How can a book a student sells to the bookstore at the “wholesale” price still end up on the shelf for sale the next term?
The bookstore stops paying half price after the buyer has purchased the needed number of copies of a title, so it is possible for a student to see used copies for sale of a title they sold back at the “wholesale” price, but it is unlikely in this case that their specific book would be on the shelf for resale. In addition, many instructors wait to evaluate their students’ success with a book until after exams, and the bookstore’s buy back, is over. If an instructor decides then to readopt a text, the bookstore must place an order with the used book company, in hopes that the books bought in the store haven’t been sold to another store. The bookstore will pay the wholesaler’s regular price in this case, since the wholesaler has the same expenses in selling these books back to the store as with any other book. Sometimes a store receives the instructor’s request after buyback, but before the wholesale books have been shipped to the used book company, and pulls them from the shipment. While
