UD Bookstore ‘Awareness Campaign’ promotes textbook buyback

11:11 a.m., April 26, 2004--The UD Bookstore is asking faculty to submit their textbook orders for the fall term before spring buyback so students who sell reusable texts can get more money for them. Timely orders also allow the bookstore time to seek more used copies from book wholesalers so they can make them available for students in the fall.

Cosmo Olivieri, general manager of the UD Bookstore, said a used text generally sells for 25 percent less than a new book. According to Olivieri, the bookstore will offer the student 50 percent of the purchase price of a used book in good condition—if the store has confirmation that the book will be used in fall courses before the student buyback period in May.

Last year, 45 percent of UD faculty submitted book orders before student buyback. The goal for this year is to receive 65 percent of fall textbook orders from faculty.

“Although we’d like to achieve 100 percent, we know that that’s not realistic,’’ Olivieri said. “We’re targeting 65 percent, because we realize that there are some situations where it’s just not practical to specify fall textbooks yet. For instance, in some cases a department doesn’t know yet who’s going to be teaching a particular class. Or, a faculty member might be considering adopting one of three, four or five new textbooks and need to get review copies from publishers.’’

Bookstore employees have been making weekly visits to academic departments to explain how the buyback program will help keep costs down for students. They will make another pitch at their thank-you luncheon for textbook coordinators next week. The bookstore also is running ads on UDTV2, and buybacks were the main topic at a bookstore advisory meeting in mid-April.

Olivieri said he doesn’t believe online book swaps popular on other campuses are a major factor at UD, but he said students shop around for used books locally and students sometimes share books.

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