Frequently Asked Questions

Looking for answers? Type in a keyword using the search bar below to search through our frequently asked questions.

At the UBC Bookstore we are committed to implementing sustainable practices for the benefit of our customers, our community and our planet.

Selling reusable bags, reusing and recycling packaging, recycling batteries, making campus deliveries on behalf of our vendors, promoting the use of reusable drinkware, selling used textbooks, offering a course materials rental program, offering electronic course materials, selling a wide range of products made from eco-friendly materials, using biodegradable plastic bags, and actively seeking out locally-made or Canadian-made products to reduce our carbon footprint are just some of the ways we demonstrate our commitment to sustainability.

New textbooks are brand new, unopened books in an unmarked, undamaged condition. Used textbooks are previously-loved books that come to us in lightly worn, but good, readable condition. They may contain some highlighting and notes from prior use, but should still contain everything you need and have no water damage or missing pages. Used textbooks, if available, cost significantly less than new ones and are GST exempt. You’ll find all used books shelved with the new ones in alphabetical order. Look for the yellow USED sticker! If you don’t see any used versions of the textbook you need on the shelf, it means we do not currently have any in stock.

Please email Customer Care at easyservice@staples.com with your PO #. There will be a period of fine tuning for the delivery process due to the new Workday address formatting.   Processes are in place for continuous improvement of the new delivery processes using the new Workday delivery address detail.

Yes. All digital materials that are classified in our system as "ETEXT + ACCESS CODE" include the ebook as well as the publishers digital homework aids.

Textbooks are different from general books because of the information they contain and the limited market they serve. Publishers set a price and the bookstore tries to keep our retail as close to that price as possible. We try to offer as many economical options as we can; including, new, used, rentals and ebooks.

All office supplies that were ordered from Staples in the past will be available through the Workday catalogue.

As an ethical buyer, the Bookstore responds to any reports of labour rights violations as follows:

  • If we receive a report, that we consider credible (examples might include reports from a non-governmental organization, labour organization or media source), that a vendor or subcontractor has violated the Vendor Code of Conduct contained in this policy, the Bookstore will inform the vendor of the specific complaint. The vendor will have 30 days from the date of the notice to respond to the allegation on behalf of itself and its subcontractors. If the vendor acknowledges the allegation is wholly or partially correct, it must provide a detailed rectification plan acceptable to us outlining a program of  how it will rectify the problems within a year
  • We can request an inspection of a vendor’s facilities by a third party to determine if a violation occurred or to establish whether the violation has been addressed. The cost of this inspection is borne by the vendor
  • In the event that violations are found, whether they are acknowledged by the vendor or verified in an inquiry by an independent inspector, remedial action by the vendor must include, as a minimum, the reinstatement of any worker found to have been unlawfully dismissed, as well as compensation for lost wages
  • If the vendor does not respond to the report of a violation, fails to cooperate with an inspection or fails to provide a rectification plan acceptable to us, we will terminate without notice or penalty any contract and will not conduct any future business with the vendor.

For Workday/EWAY support, please use the ISC Service Now portal.

Helen.Mazzocchio@staples.com (Lower Mainland) and Alan.Homeniuk@staples.com (Okanagan) will still be available to assist with the special quote process for bulk PPE orders, furniture projects, and special-order items not on the Workday/EWAY catalogue.

STUDENTS
Vancouver - All cancellations for refund for May 2025 ceremonies must be received before April 22nd, 2025 at 11:59pm (PT). Refunds will not be accepted after.
Please contact Gaspard Customer Service:
1-800-683-4771 (Mon-Fri: 8:30am - 4:30pm CST)
customer_service@buildagrad.com

FACULTY
Vancouver - Faculty members should email the Bookstore at faculty.rentals@ubc.ca to request cancellations.

Click here to read our return policy.

