• Book Marq buys back books for 50 percent of the original price if they will be used next semester, given that books are still needed.
• Sweeney's bases their prices for all books used on multiple price guides.
• Store managers say the best time to sell books is at the end of the semester.

This is the second part of an investigation on textbook pricing. The first article was printed at the beginning of the semester.

After final exams next week, students may hope to get some Christmas break spending money by selling back their textbooks.

Some students opt to sell their books back online. On campus, students can go to Book Marq or Sweeney's College Books.

A concern many face is not getting as much money back compared to what they spent in August.

Book Marq manager Dave Konkol said most students who come to the store can expect to get 50 percent of the original price of their books back.

Konkol said students would only receive that percentage for books that will be used for the spring semester, given that books are still needed. Surplus books and books not to be used in the spring semester are bought back at wholesale market prices.

"Wholesale prices are determined by supply and demand, how many other campuses are using the book and how many copies are currently in the wholesaler's inventory," Konkol said.

As part of what Sweeney's calls a "No Textbook Left Behind" policy, the store buys back any books used in the past semester, said Chris Zilvitis, Sweeney's assistant director.

Sweeney's looks at multiple price guides to compare prices and then tries to offer the highest possible amount, Zilvitis said. The store uses this method for all books that are brought in.

"Prices are determined based on the national demand and supply for a book," Zilvitis said.

Courtney Sampson, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said he got $67 back for his COMM 11: Contemporary Presentation books package at Book Marq. It was a set of books he originally paid $137 for, and he only used it once the whole semester.

"The clerk told me that it was good that I sold my COMM 11 books early because they were only going to pay $67 for a certain amount (of other book packages)," Sampson said.

Konkol said the best time for students to sell back their books is at the end of the semester. He also advised students to keep CDs and other materials intact with books because they are often needed to sell back entire packages.

Zilvitis said students should sell books back when they are done with them, but to keep in mind that as books get older, they tend to decrease in value.