Buyback FAQ
How does buyback (selling textbooks) work?
At the end of each semester, bring your books back that you no longer need or want to the College Bookstore to receive up to 50% of the new or used book price, regardless of where you purchased the book.
When is book buyback?
The College Store buys your unwanted books year-round, however, the best time to sell your textbooks is the week prior to finals week and concludes on Saturday of finals week. Buyback dates and times are posted on our Facebook page and Stall Wall. Posters and table tents are posted around campus in the weeks leading up to Buyback.
Where do you go for buyback?
You can sell your textbooks back at the College Bookstore which is located in the Bush Campus Center. You will receive cash on the spot. Be sure to bring your Penn College ID with you.
 
The buyback price for every book is determined by campus and nationwide demand. The amount you receive can vary throughout the buyback period. Factors that affect how much money you get back during book buyback include:
  • If your instructor reordered the book for the upcoming semester. (If your instructor is reusing the book, you are more likely to get up 50% of the new or used book price)
  • If the Bookstore needs more copies or has reached the buying limit
  • If there is a pending new edition of the book or the book is already an older edition
  • If there is a wholesale demand for the book
Will you accept my books in any condition?
We will accept the following:
  • Certain loose-leaf books. Please leave papers in the binder, an associate at the bookstore will be happy to take them out at the time of selling them back.
  • New or Used textbooks regardless of where they were purchase
  • Books must include all original materials (Cd’s workbooks, manuals, access codes, etc)
We will NOT accept the following:
  • Missing pages
  • Water damage
  • Stains
  • Excessive highlighting or writing in book
  • International or Global Editions
  • Instructors copies
  • Used access codes
  • Books that require an additional material ie, access codes, cd’s, blue prints, etc.
How can this book be worthless when I paid a lot for it three months ago?
Books that go out of print no longer have any market value. We can only buy back books that we will be able to sell either in-store next term, or to a wholesaler. Even when no national wholesale price exists for a book, which happens with old editions, we will often still buy back old editions that have been re-ordered by faculty for the next term. Old editions do not generally have as much buyback value as current editions.