The Hunter Envoy

Issue date: 5/14/08 Section: Features

It seems like a no-brainer: sell back your books at the end of the semester, make money; enable your peers to purchase your gently used books at a lower cost than a new book would command, they save money; purchase the books your peers returned for your new classes, you save money; reduce the amount of paper needed to satisfy your textbook requirements, save the environment. "It's a win-win situation for all the students involved," declared Jason Figueroa, Hunter's bookstore manager, "not to mention that it also contributes to the sustainability initiatives at Hunter."

Despite the tremendous benefits of the buyback plan, only 20% of Hunter students participated in the exchange last year. These disappointing statistics have left the bookstore employees dismayed, particularly because the buyback process is so convenient.

"I think that students have a lot of misconceptions about selling their used textbooks back to the bookstore," Figueroa lamented. "They seem to think that it's a difficult and time-consuming process, when, in actuality, it couldn't be much easier," he said.

Students should bring their Hunter ID, the books they hope to return, and a copy of their receipts to the bookstore at the end of each semester. If a professor has renewed his/her order for the same books, the bookstore will pay students 50% of the price they previously paid. For example, if a student returns a $100 textbook, she can receive $50 back in cash. The bookstore will then sell the book for $75, a cost less burdensome on the next student who purchases it.

Figueroa emphasized that the profit made on returned books is remitted to the Auxiliary Enterprise Board, which disperses the funds to student causes and scholarships. The bookstore functions similarly to a not-for-profit, putting its proceeds back into the school community.

According to Figueroa, virtually 98% of the books that students return meet the conditions for resale. "We understand that these are used books," Figueroa said, "and we know that college students use them to study. We expect highlighting, so long as it's not in excess, because the text should still be legible." Books with water damage or those that have 10+ pages missing are not acceptable. "We allow incoming students to decide on the quality that they're looking for," Figueroa emphasized, "and if it doesn't meet their standards, they always have the option of purchasing a new book or a used book of higher quality."

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