Why does it cost more for the bookstore to buy used books?
The demand for used books significantly exceeds the supply. The bookstore spends a great deal of time and energy trying to get faculty request before exams begin because the best source for used books are students on the campus who already use those books. In addition to the expense of creating a buyback list, and running a used book buyback on campus, the bookstore searches extensively for used books from used book companies. The bookstore may contact several of these companies four or five times during the ordering cycle looking for a particular book. Each inquiry takes time and costs money. Another reason the cost of the used book business is higher than selling new books is that unsold books bought from students have to be sold at a loss on the used book market or donated.