It depends! EBook digital licenses and access lengths vary by publisher and book. Many eBooks are rentals that include digital subscription access that is valid for a set time period (Ex: 180 days, 2 years) or for the duration of your course (Ex: Canvas eBooks). Other eBooks include lifetime or "perpetual" access that doesn't expire, which allows you to own and access your eBook indefinitely. We recommend always checking the subscription length prior to purchasing your eBook to make sure you choose the option that's best for you!

UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan, you have two options:

  • You can order your textbooks online. If ordering online and you’re living on or close to campus, please choose the Pick-Up option to pick up your books when you’re back on campus. Please ensure you bring your order number and your student ID. 
  • If you want to shop in-store, come into the store and print out your personalized book list. Our staff will help you find your books. Before visiting, ensure you check our back-to-school opening hours - we offer extended hours during the start of term. Aiming to arrive at the store either before 11:30am or after 2:30pm will help you avoid our busiest times.

Other tips:

  • Shop early. Many required textbooks are available up to two weeks before classes start.
  • International students: If you will be taking classes remotely this term, allow AMPLE time to receive your books and other supplies to your country otherwise you may not have what you need on the first day of class. If you are travelling from an international location to campus for classes, we advise you to choose the Pick-Up option so your textbooks will be ready for you to pick up at the store when you arrive on campus.

Typically, publishers will place restrictions on actions you can take within their eBook platforms. This usually includes restrictions on both copying text and printing. However this varies from publisher to publisher.

All purchases are verified and connected to your CWL account for access, which requires you to purchase the materials through the UBC Bookstore in order to get a receipt that provides the redemption codes. Enter the order number (without the dash) listed on the receipt. See the text highlighted in yellow in the above seciton "Did you Purchase your Canvas Course Materials In-Store". If you purchased your textbook secondhand from another student, there is no way for you to activate your course materials in Canvas.

Graduating this year? Student graduation regalia (gown, hood and mortarboards) can be reserved online in advance of your ceremony. Appropriate academic attire is required of all participants. Regalia rentals for May 2025 ceremonies open on Monday, April 14, 2025.

Vancouver – www.buildagrad.ca/UBC
Spring 2025 May Ceremonies: The online rental deadline for Vancouver students is Friday, May 2nd, 2025 at 11:59 pm (PT).

Okanagan – www.buildagrad.ca/UBCO
Spring 2025 June Ceremonies: The online rental deadline for Vancouver students is Monday, May 12th, 2025 at 11:59 pm (PT).

Missed the online rental deadline? Don't sweat it! You can still rent a gown on-site on the day of your ceremony for an additional charge. We have enough regalia of all sizes and colours to allow anyone who misses the advance registration deadline to attend. The cost for day-of rental is $75 and payment can be made by Cash, Credit or Debit (tax included, Visa, MasterCard and Visa Debit accepted). There is no need to provide us with your information in advance once the online rental website has closed.

To rent on the day of your ceremony, please arrive at the gown pick-up area 1.5 hours before your ceremony start time.

Faculty Gown

Vancouver – Gowns must be returned to the Faculty Robing Room in the Royal Bank Cinema of the Chan Centre.

Okanagan – Regalia must be returned to the UBC Okanagan Bookstore.

Please return your gown no later than 1 hour after your ceremony concludes.

Vancouver – The Robing Room for faculty is the Royal Bank Cinema at the Chan Centre. Access via the Royal Bank Cinema entrance off of Crescent Road.

Okanagan – The Robing Room for faculty is the DVC Boardroom located in the Administration Building (regalia returned to same location after use)

Faculty must check in at the Robing Room at least 30 minutes before the ceremony, so please plan to arrive a minimum of 45-60 minutes prior to your ceremony start time to ensure you leave adequate time to pick up your regalia from the Bookstore staff.

Faculty regalia for the Fall graduation ceremonies may be rented in advance online from Thursday, October 5 to Tuesday, November 14 at 11:59 pm (PST) through the Faculty Rental Form.

The deadline to rent regalia online is Nov 14th for faculty members.

