Frequently Asked Questions

We start returning unsold textbooks back to the publishers approximately six weeks after the first day of term. To ensure you get your books, we strongly recommend purchasing them at the beginning of term.

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

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.

You can find it at: https://bookstore.ubc.ca/digital-course-materials/

Clothing vendors supplying products to the Bookstore are expected to comply with the following guidelines which are consistent with those established by the Fair Labour Practices Association, International Labour Organization, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. We will not do business with vendors that do not meet these guidelines.

Health, safety and employment guidelines

Forced labour: There shall not be any use of forced labour, whether in the form of prison labour, indentured labour, bonded labour or otherwise.

Child labour: No person shall be employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where the International Labour Organization exemption for developing countries allows) or younger than the age for completing compulsory education in the manufacturer’s country where that age is higher than 15. Currently, employed child workers shall be kept employed and be given access to education and transitional economic assistance. Where a child worker must be displaced, adult family members should have the opportunity to assume the child’s position in order to maintain family earnings.

Harassment and abuse: Every employee shall be treated with respect and dignity. No employee shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological, verbal harassment or abuse.

Non-discrimination: No person shall be subject to any discrimination in employment, including hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement, on the basis of gender, race, religion, caste, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation or union membership.

Women’s rights: All employees shall have the right to work in an environment free from sexual harassment and abuse. No worker shall be subject to the forced use of contraceptives or pregnancy testing. Pregnant women will be entitled to appropriate maternity leave and appropriate medical benefits in accordance with national laws and regulations and consistent with national practices.

Health and safety: Employers shall provide a safe and healthy working environment to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of or occurring in the course of work or as a result of the operation of employer facilities. Workers will be provided with health and safety training appropriate to their industry.

Freedom of association and collective bargaining: Employers shall recognize and respect the right of all employees to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Wages and benefits: Employers recognize that wages are essential to meeting employees’ basic needs. Employers shall pay employees, as a minimum, at least the minimum wage required by local law or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher, and shall provide legally mandated benefits.

Hours of work: Employees shall (i) not be required to work more than the lesser of (a) 48 hours per week and 12 hours overtime or (b) the limits on regular and overtime hours allowed by the law of the country of manufacture or, where the laws of such country do not limit the hours of work, the regular work week in such country plus 12 hours overtime and (ii) be entitled to at least one day off in every seven day period.

Overtime compensation: In addition to compensation for regular hours of work, employees shall be compensated for overtime hours at such premium rate as is legally required in the country of manufacture or, in those countries where such laws do not exist, at a rate at least equal to their regular hourly compensation rate times 1.5. All overtime shall be voluntary.
Environmental guidelines: Vendors will seek out, implement and exercise environmental practices wherever possible, including a commitment to packaging standards that reduce the amount of materials used/ or, have a recycled content. Vendors will also demonstrate environmental safety in the handling of all materials.

Legal guidelines: Vendors will be law abiding and will observe criminal, civil and tax codes in the countries they do business and will comply with all applicable legal and customs requirements of Canada.

No, for security reasons, orders will not be delivered to residential addresses. Only special exceptions will be permitted as determined and approved by Workday approvers.

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

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

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.

We’re always looking for new options and ways to reduce the costs of textbooks to students.

1. CHOICES. As well as new books, we offer three other choices of books to take into account differing budgets: used (which can save you up to 75% if you can sell them back), ebooks (up to 50% cheaper) and custom course packs.
2. CUSTOM COURSE PACKS: because we only charge for printing and copyright clearance costs, there are now on average 33% cheaper. 
3. SELL TEXTBOOKS BACK. We offer you the opportunity to see your books back to us throughout the year. We try to buy back as many books as we can - if a book is being used for another term on campus you will get up to 50 per cent of the new cost; if the book is not being used the next term, but is still a current edition you will receive a wholesale price. Again, we are encouraging faculty to use books on campus for multiple terms so that we can buy back as many books as possible.

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.

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

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.

We use three different distributors in order to make as many digital course materials available to students as we possibly can. The downside to this is that redeeming your digital course materials can seem...complicated. We get it. We hope these step-by-step instructions will help.

