Associated Students Inc. instituted a free new program last month called Book Exchange that allows students to sell back their used textbooks, as opposed to selling them back to bookstores for a price that some students call unfair.Many students were open-minded when informed about the new ASI Book Exchange.

Junior criminal justice major Sia Vue was convinced that the service seems better than the Hornet Bookstore and she said she would “probably try it out.”

Because the service has only been available to students since last month, there have only been two users and nine current book ads.

Catherine Dadis, a biology major, said she was glad that ASI implemented the book exchange. To prevent falling behind on course readings, she bought her books at the bookstore and said she often has difficulty in getting her textbooks on Amazon.com as well.

Dadis interested in the prospect of the ASI Book Exchange as she continues to disagree with bookstore prices.

“Saving money is always a plus, especially with the increase of student fees,” Dadis said.

The book exchange is regarded as not only being more accommodating than the Hornet Bookstore, but also more convenient, said freshman James Bernal.

“Not only is the bookstore expensive, but the lines are too long. Personally, I would try it out instead of going to the bookstore. I’ll save myself time and money,” Bernal said.

The ASI Book Exchange is an organized system that is in existence for the convenience of students. The service does not receive any profit from students’ participation in selling or buying textbooks.

To sell or buy textbooks, students are required to register online by filling out general information to get a user name. Under the user name, students are able to communicate with one another about what they need.

To create a user name, students must provide first and last name, gender, zip code, e-mail address and telephone number. If students wants to buy a particular textbook, there are provided fields online that allow them to search the availability of books.

“If someone is looking for a particular book, they can search the books that are for sale or register to post a want ad. If they find one they want, they will contact the seller and arrange a place to meet and make the final sale,” said ASI Information Technology Manager Scott Baker.

University of California, Davis offers a similar service to its students in which they are able to sell back their used textbooks as well as request how much money they would like for them, according to Sac State’s website. The service is run through Davis’ Associated Students.

The university has an exchange board posted at the Coffee House for student-to-student direct exchanges, said Davis Bookstore IT manager Martin Robles.

“We believe that the organized book exchange, funded through Associated Students, has had mixed success.- It does provide an alternative.- For most of our students, the ability to purchase a book used, and sell it back at 50 percent new, is the best option,” Robles said.

For more information regarding Sacramento State’s Book Exchange, contact [email protected] or visit http://www.asi.csus.edu/bookexchange.

Jacqueline Tualla can be reached at [email protected]