After the Nov 14th deadline, regalia can also be rented on-site on the day of the ceremony:

  • Please arrive 45-60 minutes before the ceremony at the Robing Room.
  • Acceptable payment methods include cash, credit card, debit card or Open Account Worktag (UBC Bookstore account) information.

Gowns can also be rented on-site on the day of your ceremony. Please arrive a minimum of 45-60 minutes prior to the ceremony to ensure you leave adequate time to pick up your regalia from the Bookstore staff at the Robing Room. You can pay cash, credit, debit or with your Open Account Worktag (UBC Bookstore account).

On-site registration locations are: 

Vancouver – The Robing Room for faculty is located in the Royal Bank Cinema at the Chan Centre. Access via the Royal Bank Cinema entrance off of Crescent Road.

Okanagan – The UBC Okanagan Bookstore

Black gown and faculty hood (recommended)

Black gown (only if you own a hood)

Hood only (only if you own a gown)

PhD Package (only if your PhD was from UBC)

$45.00 (plus tax)

$35.00 (plus tax)

$20.00 (plus tax)

$45.00 (plus tax)

Faculty gowns can be rented online via the Grad Gown Rentals page by submitting the Faculty Gown Rental Form for your campus.

Textbooks

There are a few reasons why you received this declined order notification: 

-          Your billing address does not match your credit card’s address. Your billing address must match exactly what is shown on your credit card statement

-          The address you’ve entered is incorrect and/or our system doesn’t recognize the address

-          The credit card has been reported stolen or lost

-          The credit card limit has been reached

-          Also note, our website cannot process debit cards (VISA or M/C debit)

Finally, this can sometimes be a system issue on our end that will resolve itself within 24 hours. Please check all of the factors above first. If after 24 hours you are still having problems with your online order, please contact us using the link below and we will do everything we can to assist you.

Please contact us by email.

  1. Save up to 50%
  2. They are environmentally friendly
  3. You don’t have to haul around heavy books

It depends! EBook digital licenses and access lengths vary by publisher and book. Many eBooks are rentals that include digital subscription access that is valid for a set time period (Ex: 180 days, 2 years) or for the duration of your course (Ex: Canvas eBooks). Other eBooks include lifetime or "perpetual" access that doesn't expire, which allows you to own and access your eBook indefinitely. We recommend always checking the subscription length prior to purchasing your eBook to make sure you choose the option that's best for you!

Redeemed/activated E-book and access code purchases are final sale. Please complete our contact form to receive assistance with returning unactivated course materials from a Bookstore team member. 

Some publishers place printing and time restrictions on eBooks. When this is the case, generally, the minimum is 180 days and the maximum is 360 days. For further information on your specific digital materials purchase, complete the form here and a Bookstore team member will assist you.

Each custom course pack has been handpicked and given hours of dedication to put together. As such (and to comply with Copyright law), we ask that you don’t photocopy, scan or reproduce these for use other than for yourself. Please and thank you.

Please complete our contact form and a Bookstore team member will assist you.

We wish we had more, too! The number of used textbooks we offer is determined by how many textbooks are being reused for each course and are returned to us each term. After a brief hiatus, we are pleased to announce that our used textbook purchase and resale program will be returning for the 2023 fall term. Please check back later for more details!

Access codes are sometimes sold individually and are also often sold packaged along with an e-text, print book or both. All digital materials classified in our system as "ETEXT + ACCESS CODE" include the eBook plus the publishers' digital homework aids. Digital Materials that are sold as an access code only are classified in our system as “ACCESS CODE.”

All purchases are verified and connected to your CWL account for access, which requires you to purchase the materials through the UBC Bookstore in order to get a receipt that provides the redemption codes. Enter the order number (without the dash) listed on the receipt. See the text highlighted in yellow in the above seciton "Did you Purchase your Canvas Course Materials In-Store". If you purchased your textbook secondhand from another student, there is no way for you to activate your course materials in Canvas.

Our textbooks area is located in the back of the UBC Bookstore. Use your personalized booklist, located here,  and then find your books on the shelves which are organized in alphabetical order by Author.

