The St. Paul campus Bookstore will conduct its annual end-of-semester book buyback starting Wednesday, Dec. 11. The buyback will run through Friday, Dec. 20, outside the Bookstore on the lower level of Murray-Herrick Campus Center.
A UST ID is required to sell books back.
Hours for Dec. 11-13:
- Noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 11-12
- Noon to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13
Hours for finals week:
- 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Dec. 16-19
- 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20
The Minneapolis UST Bookstore will have similar hours and times.
About the buyback
Based on dynamic pricing and national demand, students wishing to sell their books back can receive up to 50 percent of the new cover price if the bookstores have received a firm book adoption for the next semester. Since the bookstores can purchase only limited quantities of some titles and the quotas are filled daily, the bookstores encourage students to sell their books daily after finishing their classes.
If the bookstores meet their quota on the quantities that are to be resold in the UST bookstores, the title most likely will have a wholesale value. In many cases, books not ordered for the next semester also may have a wholesale value. Books purchased wholesale will be shipped to a nationwide used-book distributor that will sell the books to other schools. Last year the UST bookstores purchased more than $650,000 worth of used textbooks back from students.
The UST bookstores also will buy back books that were not purchased at St. Thomas. The bookstores are interested in purchasing back all current and salable books for reuse in the UST bookstores.
As more and more books include CDs, books being sold back must have the CDs with them to receive the best price.
Rented textbooks
Students who rented textbooks must return them by 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, at the book buyback counter at the St. Paul Bookstore to avoid being charged for them. Rental books must have the rental stickers on them in order to be returned accurately.
Booksellers can assist charities
Books not being purchased by the bookstores can be donated to Books for Africa. Donated books will be put to good use by students from other countries where even a used out-of-date textbook is a treasured commodity.
Check current wholesale book prices online
Visit the UST Bookstore website, “select your campus,” scroll down to the menus at the bottom of the page, click on “Book Buyback $$ Info” and enter the ISBN located on the back of the book. An image of the book will appear along with the price the bookstore is paying for that title. The prices change hourly once quotas are met, so don’t wait until the last day to sell back your books.
Buyback at the Anderson Student Center
The bookstore also will buy textbooks in Room 237, Anderson Student Center:
- 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, Dec. 17-19
- 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20
Book thefts
The end of the semester is a time that book thefts increase substantially. Watch and mark your books so that you can identify them in case they are lost or stolen. Report stolen books to the bookstore staff so they can be on the lookout for your stolen books.
