Salt Lake Community College students can receive money for their textbooks and continue to use them until the end of the semester.
The college’s bookstore launched a new program called Cash and Keep, in partnership with Sidewalk, a business whose goal is to save students money on college textbooks.
“If it’s guaranteed that my books will sell, I think this program is a good idea,” says Cynthia Martinez, who is studying Interior Design at SLCC.
Jon Fenton, regional manager for Sidewalk, says that there is another advantage to this new program.
“The big piece that makes it really attractive is the bookstore is doing this to get more used inventory to have cheaper prices in the future, so while you’re getting cash and keeping your textbook, you’re also helping make the prices on campus more competitive next semester,” adds Fenton.
Some SLCC students like Lyndee Labrum, a Criminal Justice major, say that when they sell back their textbooks they don’t always get back what they’ve paid for.
“I think it’s a good idea because a lot of time the bookstore doesn’t want to buy back your book. Books are so expensive anyway that almost anything you can get is worth it,” says Labrum.
Fenton states that Cash and Keep can help students avoid long lines at the bookstore on buyback day. He also mentioned that the buyback pricing is actually established by wholesalers. However, their goal is to get as much inventory back to the bookstore by using this program.
“There is also quotas, so they’ll pay a certain amount for so many books, and then the price goes down, and maybe they stop buying back altogether,” says Fenton.
The program will continue until just before the bookstore’s own buyback day.
