Frequently Asked Questions

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.

UBC Bookstore works with Books for Africa, a non-profit organization that ships textbooks to Africa. You can donate unwanted books to this program at our front cashiers or to the bin near the upper lobby elevator and we’ll ensure they continue to be of use to students in developing nations.

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.

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

Gowns can be purchased from our supplier Gaspard: www.gaspard.ca

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.

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. If the cashiers swipe your student card at the time of purchase, this will automatically grant you access . If you purchased your textbook second hand from another student, there is no way for you to activate your course materials in Canvas.

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.

Please use this link for ISC Service Now. 

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!

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.

To order items that are not on the Workday supplies catalogue, you can use the Workday special requisition process. Please refer to the Workday instructions for ordering non-catalogue items.   Your ISC support team can assist with the training. Please use this link for ISC Service Now.

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

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.

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.