2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to The Editor
Leslie Guilbault
Issue date: 1/28/05 Section: Commentary
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To The Editor:
This letter is in response to John Kelly's Letter to the Editor, in last week's issue of the Maroon-News regarding the Bookstore's textbook pricing and buyback policies. Kelly's article provides an excellent opportunity to outline the student benefits generated by the Bookstore's Textbook Buyback program and to correct the generalizations and inaccurate information contained in his letter. In the spirit of our service commitment to Colgate students and faculty, I am pleased to respond.
The Colgate Bookstore offers a professionally-run Textbook Buyback program during finals week each semester. This service provides students with cash for textbooks where they do not wish to keep in their personal libraries. In his letter, Kelly suggests that we buy books from our students at prices dramatically below wholesale: "[When you] receive $30 for the book you bought for $120 you are losing $90". This is incorrect. If I may borrow his phrase, let's do some "simple math". If any faculty member adopts a title for use during the following semester, we pay students half of the new book price on that title, even if the student bought a used copy. For example, if a student purchases a used biology book for $75.00 and we get a faculty request to use it again, a student selling that book to the Bookstore would receive $50.00 (half of the new price). Thus over the course of one year the price of a new $100 book is reduced to just $25 through buying used books and participating in Buyback. Kelly argues that "[the Book Exchange] could save students thousands of dollars." What he fails to mention is that the Bookstore is already paying students in excess of a quarter million dollars a year in savings as a direct result of our Textbook Buyback ($248,163.75 in Buyback dollars in 2004 and $8,014.53 redeemed in Buyback discount coupons).
Kelly uses the following scenario to explain how the Book Exchange works: "If...one student sells the books to the other for $60, the seller gains an extra $30 and the buyer gets $40. Together the kids are beating the market by more than $70." This example is misleading in that it implies that student to student textbook purchases always net lower overall costs for textbooks than the Bookstore's buyback. While the Bookstore sets its prices at or below industry standards, documents annual savings to students on our website, and employs a staff of professional book buyers to assist students and faculty with textbook issues, the Book Exchange's website includes a page of lengthy disclaimers outlining the many services they do not provide for their customers. The Book Exchange operates on an "as is", or "buyer beware" system. Students who sell to each other can charge any amount they wish; it is up to the buyer to decide if the price is fair. More important, it is the buyer's responsibility to know which books faculty will require during the following semester. One of Colgate's greatest resources is a faculty that is deeply committed to scholarly pursuits and the expansion of knowledge. Faculty choose the texts that they use in class based on intellectual content, not the future resale value of a book. If a student purchases books through the Book Exchange and a faculty member eliminates the book from the syllabus, the Book Exchange does not offer a refund on the purchase. It is the student's responsibility to resell the book if possible. In the same situation, the Bookstore would provide a full refund to the student for substitute books and a guarantee to provide the correct book in new and used editions if available.
This letter is in response to John Kelly's Letter to the Editor, in last week's issue of the Maroon-News regarding the Bookstore's textbook pricing and buyback policies. Kelly's article provides an excellent opportunity to outline the student benefits generated by the Bookstore's Textbook Buyback program and to correct the generalizations and inaccurate information contained in his letter. In the spirit of our service commitment to Colgate students and faculty, I am pleased to respond.
The Colgate Bookstore offers a professionally-run Textbook Buyback program during finals week each semester. This service provides students with cash for textbooks where they do not wish to keep in their personal libraries. In his letter, Kelly suggests that we buy books from our students at prices dramatically below wholesale: "[When you] receive $30 for the book you bought for $120 you are losing $90". This is incorrect. If I may borrow his phrase, let's do some "simple math". If any faculty member adopts a title for use during the following semester, we pay students half of the new book price on that title, even if the student bought a used copy. For example, if a student purchases a used biology book for $75.00 and we get a faculty request to use it again, a student selling that book to the Bookstore would receive $50.00 (half of the new price). Thus over the course of one year the price of a new $100 book is reduced to just $25 through buying used books and participating in Buyback. Kelly argues that "[the Book Exchange] could save students thousands of dollars." What he fails to mention is that the Bookstore is already paying students in excess of a quarter million dollars a year in savings as a direct result of our Textbook Buyback ($248,163.75 in Buyback dollars in 2004 and $8,014.53 redeemed in Buyback discount coupons).
Kelly uses the following scenario to explain how the Book Exchange works: "If...one student sells the books to the other for $60, the seller gains an extra $30 and the buyer gets $40. Together the kids are beating the market by more than $70." This example is misleading in that it implies that student to student textbook purchases always net lower overall costs for textbooks than the Bookstore's buyback. While the Bookstore sets its prices at or below industry standards, documents annual savings to students on our website, and employs a staff of professional book buyers to assist students and faculty with textbook issues, the Book Exchange's website includes a page of lengthy disclaimers outlining the many services they do not provide for their customers. The Book Exchange operates on an "as is", or "buyer beware" system. Students who sell to each other can charge any amount they wish; it is up to the buyer to decide if the price is fair. More important, it is the buyer's responsibility to know which books faculty will require during the following semester. One of Colgate's greatest resources is a faculty that is deeply committed to scholarly pursuits and the expansion of knowledge. Faculty choose the texts that they use in class based on intellectual content, not the future resale value of a book. If a student purchases books through the Book Exchange and a faculty member eliminates the book from the syllabus, the Book Exchange does not offer a refund on the purchase. It is the student's responsibility to resell the book if possible. In the same situation, the Bookstore would provide a full refund to the student for substitute books and a guarantee to provide the correct book in new and used editions if available.