You can use the Course Search feature here: https://the.bookstore.ubc.ca/books/course-search and use the 'Access your personalized booklist' if you know your CWL login and are taking courses at UBC this term; otherwise use the manual navigation by selecting a Campus, Course and Section to build your book list.

Canvas refers to materials that are integrated into your course site. If a course material includes “Canvas” in the name, this indicates that there is a digital component accessible within Canvas that is included with your purchase. Your instructor will give you more instructions in class.

Typically, publishers will place restrictions on actions you can take within their eBook platforms. This usually includes restrictions on both copying text and printing. However this varies from publisher to publisher.

Graduation

STUDENTS
Gowns must be returned to the gowns drop off location no later than 1 hour after your ceremony concludes.
Vancouver – Drop off is located at the UBC Bookstore (6200 University Blvd).
Okanagan – Drop off is located in the Courtyard – in front of Library entrance (3287 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7).

FACULTY
Gowns must be returned to the Faculty Robing Room no later than 1 hour after your ceremony concludes.
Vancouver – The Robing Room for faculty is the Royal Bank Cinema at the Chan Centre. Access via the Royal Bank Cinema entrance off of Crescent Road.
Okanagan – Drop off for faculty is the DVC Boardroom located in the Administration Building.

Student Gown Rentals: Please send us an email at gown.rentals@ubc.ca.

Faculty Gown Rentals: Please contact us at faculty.rentals@ubc.ca.

STUDENTS
Gowns must be picked up 1.5 hours prior to your ceremony start time. Please ensure you have your gown order number with you when you arrive, and a piece of photo ID.
Vancouver – Pick up is located in Brock Commons South (New Building), 6180 Walter Gage Rd
Okanagan – Pick up is located in the Campus Administration Foyer (in front of Bookstore), 1138 Alumni Ave, Kelowna BC

FACULTY
Gowns should be picked up 45-60 minutes prior to your ceremony start time.
Vancouver – The Robing Room for faculty is the Royal Bank Cinema at the Chan Centre. Access via the Royal Bank Cinema entrance off of Crescent Road.
Okanagan – The Robing Room for faculty is the DVC Boardroom located in the Administration Building (regalia returned to same location after use)

All graduation schedules including current and future dates, as well as day-of timelines, can be found on the Graduation page for each campus: 

Vancouver: https://graduation.ubc.ca/schedule/

Okanagan
: https://graduation.ok.ubc.ca/

For students receiving a bachelors or masters degree, your rental includes a black gown, a hood representing your faculty and unique degree, and a mortarboard style hat. At the end of your ceremony, your gown and hood must be returned. You may keep the mortarboard hat as a souvenir.

For doctoral students, your rental includes a doctoral gown, a doctoral hood, and a beefeater cap. The gown, hood, and cap must all be returned.

Don't worry! You can also rent a gown and hood on the day of your ceremony at the gown pick up area for an additional fee. We have enough regalia of all sizes and colours to allow anyone who missed the deadline to attend. The cost for day-of rental is $75.00 and we will accept cash, credit or debit (Visa, Mastercard, Visa Debit). Please arrive at the gown pick up area 1.5 hours before your ceremony start time to allow enough time to rent your gown on-site. There is no need to provide us with your information in advance once the online rental website has closed.

Spring (May) 2025 Ceremonies:
Vancouver Pickup Location: Brock Commons South – New Building, 6180 Walter Gage Rd

Spring (June) 2025 Ceremonies:
Okanagan Pickup Location: Administration Foyer (in front of Bookstore), 1138 Alumni Ave, Kelowna BC

Graduating this year? Student graduation regalia (gown, hood and mortarboards) can be reserved online in advance of your ceremony. Appropriate academic attire is required of all participants. Regalia rentals for May 2025 ceremonies open on Monday, April 14, 2025.

Vancouver – www.buildagrad.ca/UBC
Spring 2025 May Ceremonies: The online rental deadline for Vancouver students is Friday, May 2nd, 2025 at 11:59 pm (PT).

