The Bookstore's Buyback Policies

NARRATOR:Listen to a conversation between a student and a bookstore employee.

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:Hi, can I help you?

MALE STUDENT:Yeah, [inquiring upspeak] Mm, I need to sell back a textbook … are you the person I speak to about that?

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:[apologetic] I am, but we can't buy textbooks back just yet because the bookstore's buyback period isn't until next Thursday.

MALE STUDENT:I thought it started this week.

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:It's only in the last week of the semester, after classes are over.

MALE STUDENT:Oh, well, can you tell me if this book will be on the buyback list?

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:I can look,but we're still putting the list together.Professors have to tell us what books they'll definitely need again next semester, and the deadline for them to let us know isn't for a couple of days.So the list I have here is not really complete. Um … what class was the book for?

MALE STUDENT:Intro to Economics, with, uh, Professor Murphy.

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:Professor Murphy?OK. I checked earlier and I know she hasn't gotten back to us on that class yet, so we don't know if she'll use the same book next time.Usually if an updated edition of a textbook is available, professors will go for that one.

MALE STUDENT:Um, so if this book doesn't end up on the buyback list, what can I do? I spent over a hundred dollars for it, and I want to get something back.

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:Well, if a professor didn't assign it for a class here, we could buy it back for a wholesaler who would distribute it for sale at another university bookstore.

MALE STUDENT:[following] OK.

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:Anyway, if Professor Murphy does put it on the list, it's important that you come in as early as possible next Thursday … there's only a limited number of books we would buy back.Once we get the number of books we'd need for next semester, we would stop buying them.

MALE STUDENT:OK. So, how much money will I get for the book?

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:Well, if it's on the buyback list, we'll pay 50 percent of what the new price was.But that also depends on what condition the book is in,so it needs to be cleaned up as much as possible.

MALE STUDENT:[whaddya mean?] Cleaned up?

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:Because used books show wear and tear-you know, water stains, scruffy covers,yellow highlighting … You really need to make sure there're no pencil marks on the book. The price you can get for a text depends on the shape it's in.

MALE STUDENT:[whining] You mean I have to erase all the pencil marks?

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:If you want the best price for it.

MALE STUDENT:And what if you decide the book's too beat up and don't buy it back?

FEMALE BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE:[sympathetic] That does happen.Hmm …Well,one more thing you can try is to place an ad in the student newspaper to see if you can sell it directly to another student.