The first week of classes was sneaking closer and closer. You finished back-to-school shopping and made sure you had everything you needed for the upcoming semester. The textbooks finally arrived, and in anxious anticipation you removed the original shrink wrap and tossed it in your school bag.
You spent $120 on one of your textbooks for the new semester, only to find out on the first day of class that the “required” $120 textbook you purchased, is not “required” after all. What do you do?
After the chaos of the first week is over, you finally had time to figure out the textbook dilemma. You moseyed on over to the university bookstore and explained the situation only to learn that you cannot return the book.
Wait, what? You spent $120 for a book you do not need, and it cannot be returned. How is that possible?
Well, it is possible, because of California State University, Stanislaus’s textbook return policy. Amy Lewis, Store Manager of the university bookstore, explained.
“Our textbook return policy is simple: if you purchase [or rent] a book from us, you can return it for any reason with the receipt for a full refund anytime during the first week of classes,” Lewis said.
However, if the book is not in the same condition it was purchased in, “we cannot offer the student a refund, [but] they can try to sell the book back to the store if they wish.”
Although some students may object that CSU Stanislaus’s textbook return policy is too harsh and limited, I would argue uninformed students are to blame, not the bookstore.
The return policy is sympathetic to students.
If you accidentally purchase the wrong book, or three weeks into the semester decide the course is not for you and drop it, “we allow [students] to return their books for a full refund with proof of drop anytime [during] the first 30 days of classes, as long as they still have their receipt, and the book is in the same condition it was in when it was purchased,” Lewis said.
Despite the fact there are students who find the policy too strict, many believe it is that way for good reason.
“When you buy clothes and take them home, even if they don’t fit or aren’t as cute as they seemed in the store– you must return them with the tag attached and receipt in hand,” JoEllen Reece (junior, Psychology) said. “That’s basically what the school wants from us when we return our books.”
Is the bookstore’s textbook return policy an attempt to bully students? Not at all, but to avoid this type of situation, know the bookstore’s return policy.
The time of purchase, condition of the book and the receipt determine whether or not you can return your textbook.
Above all, keep your receipt- the last return date is printed at the bottom, and if you have any questions or concerns, the full return policy can be found on the back.