Many bookstores around Ohio State’s campus kept their doors open a couple of extra hours last week so that students were able to buy and bring back textbooks at their convenience.
With winter quarter fully underway, regular store hours have resumed. Students have the responsibility to return unwanted textbooks by the store’s given date if they want to receive a full refund for their purchase.
Both the OSU and Long’s Bookstores require students to return books by Jan. 19 for a complete refund, a week earlier than Student Book Exchange and College Town, whose full refund date is Jan. 25.
The OSU Bookstore will honor a full refund for textbooks if brought back to the store, with the original receipt. For books brought back after the given date, it gets a bit more complex.
The Bookstore’s policy is to give a complete refund up to 30 days after the start of classes if the textbook and receipt are brought back within two days of purchase or with a proof of a schedule change. All other textbook refunds made after the first 30 days of the quarter will be honored at 75 percent of the purchase price, with a receipt.
Long’s Bookstore will also fully refund textbooks, with a receipt. After that, its buyback pricing is based on two criteria for a refund of 50 percent of the original selling price. The criteria is that the professor has told the store the book will be used again the following term, and that the store still requires more textbooks to meet the demand.
Both College Town and SBX will honor full refunds to students who return books with a receipt.
Like Long’s Bookstore, part of SBX’s buyback policy depends on the decision of the professor. SBX will pay the student 50 percent of the selling price of a textbook if the professor requires it for the next term and when the bookstore is not overstocked.
Unfortunately for students, “it’s almost impossible to know at the beginning of the quarter (when students are buying books) if a professor will be using the same text the following term,” said Paul Watkins, manager at SBX. “Too many variables take part in whether a text will be used again. The professor may not be teaching the same course the next term or a new edition of the book may be published.”
When new editions of texts are used, old editions are no longer sellable.
Because university policy states that students have up until Jan. 25 to drop a course without permission, many students prefer doing business with SBX and College Town.
“The fact that the last day to drop a class and the last day for a full refund on books is the same is much more convenient and easy to remember, said Sarah Juenger, a senior in psychology.
Michelle Ballman, a senior in business, agrees. “I’m still trying to figure out which classes I’m definitely taking this quarter, so the longer I have to make my decision and get all my money back for the books I don’t need, the better,” she said.
Useful Links:www.sbx-osu.comhttp://longs.bkstore.com