Okanagan – www.buildagrad.ca/UBCO
Spring 2025 June Ceremonies: The online rental deadline for Vancouver students is Monday, May 12th, 2025 at 11:59 pm (PT).

Missed the online rental deadline? Don't sweat it! You can still rent a gown on-site on the day of your ceremony for an additional charge. We have enough regalia of all sizes and colours to allow anyone who misses the advance registration deadline to attend. The cost for day-of rental is $75 and payment can be made by Cash, Credit or Debit (tax included, Visa, MasterCard and Visa Debit accepted). There is no need to provide us with your information in advance once the online rental website has closed.

To rent on the day of your ceremony, please arrive at the gown pick-up area 1.5 hours before your ceremony start time.

Yes, all individuals participating in the graduation ceremonies at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses are required to wear academic regalia. This includes graduating students, faculty, administration and invited guests who will be seated on stage as well as volunteers. Academic regalia includes a gown, hood and headwear appropriate to the degree being granted. The mortarboard hats for bachelors and masters students are optional, but a gown and hood must be worn by all students wishing to attend. Any form of attire (formal, uniform, business, traditional, or casual) may be worn underneath the gown, but footwear must always be worn.
For more information, please see the UBC Graduation website: UBC Academic Regalia Guidelines
If you have any questions, please contact ceremonies.graduation@ubc.ca (Vancouver campus) or okanagan.ceremonies@ubc.ca (Okanagan campus).

Unfortunately, no. All gowns can only be picked up 1 hour and 30 minutes prior to the ceremony you are attending. Gowns are boxed by ceremony number and are not unpacked until right before each ceremony. We are not able to retrieve any gowns in advance.

We cannot allow students to return gowns later than 1 hour after your ceremony is over. Gowns are packed up and shipped back to Winnipeg at the end of each day. Any unreturned gowns and hoods will be charged to students at their full replacement cost so please be sure to return the gown after you have finished taking pictures with your friends and family.

STUDENTS
Vancouver - All cancellations for refund for May 2025 ceremonies must be received before April 22nd, 2025 at 11:59pm (PT). Refunds will not be accepted after.
Please contact Gaspard Customer Service:
1-800-683-4771 (Mon-Fri: 8:30am - 4:30pm CST)
customer_service@buildagrad.com

FACULTY
Vancouver - Faculty members should email the Bookstore at faculty.rentals@ubc.ca to request cancellations.

Canvas Course Help

All purchases are verified and connected to your CWL account for access, which requires you to purchase the materials through the UBC Bookstore in order to get a receipt that provides the redemption codes. Enter the order number (without the dash) listed on the receipt. See the text highlighted in yellow in the above seciton "Did you Purchase your Canvas Course Materials In-Store". If you purchased your textbook secondhand from another student, there is no way for you to activate your course materials in Canvas.

Canvas refers to materials that are integrated into your course site. If a course material includes “Canvas” in the name, this indicates that there is a digital component accessible within Canvas that is included with your purchase. Your instructor will give you more instructions in class.

The free trial is 14 days. After that time you must either purchase your course materials online or purchase them from the bookstore. Activate your purchase in Canvas using your receipt number.

  1. Login to your course at canvas.ubc.ca
  2. Go to “Modules” to select the digital materials you need to access and click “ Redeem your purchase”
  3. Enter the order number (found in order confirmation email or your receipt)
  4. Click “redeem” to access learning materials

No, you do not need to buy both. If you buy the Canvas Digital option, this gives you both the eBook and Canvas access completely digitally. Buying the Canvas Print option gives you Canvas Access but packaged with a printed book instead of an eBook.

You MUST have your own receipt with your own receipt codes in order to access the materials. In order to avoid encountering issues accessing your course materials, please do not purchase with your friends on the same receipt.

Office Supplies

No, Workday does not require a credit card. Workday will post all charges using your Workday “Worktag #/FDM#.

