How the Book Buyback Thing Works

If you're taking the time to read this, you're obviously curious about how textbooks are valued and how to get the most cash for your books. Understanding the process could mean a lot of money for you.

Ram's No Textbook Left Behind Program

Ram guarantees to pay you cash for any non-custom textbook used within the past year at UNC excluding workbooks, lab manuals or coursepacks. How much will you get for your "bad" books? The truthful answer is that it all depends on the book and its condition but we promise you it won't be zero!

Value of books... Two primary factors

Two things affect the price we pay you for your textbook at the end of the semester. First, (and most important) is if the book is being used again at UNC next semester. These books generally have the most value (unless we already have a lot in our inventory.)

If it were up to us, EVERY book would be reused (slight exaggeration) but professors select new books for various reasons. When they do, it generally reduces the value of the old book.

Second, "Is the book being used by other colleges?"

National book companies set the price for these books by watching what books are being used at other colleges and how many are generally available. They establish prices in "buying guides" that are updated every 4-5 weeks. We subscribe to several buying guides because one book company may offer a higher price for the same book. Whenever the prices set by these buying guides differ, we pay you the highest amount.

When you sell your books to us, we can show you the different prices if you're curious.

Secret to getting the most cash for your textbooks

Believe it or not, there is one "trick" to getting the most for your textbooks. Sell them as soon as you can ... before we buy all we need for the upcoming semester.

At the end of the semester, you want to be first to sell your books because the price drops once we have all we think we'll need. Generally speaking, buying or selling your books early is a good way to save money.

Note: At the beginning of the semester, you want to be the first to buy your books because you get first choice on Used books.

• It's easy to shop early (and avoid the lines and even have the books delivered for free) using our Free Online Book Reserve and Delivery service. Click here to learn more about it.

RAM pays the most ... We REALLY do!

RAM pays the most cash for your used textbooks (ask around) because we need them. Our reputation for having the most USED books depends on actually HAVING the most used books!

Hope this L O N G explanation helps.

Thanks for your continued support.

Ram Book & Supply