1. Determine whether you have purchased a Campus E-Bookstore, Vitalsource or Canvas Digital product. In your online order Status Update email, find the shipment for the item you wish to activate. It should tell you which type of course material you have purchased and provide instructions on what to do next, but if you are unsure:

• Campus E-Bookstore: Below the item name, you should see a 12-character redemption code in red, separated by dashes (combination of letters and numbers).
• Vitalsource:  Below the item name, you should see a 20-character access code (combination of letters and numbers).
• Canvas Digital: the item you have purchased will be named “Canvas Digital: [publication title]” or Canvas Print: [publication title]”

2. Visit the link that corresponds with your purchase and follow the on-screen instructions:

• For Campus E-Bookstore purchases, click here for step-by-step redemption instructions
• For Vitalsource purchases, click here for step-by-step redemption instructions..
• For Canvas Access Codes, click here for step-by-step redemption instructions.

More details can be found on our Digital Course Materials page.

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 2025 graduation ceremonies may be rented in advance online from Monday, October 5 through the Faculty Rental Form.

The deadline to rent regalia online is Thursday, November 13 at 11:59pm (PST) for faculty members.

After the online deadline has passed, regalia can also be rented on-site the day of the attending 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

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

Your lovely professors/instructors choose your Required textbooks. Required textbooks contain the basis of the course and will be referred to frequently. Alternative textbooks are variations of the required textbook that deliver the same content but in a different format.

For example, your instructor may have selected an eBook and access code as the Required Textbook. However they are also giving you an alternate option of the physical package of the book, which contains the print version of your textbook and digital access code as a package. If you'd prefer having the physical book rather than an eBook, you can select the print package as an alternate option. Alternate options provide students options for purchasing the course materials that best fit their learning needs and their budgets. Important note: you only need to buy ONE of either the Required textbook or its alternates, as either option is acceptable for your course.

If you want to be a boss, you can also read the optional textbooks, which are for additional reading on a particular subject. Optional textbooks aren't required for your course, these are normally supplementary course materials that are recommended by your instructors.

Unfortunately, we do not! To help us prepare for the next semester, we return all overstock to the publishers. This allows us to have shelf space ready for next terms books. If you need textbooks, it is advisable to purchase them at the beginning of the semester.

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.”

The textbook buyback program is no longer available at this time.

We start returning unsold textbooks back to the publishers approximately six weeks after the first day of term. To ensure you get your books, we strongly recommend purchasing them at the beginning of term.

Firstly, we commend you on your organizational skills! There are many reasons why your textbook is not available on your first day: the publisher may be out of stock or impacted by shipping delays, your department or professor may have submitted a late request for your book, enrolment may have increased or classes added. These are just some of the most common reasons. When there is a delay, we make every effort to get the books to the store as quickly as possible.

If you are currently outside of BC and are planning on being on Campus for your first day of class, we strongly advise that you select the option to pick up your books in-store, rather than having them shipped to you out of province. This will ensure you receive your books are quickly as possible. Order your course materials here.

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.

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!

We use three different distributors in order to make as many digital course materials available to students as we possibly can. The downside to this is that redeeming your digital course materials can seem...complicated. We get it. We hope these step-by-step instructions will help.

1. Determine whether you have purchased a Campus E-Bookstore, Vitalsource or Canvas Digital product. In your online order Status Update email, find the shipment for the item you wish to activate. It should tell you which type of course material you have purchased and provide instructions on what to do next, but if you are unsure:

• Campus E-Bookstore: Below the item name, you should see a 12-character redemption code in red, separated by dashes (combination of letters and numbers).
• Vitalsource:  Below the item name, you should see a 20-character access code (combination of letters and numbers).
• Canvas Digital: the item you have purchased will be named “Canvas Digital: [publication title]” or Canvas Print: [publication title]”

2. Visit the link that corresponds with your purchase and follow the on-screen instructions:

• For Campus E-Bookstore purchases, click here for step-by-step redemption instructions
• For Vitalsource purchases, click here for step-by-step redemption instructions..
• For Canvas Access Codes, click here for step-by-step redemption instructions.

More details can be found on our Digital Course Materials page.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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/

Click here to read our return policy.

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

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.