Staples Business Advantage and Staples.Ca are two separate divisions of Staples. UBC’s contract for supplies and copy paper, with Staples Business Advantage, includes special services like

Environmentally friendly delivery with smaller Campus Mail trucks, reducing greenhouse gases and carbon taxes for UBC.

Streamlined Workday/EWAY procurement processes.

Special UBC reporting to meet regulatory requirements. 

These special services, included in the price of the Workday items, help UBC to save money, time and the environment.

Please email Customer Care at easyservice@staples.com with your PO #. There will be a period of fine tuning for the delivery process due to the new Workday address formatting.   Processes are in place for continuous improvement of the new delivery processes using the new Workday delivery address detail.

Order history is not available through Workday. Users with a previous EWAY ID can still access your EWAY order history to find item numbers.  New users can email SBA Customer Care at easyservice@staples.com for assistance with item# to add to cart.

Staples Business Advantage (SBA) is the commercial division of Staples providing a higher level of business solutions, like Workday integration to EWAY, custom reporting and customized delivery solutions, for large complex accounts like UBC. Staples retail and Staples.ca are not part of the UBC agreement.

Job Aids posted on Workday will help with the step by step ordering process. Please refer to this Integrated Service Centre link for all Workday services including e-procurement link to EWAY ordering https://irp.ubc.ca/news/catalogue-workday-support-services-provided-isc

Workday has pre-assigned Approvers. Please confirm with your department finance manager if you are permitted to order supplies and copy paper on Workday and if you have an Approver.

Custom Imprint

Yes! Please contact our Custom Imprint Buyer to discuss consignment opportunities through the UBC Bookstore.

Most bulk-ordered custom imprinted items take 6-8 weeks for production (this does not include shipping times from the vendor to the Bookstore). Some items are eligible for rush processing, rush charges will typically apply. Please note that single custom clothing items from the Faculty Branded page take 6-8 weeks, and cannot be rushed.

You must submit payment info at the time of placing your order – we hold payment info and do not bill your order until it has arrived at the Bookstore and been checked for accuracy and quality assurance.

If you are ordering for a department please request a quote, and then you can either:

§  Authorize payment on an open account at the Bookstore (provide your driver worktag information for us to check or help you set up the account) OR

§  Pay online using a departmental credit card

If you are ordering for a student group with an AMS account then please request an invoice and then submit a cheque payable to the UBC Bookstore.

If you are ordering for yourself or a small group that are not affiliated with an undergraduate society or department then please request a quote and we will provide the steps to make a payment using a credit card.

If you just want to put the UBC crest and some text on your item, you can simply describe what you want and we will adhere to the UBC Branding guidelines to produce a mockup for you.

If you want something other than UBC Crest and text, then you must submit an original vector artwork file (.eps or .ai). If you do not have your artwork in vector format, then usually it is just a small, one-time fee (around $30) to have your artwork converted into the proper format.

Please complete this form online to get pricing on custom clothing or giftware items.

Custom imprint pricing is always quantity-dependent so the higher the quantities, the lower the per-item pricing.

In addition to quantity:

Clothing pricing is driven largely by:

  • Imprint type (screenprint vs. embroidery)
  • Design complexity (more colors = higher pricing)
  • Number of imprints (e.g., front of shirt, back of shirt, sleeve, etc.)

Giftware pricing is driven largely by:

  • Design complexity
  • Number of imprints

Yes, if you are ordering from one of our established programs on this page.

Otherwise, you must meet our minimum order quantities for clothing which are:

  • Screenprinted items: 24
  • Embroidered pieces: 12

For giftware (such as drinkware and lanyards) minimum order quantities are item-dependent. Please contact the Custom Imprint Buyer to request more information.

