his her book and the bookstore is able to sell the book to a channel offering the highest price at step 104 the used book is scanned for a unique book number bk number if there is one so that any prior history of the book in the network of bookstores is found including its isbn number if the book does not have a bk number its isbn number is scanned at step 106 if a bk number is found the history of the book is displayed or printed for the sales clerk this information provides the clerk with valuable information that is useful in determining a book buy back price as well as to educate the customer about why a book maintains a certain value next at step 108 a search is conducted of databases to determine the best buy back price for the book in one embodiment the databases can be internet based or stored on a cd tape or other electronic storage device that are stored in the local database of the bookstore the databases may include the following on site bookstore booklist college textbook wholesaler 39 s guide k 12 textbook wholesaler 39 s guide internet booksellers and the booklists for the schools where other bookstore affiliates are located in some instances it may be important to search further for more information in order to determine the best price for the book for example one may want to determine the edition number of the book the year of publication the author the publisher old edition information and imminent future editions as well as other information that may be important in a given situation a determination can also be made as to what channel to assign.