Textbook buyback occurs during exam week each semester. If the text is not adopted, or the adoption is late, students will receive the wholesale price from the used book wholesaler. Additionally, used books, which are less expensive for the students as well as the bookstore, may no longer be available for late adoptions. All universities on a semester schedule order their books at the same time, and from the same wholesalers. If we order late in the process, the used books are sold out, and we must order new books for the class.
Timely adoptions insure that books are ordered using the most cost efficient means possible.
On-time ordering can save the university hundreds of dollars in shipping each semester. Customer service to students and faculty improves dramatically when a logical schedule of ordering, receiving, pricing and shelving can be maintained. In some cases, faculty are not hired until well after the deadline. It is understood that late hires are necessary every semester. In these instances, some faculty choose to use books that are being used in other sections of the course.