  • At the UBC Bookstore we ensure that all UBC branded items adhere strictly to UBC’s branding guidelines. This means that you can be confident that your custom items are on brand and are representing UBC.
  • We are proud of our Living Our Values statement, and all of our clothing items are sourced from Fair Labour Association (FLA) compliant vendors. This means you can rest assured that your imprinted clothing was made ethically and followed environmentally responsible practices.
  • In addition to our No Sweat Policy, we support local and make every effort to work with local and Canadian vendors wherever possible.
  • Finally, a portion of all the UBC Bookstore’s proceeds go back into the university, which means that your purchase helps to support your local UBC community.

Sustainability

In our warehouse we recycle all of our cardboard in a compactor.  We also recycle packaging (paper, foam chips and plastic) and reuse it wherever possible for our outgoing shipments including packages to customers and returns to vendors. Wooden pallets are also recycled.

We recycle printer ribbons and cartridges, batteries and pens.  The collection container is at the back of the store.

All metal fixtures are taken to a recycling centre.

We also encourage re-use of textbooks through used books, buybacks and rental books.

At the UBC Bookstore we are committed to implementing sustainable practices for the benefit of our customers, our community and our planet.

Selling reusable bags, reusing and recycling packaging, recycling batteries, making campus deliveries on behalf of our vendors, promoting the use of reusable drinkware, selling used textbooks, offering a course materials rental program, offering electronic course materials, selling a wide range of products made from eco-friendly materials, using biodegradable plastic bags, and actively seeking out locally-made or Canadian-made products to reduce our carbon footprint are just some of the ways we demonstrate our commitment to sustainability.

We offer a number of products throughout the store made from recycled or eco-friendly resources. We actively seek out and purchase locally-made or Canadian-made products to reduce our carbon footprint. In the Corner Store, we have sourced sandwiches and salads from small, local businesses.

Sponsored Students

You're welcome to purchase course materials using your sponsorship account either in person or by using our Sponsored Students Order Form.

Have questions or need assistance? Please contact our Special Orders desk for assistance: special.orders@ubc.ca or 604-822-4749.

You are welcome to come and shop in person or you can order your books online using our Sponsored Students Order Form: https://bookstore.ubc.ca/sponsored-students/

Refund Policy

Click here to read our return policy.

Detailed instructions on how to return online purchases is included in our return policy.

Online Orders

We accept both Visa and Mastercard credit cards and UBC Bookstore Gift Cards for online orders. We cannot accept American Express or debit cards for online orders.

There are a few common reasons why you may be encountering an error message at checkout. 

If you are ordering from an international location (other than the US) and you need your order shipped to you: Our address form has line-character limits. if you have a long address, try adding the second optional Address Line to space out your address onto two lines. In the Postal Code panel, enter 000000 (six zeros) instead of your actual postal code (don’t worry, your parcel will still find you).

If you are ordering for pick-up in store: to collect your purchase in store, please complete your billing address first. Once this has been added, please select the option for picking up in store. Your shipping address will automatically match your billing address, but this does not mean your items will be shipped to you if you have selected to pick up in store.

Ensure you are using an accepted method of payment: our ecommerce site accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards and UBC Bookstore gift cards only. We do not currently accept Visa or Mastercard debit, American Express, WeChat or AliPay.

Check carefully to ensure your billing information is correct: your billing address must match exactly what is shown on your credit card statement. 

If you are still having problems placing your online order, please submit a support request using this webform and we will do everything we can to assist you.

No, a credit card or UBC Bookstore Gift Card is required to place an online order. We currently accept Visa and Mastercard online.

There are a few reasons why you received this declined order notification: 

-          Your billing address does not match your credit card’s address. Your billing address must match exactly what is shown on your credit card statement

-          The address you’ve entered is incorrect and/or our system doesn’t recognize the address

-          The credit card has been reported stolen or lost

-          The credit card limit has been reached

-          Also note, our website cannot process debit cards (VISA or M/C debit)

Finally, this can sometimes be a system issue on our end that will resolve itself within 24 hours. Please check all of the factors above first. If after 24 hours you are still having problems with your online order, please contact us using the link below and we will do everything we can to assist you.

Please contact us by email.