The UofA Bookstore wants to buy your used general books.
The bookstore has expanded from buying and selling textbooks to buying and selling fiction and nonfiction.
Used books, identified by a yellow sticker on the spine, will be sold at half the cover price. Students will be able to trade in their used books for either cash or store credit, which can be used for anything in the bookstore. Students who trade used books for store credit will get slightly more money.
Used books will be bought and sold on the ground level in the general books department, next to Starbucks.
“”It should be quick and easy,”” said Ellen Dickinson, UofA Bookstores general books department employee.
Bookstore officials want to have used books available to provide customers with more choices.
“”If you just need something fun to read and you just want to spend a couple bucks on it and if you want something interesting and weird, we just might have it,”” Dickinson said.
The standards for used general books will be different than they are for used textbooks. Used general books must be gently used and cannot have any writing or highlights.
The bookstore’s buying hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Currently the bookstore has four people buying used books, but they will soon train student workers to buy used books as well.
Some students said they are more interested in buying used books than selling them.
“”It’s a good thing if people need money,”” said Haley Cica, an undeclared freshman. “”Living on campus, I probably wouldn’t sell used books.””
Keishe Mahone, a pre-physiology freshman, said she already sold back some of her used general books, but didn’t see much of a profit.
“”I don’t even remember what I got. Not a lot at all,”” Mahone said.
Callie Frisch, an English sophomore, said she is uncertain about selling her used books, but always buys used books.
“”Sometimes it is really hard to sell back your book. I don’t even sell back my textbook if all I’m going to get is $15,”” Frisch said.