Frequently Asked Questions

irstly, 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 may have no Canadian rights, 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 Canada 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 abroad.

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

Very good question! Textbooks are different from general books because of the information they contain and the limited market they serve. Students tell us that if they buy textbooks that are well used in the classroom, they feel it’s worth the money. However, if the professor never refers to it, tests from it or assigns homework from it, they feel the book was a waste of money. We agree. Like all other campuses, we have a large team at UBC which helps to build the lists, liaising with all faculty and publishers throughout the year. Our competitors, like Amazon and Chapters Indigo, do not have large teams to build their lists so their costs may seem to be cheaper. We want to help you with costs, so we offer you used and digital as well as the opportunity to sell your textbooks back to us or to your fellow students via Students Classified.To learn more about our Buyback program, check out the Buyback section in this FAQ.