Atlantic Textbook Recycling > Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions . . .

Q:	I received these books for free. Am I allowed to sell them?

Absolutely. Marketing samples, once received become the property of the recipient. By choosing to sell unsolicited desk copies you are helping students to access textbooks at discount prices and are reducing the amount of waste in the industry.

Q:	I don’t feel comfortable accepting payment for books that I receive.

Many faculty have expressed similar concerns, choosing to purchase journals, software or other educational needs with the money they receive for the books. We frequently write cheques to scholarship funds, bursaries, foundations and to student societies for books that we collect.

Q:	What do you do with the books you collect?

We ship the books we collect to several wholesalers. The books are ‘marked down’ as ‘used books’ and are made available to University and College bookstores in North America at discount prices.

Q:	I give my excess books away to students or I give them to the library. Isn’t this a better alternative?

The books we collect end up in the hands of students who are required to purchase them as ‘assigned reading’. With new editions coming out so frequently it is difficult for students to obtain required texts at discount prices. Our program addresses this need. The books that you give to students or to the library usually represent additional reading for the students. We wonder how well this resource is used given that students often have a hard time getting through the assigned reading, never mind additional reading.

Q:	I send my books to under-developed countries. Isn’t this a better alternative?

We recommend that you send previous editions of your textbooks to other countries. It is only in North America that students are required to purchase the most recent editions. By selling the current editions you help North American students. Faculty often have shelves full of previous editions that could be well utilized in other countries. Funds from recycling current editions could easily pay shipping costs of previous editions to underdeveloped countries.

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