The Nitty Gritty @ UMBC

How a Tweet Increased the Buyback Price

umbcbookstore — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 06:00:50 +0000

At the conclusion of each semester the UMBC Bookstore holds an end of term textbook buyback offering students the opportunity to sell their unwanted books back to the store for cash. In addition to the books needed on campus for the next semester the Bookstore buys books from a list of hundreds of thousands of titles that UMBC is not using, but that other schools have requested. Managing this list is a complicated undertaking, but the Bookstore’s goal is to pay as much money as it can for as many titles as possible.

UMBC Bookstore responds to student tweet about buyback.

When one UMBC student @LindsayMiguelez tweeted that she could not sell back her brand new political science book the UMBC Bookstore staff heard her concern and went to work trying to figure out why. After some quick research the buyback personnel determined that while the ISBN of that particular book was not in the national database to be bought back, they could in fact offer some money for it. The textbook manager immediately added the text to the buyback list and tweeted @ Lindsay to bring her book back for some cash. In the end she may not have decided to sell that book to the Bookstore, but a lot of other students did; and the store was able to pay out more money to more students because of Lindsay’s tweet.

The UMBC Bookstore is always listening on Twitter and Facebook.

Still have books you want to turn into cash? Stop by the next buyback:

Summer Session II Textbook Buyback: August 18-19, 9:00 a.m – 3:30 p.m.
Back-to-School Buyback: August 29 – September 1, 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.,
September 2, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Used, Rental, Digital, New, Looseleaf? Choices Abound When Selecting Textbooks

umbcbookstore — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:33:48 +0000

The UMBC Bookstore is excited to offer students more choices than ever before when it comes to purchasing course materials for their classes. With the expansion of its popular textbook rental program, the store now offers over 3 times as many books for rent than last semester. The recent implementation of a new software application ensures the process of renting is easier and faster, allowing students to sign the Rental Agreement at the cash register pin pad.

When determining what choices to purchase students are encouraged to take into account the potential buyback price at the end of the semester. For example, if the Western Civilization V.1 textbook below is readopted for the spring semester, the Bookstore would pay about $54 to students at the end of the term for that text. If the student purchased a used copy for $81, the net cost for using the book the entire semester would only be $27.

HIST 110 Textbook Available in Various Formats.

Ebooks are growing in popularity every year. The UMBC Bookstore offers hundreds of titles in digital formats which can be downloaded to your computer, viewed online, or on tablet devices like the Apple iPad. Look for the “ebook” logo on your course materials list and be sure to click on the ‘requirements’ link to check out the terms and details. Ebooks can be purchased directly from the Bookstore website or by picking up an ebook card in the store.

Look for blue rental tags to find books available to rent.

Whether you prefer used books, rentals, ebooks, new books, or binder versions (looseleaf), the UMBC Bookstore is committed to offering students as many options as possible to meet the needs of UMBC students and the community.

Save $69.25 by purchasing the looseleaf version of the Organic Chemistry book.

We’re not ready yet.

umbcbookstore — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 02:38:24 +0000

Give us a break, we just started. The Nitty Gritty will be up and rolling for fall 2011. Keep us bookmarked so you don’t miss out.

In the meantime you can Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter, and shop online.