After Carl Smiley hands the cashier at a local textbook store three of his textbooks in hopes of a refund, he becomes disappointed when he receives less than half the amount he paid for them at the beginning of the semester.

Smiley, a junior in aviation flight from Chicago, said it is unfair that bookstores do not pay larger refunds for textbooks.

I spent over $150 for books, and so far all I’ve gotten back [for two of the three books I bought] is $11, Smiley said. After spending so much money for books, and to get back half, or less than half, while the bookstores sell them for a higher price, I feel I am being taken advantage of.

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Smiley said each semester he has the same problem when returning his textbooks. He gets frustrated when bookstores will not give a refund for some books.

There was one book I tried to sell back, and they wouldn’t take it back, he said. They said it was because they were overstocked in that copy.

Mike Pollock, manager of 710 Bookstore, 710 S. Illinois Ave., said that when students return textbooks at the end of the semester, 710 refunds as many as possible.

Of course, students try to sell back as many books as they can, and we buy all the books we can, Pollock said.

Pollock said there are numerous reasons why some books are not bought back. A book may be replaced with a new edition, the course for the book may not be offered the following semester, or the book may be severely damaged with writing and torn pages.

To be honest, legally it depends on the book, he said. If an instructor decides he doesn’t want to use a book next semester, some cases we can buy that book and sell it to another bookstore. And then you have some courses that are only taught once a year.

Jesse Harley, a sophomore in education from Chicago, recently returned his textbooks and is reconsidering how much he will pay for textbooks next semester.

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To save a few dollars, Harley may share a book with other students in some classes.

It’s discouraging because you know you’re not going to get anything but about 50 bucks, he said. But how are you going to pass without books?

Craig Case, owner of Saluki Bookstore, said students are fortunate to receive money for textbooks they used for an entire semester.

I think it’s part of school you don’t get your tuition back, Case said. So, it’s nice when they can get some money back (for textbooks). Some of the books do not have a value, so there’s no point of us buying them.

Case said there usually are no complaints about the money students receive from selling back textbooks. He said the Saluki Bookstore, 511 S. Illinois Ave. and 701 E. Grand Ave., gives a sensible price for the textbooks bought back.

Generally, it’s about half (the cost of the book) if we’re going to use it the next semester, he said. Usually students are pretty happy to get some money. I think they are glad to be done with classes and just ready to get rid of their books.

Morgan Bainbridge, a senior in foreign language and international trade from Elgin, is satisfied with the $30 she received for a marketing book she returned.

I was satisfied just because it was money, she said. I wasn’t expecting anything, I was just getting rid of my books. They could give us nothing I suppose. I think it’s a good deal.

Bainbridge said students should not complain about the money they receive from selling books back to the bookstores because students most likely are not going to use the books again.

You take the course once; there is no need to keep the books, she said. I’m never going to use the books ever again. Someone else can use them. I don’t think it is a waste of money at all.

When selling back textbooks, Smiley realizes that he has not used all of them. And because bookstores do not give what he considers enough money for textbooks, he feels he has wasted his time and money.

There are plenty of times when I’ve bought books and haven’t cracked the spine, he said. The bottom line is that I’m not getting my money.