How are buyback prices determined?

The Colgate Bookstore authorizes NBC to pay 50% of the new retail price of any book for which the Bookstore has a need and that a Colgate faculty member has requested for courses in the following semester by the time that buyback has begun. Faculty members are asked to submit their orders to the store by October 15 for the spring semester and April 1 for the fall semester.

If Colgate does not have a need for the book in the next semester, NBC will check the price of the book in it's guide. Several factors determine what NBC is willing to pay. These factors include:

• The company's existing inventory of that title
• The national demand for that title
• The frequency with which a title has been used across the country

Typically, NBC will pay between 10% and 15% of the new retail price of a book. Books that are popular across the nation and that are in high demand can be worth as much as 40% of the new retail price. Last year, NBC paid students $109,961.00 for their books.

It is sometimes the case that neither Colgate nor NBC is looking to purchase a book. Several factors can influence the buyback value of a book. They include:

• The text has gone into a new edition or is out of print.
• A faculty member has requested that the book be purchased in the following semester with consumable ancillary materials such as online access codes or web-based components. The research and development costs for these ancillary materials are very high. However, publishers extend favorable pricing when these materials are purchased in a bundle. Very often, the publisher's pricing means that the student in the next semester will receive more favorable pricing in purchasing the bundle than in purchasing a used text with the ancillary materials seperately.
  
• Either Colgate or NBC has filled the limit of what it can buy.