UD Bookstore

Book Buyback begins on the first day of finals week at the end of each semester.

Buyback dates and times are advertised on posters around campus during the weeks leading up to Buyback. Info is also posted on the UD Retail Operations Facebook page.

There are two options available for Book Buyback: in person and online:

In person

Sell your textbooks back in person at the UD Bookstore in Marianist Hall. With this option, you'll receive cash on the spot. Bring your University ID with you!

Online

Sell your textbooks back online using our Buyback website. With this option, you'll receive payment via PayPal or check within three weeks (after your textbooks are received). For more information about the online buyback program, visit the Frequently Asked Questions on the Buyback website.

If you are participating in Book Buyback at the UD Bookstore (Marianist Hall), please bring:

• The textbooks you want to sell.
• Your UD student ID (this also helps us see if you have any rental books that need to be returned).

No, you don't need a receipt to sell textbooks back.

The buyback price for every book is determined by campus and nationwide demands. The amount we pay can also vary throughout the buyback period.

Factors that affect how much money you'll get back during Book Buyback include:

• Did the instructor reorder the book for the upcoming semester? (If the instructor is reusing the book, you're  more likely to get up 50% of the new book price.)
• Does the UD Bookstore needs more copies of the book, or has it reached its buying limit for that book?
• Is the book damaged? (missing pages, water damage, broken binding, etc.)
• Does the book have a pending new edition, or is the book an older edition?
• Is there a wholesale demand for the book?

The UD Bookstore can only buy back books that it will be able to sell the next term, or to a wholesaler.

Even when no national wholesale price exists for a book (which happens with old editions), the UD Bookstore will often still buy back old editions that have been re-ordered by faculty for the next term.

Old editions generally have a lower buyback value vs. current editions.

Once the UD Bookstore hits its needed quantity for a textbook (also called the buyback limit), it starts buying the book at its national wholesale value.

Books being bought back at the lower wholesale prices are actually being purchased by the wholesale company who runs our buyback, not the UD Bookstore. Those textbooks will be sent to the national wholesaler for resale to other colleges and universities.

The UD Bookstore doesn't keep books that are purchased at wholesale prices.

Wholesale prices range from 0%-30% of retail value.

It's basic supply and demand — the newer the book, the greater the market demand, and therefore the higher the wholesale value. The older the book, the lower the market demand, and therefore the lower the wholesale value.

Prices paid by wholesale companies depend on multiple factors, including:

• Age of the book
• Popularity of the book
• Subject matter of the book

There is significant risk that a textbook's edition will change, thus rendering the wholesaler's inventory of the older edition worthless. A lot of effort on the wholesaler's part is devoted to predicting demand and anticipating when a textbook's edition will change.

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. This 13-digit code is used to identify a book (e.g., 978-0-32168650-3).

Each book has its own unique ISBN. You can find it on the back of a book, near the barcode, or on the copyright page.