Pi Kappa Phi holding book exchange

Students selling or buying books might want to hold on until the start of next semester. The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity is holding their second book exchange on the first week of fall semester.

The book exchange is run by members of the fraternity, said Ryan Pooler, the social chair for Pi Kappa Phi. They got the idea from Brad Larkin, a senior in entrepreneurship, who said he saw similar book exchanges when he went to Weber State University.

“While at Weber, I saw several of the clubs and organizations doing the same thing over there, and it was a huge success,” Larkin said. “If the students use it, altogether it can be a wonderful thing for everybody. We’re hoping those students who saw it last semester will come back this semester.”

Larkin said the book exchange is like a consignment sale. Students pay $1 and sign a contract to have Pi Kappa Phi watch over the books for a week. In the contract, students specify what price they want to sell their book for. Larkin said if the book sells, the fraternity takes a 10 percent fee and writes a check to the student for the remainder. If the book does not sell, the student gets the book back.

Pooler, a sophomore in biology, said, “A lot of the students that participated last semester really liked it, and a lot said they’d be happy to do it again. We got a lot of positive feedback.”

Last year the fraternity sold about 100 books, totaling nearly $2,300 in checks written to students selling books, Larkin said. He said the fraternity barely covered their costs but said the book exchange definitely has potential – the key is getting students involved.”

Students benefit from the book exchange because they “are getting the best value for the books they buy,” Pooler said. He said those selling books are getting a better return for their books, and when “students purchase books, they’re typically getting less than in the Bookstore for used.”

And it’s not just students benefiting, Pooler said. The fraternity hopes to raise $1,000 for a charity called Push America to help children with disabilities.

The university has been very supportive of the book exchange, Pooler said.

The book exchange runs from Aug. 27 to Aug. 31 in the Merrill-Cazier Library Room 101 from 9 am. to 3 p.m.

-dilewis@cc.usu.edu