Used Book Room

1. What is Consignment?
   Consignment is easy - bring in your books that you want to sell, and the Used Book Room will sell them for you. You set the price (minimum discount of 80% of retail price) - and get 75% of the consignment price you set for your books when they sell. All you have to do is pick up your cheque after the sale.
2. Who can consign at the Used Book Room?
   Anyone can: students, faculty, or the public.
3. What kinds of books can I consign?
   The Used Book Room specializes in current academic textbooks, since older textbooks and other types of books are much less likely to sell. We may accept some novels or reference books from time to time if you are willing to sell them at bargain prices, but keep in mind that we may have to limit these due to space considerations.
4. Can I consign my Course Packs or Lab Manuals?
   Sorry, since they change every year they are unlikely to sell and we generally cannot accept them.
5. Can I consign Study Guides?
   Yes! Study guides are especially useful to prospective buyers when the textbooks they accompany are also available. You can choose to bundle study guides with textbooks for a combined sale only, or sell them individually.
6. How much should I ask for my books?
   Almost anything you wish. The only requirement is that used text books must be discounted a minimum of 20%, otherwise you can lower the price as much as you wish. Remember that the lower you set the price, the more likely your book is to sell, and quickly. But the higher you set the price, the more money you make. The price you choose should depend on the condition of the book and the likelihood of it being used in a future class.
7. How do I consign a book?
   Just bring your books to the store, and say you want to consign them. If it's your first time we will take down some details like your name, student number (or drivers licence number if you're not a student) and your email address or some other way to contact you. Then we add your books to the system, after you have chosen a price. Each book gets a unique Barcode Number. You then sign a Consignment Agreement for the books, which states you agree to abide by the terms & conditions of the Used Book Room Consignment Terms. That's it!
8. Will my personal information appear on or in the books?
   No; we only list the price and barcode numbers on each book, they are only tied to your information in our secure database so we can pay you.
9. Will you protect any personal information I give?
   The Used Book Room will guard any personal information you give and will never release any such information without express permission or a court order. We will never sell your information to any third party, and we collect only as much information as necessary to contact you upon sale of your books and issue payment. Your privacy is paramount, and ensuring its integrity is central to our business. See our Privacy Policy for more information. We take security seriously, and visitors to this site must respect the User Terms to prevent abuse of the personal information of others.
10. How will I know when my books sell?
    When your books sell, we'll send you an email to the address you specified when you consigned your books, so check that account once in a while. If you can't access that email account anymore, stop by the store with photo identification and change your email address with us.
11. I don't have an email address!
    We may be able to notify you some other way. When you consign your books we will try to arrange notification that is convenient for you.
12. How do I get my money?
    We pay out by cheque. Cheques are made out to the name given on the Consignment Agreement and can be picked up at the store. You need your student card (or other photo ID) to get them. Keep in mind our black out period during the first three weeks of each semester when your cheques will not be available.
13. What if I want to consign something but I am moving away?
    If you're out of town we can mail your cheque. You can reply to the automatic e-mail you get with an address and we'll mail a cheque for your sold books that you haven't picked up funds for yet. If you are an international student, an exchange student or traveller and are out of the country, we can often send you a cheque or international money order in local currency for your convenience.
14. How long will you hold my cheque?
    One year, then the cheques expire and funds become property of the Used Book Room. Please don't let this happen! We are interested in you profiting from your relationship with us, and becoming a return customer. After all, they are your books and you paid enough for them new.
15. What happens if my items don't sell?
    Books are usually offered for sale for 12 months, at which point an email is sent asking you to pick up your books. Books generally cannot be re-consigned after they have been in the store for a year without selling, and they are unlikely to ever sell if they haven't sold in this time. If you leave items in the store for over 14 months, they become the property of the Used Book Room. We don't want this to happen! Please pick up your books after the 12-month Expiry Date.
16. Professors - save your students some money
    The cost of new textbooks for each class is very high for students today. Many just can't afford to get books for every class, and may suffer academically for it. Please take a minute to visit our Profs Page for ways to save your students money on textbooks, or even order your class books at discounted rates.
17. Do you sell new textbooks?
    No, the Used Book Room does not sell new text books at the current time.
18. How can I pay for books I want to buy?
    We accept cash and debit cards (sorry, no cheques), as well as MasterCard and Visa. You can also use the money you made from selling your books towards purchases for later semesters.
19. I bought the wrong book! Can I return it?
    Due to the nature of consignment sales, we regret that we cannot give refunds, exchanges or returns, but you can certainly re-consign the book. Refund Exceptions: a) an instructor stated an incorrect book or edition on the course syllabus (must be accompanied by a note from the instructor) b) a student has dropped the course for which the book was required(must be accompanied by proof of original enrolment and proof of having dropped the course) c) Unreasonable damage or defect in the purchased material (at the Used Book Room Supervisor's discretion) d) Refunds will only be considered within the two-week period after the date of purchase.
20. My used text book was donated, can I get a tax receipt?
    The Used Book Room and the Ryerson Students' Union is a not-for-profit organization and not a charity and therefore cannot issue tax receipts for any textbooks donated on your behalf.
21. Where does the Used Book Room donate used textbooks?
    The Used Book Room currently donates used text books to S.T.E.L.L.A.A. (Stella's Training, Education, Literacy, Learning & Academic Assistance) which you can find at stellaa.org

More questions?
Please contact us on (416)979-5263 or via email at usedbookroom@rsuonline.ca if you have any questions that are not answered on this site. We'd be happy to help you any way we can.