PUHI — Kaua‘i Community College will celebrate its spring commencement exercises Friday at KCC Performing Arts Center, marking the end of another school year at the Puhi campus. Noel Mock, manager of the KCC Bookstore, finds himself in a reverse
PUHI — Kaua‘i Community College will celebrate its spring commencement exercises Friday at KCC Performing Arts Center, marking the end of another school year at the Puhi campus.
Noel Mock, manager of the KCC Bookstore, finds himself in a reverse role — paying out instead of collecting money for books.
Students who are wrapping up their semesters can take advantage of the bookstore’s buyback program, which will run until Friday.
“We basically are buying for several sources,” Mock said. “First, we buy for our programs. We also buy for the University of Hawai‘i Neighbor Island campuses and finally, we buy for wholesalers.”
As a rule of thumb, Mock said the price for the buybacks are half of the retail price of the book which should be in good condition.
Some of the exceptions are badly-soiled or dirty books, books which are falling apart, water-damaged books, workbooks with written answers and old editions.
The bottom line is, students bring in the books and the bookstore staff will inspect the copies to ensure it’s in good condition and nothing is missing before paying out.
“This way, students can at least get back part of what they paid out at the start of the semester,” Mock said. “Right now, every little bit helps.”
Mock said KCC Bookstore is also offering several other promotions, including an opportunity to win an iPad and campus bucks which can be used for future book purchases.
Once received, the books go through a more thorough inspection by book store staff who make the necessary cosmetic touch ups to make the book saleable.
Books which do not meet the needs of the KCC Bookstore are packed and shipped off to either another campus bookstore or to the wholesaler, Mock said.
As a final resort, books which do not fit any of the criteria are directed to a recycling bin where they are recycled into new books, Mock said.
“The biggest problem with the buyback, though, is the cost of shipping,” he said. “If the books are for our use, it works in our favor, but for everything else, the cost of shipping is the most expensive part.”
Call 245-8273 for more information.
