the Bookstore.
The Bookstore serves more than 30,000 students during the back-to-school rush, so lines can be expected; however, with up to 32 textbook cashiers available, the wait is not long. You can preview textbook lines before arriving by checking the webcams at webcams.byu.edu.
The Bookstore accepts cash, checks, credit or debit cards and BYU Signature Cards. If a student is using a parent’s credit card, the cardholder must be present for purchases and returns. If the cardholder is not available for a return, only in-store credit is issued. Returns of purchases made to the university account or Signature Card are credited back to those accounts.
Students also have a payment option through their student university account. When asked payment type, present your BYU ID and say, “university account.” The account is interest free and allows 45 days to pay the account balance. The university account is paid online through “My Financial Center.”
Funds generated by the Bookstore are returned to BYU, helping fund university programs and facilities.
Be prepared to spend on average $400 per semester on books. The Bookstore implements several programs to reduce the cost of course materials.
First, swipe your BYU ID at the register and enter the “Textbook Giveaway” for a chance to win free textbooks for the semester. Second, the Bookstore acquires used textbooks when possible, passing on savings to students. Used textbooks are 25 percent less than new ones, so buy early because used books go fast. The Bookstore publishes a selection of textbooks. Materials written and produced on campus are often cheaper than nationally published equivalents, saving students up to 50 percent. Students are also able to rent textbooks online or in-store. If textbooks are available for rental, they will appear as an option on “mybooklist.”
Textbook sellback at the end of each semester allows you to sell your used textbooks back to the Bookstore, if a professor has requested your textbook title for future use and the Bookstore sellback limit has not been reached.
The Bookstore pays 50 percent of the new book price for needed titles (the highest amount paid by college bookstores throughout the nation). In addition, a wholesaler is invited to buy books after the Bookstore has all it needs, but they pay less for books. Come early for the best offer.
Your used textbook helps the Bookstore re-stock its shelves. The Bookstore seeks to offer as many used books as possible, and would rather pay students to supply the inventory.
For more information, check our FAQs on the BYU Bookstore Facebook page.
