'Nobody is getting rich' in the bookstore
Jessica McAlister, News editor
After paying tuition, room and board and other expenses, the typical student at the University of Tulsa spends hundreds of dollars on textbooks at the bookstore each semester.
Some students suspect that the bookstore prices are inflated. According to bookstore manager Charles Cavenah, this is not the case. Book prices are set by publishers and are con-sistent at bookstores across the country.
“If we sell it for ten dollars, there’s a 99 percent chance other stores sell it for ten dol-lars too,” said Cavenah. “Prices for each book, across university bookstores, usually don’t vary by more than 25 cents.”
The bookstore is not operated by TU. Rather, the store is leased to Follett Higher Education Group, which operates 700 univer-sity bookstores across the country. TU andFollett have a contract in which terms of oper-ation, such as pricing parameters, are laid out.
The store’s income goes towards rent paid to the university for use of the facilities, salaries for the store’s employees, the purchase of equipment and merchandise, other operat-ing costs and profit.
On average, out of each dollar paid for a textbook, only about four cents goes to store profit, according to the National Association of College Stores. Most of the money goes to book manufacturing costs, author income, publisher’s costs, store personnel salaries and store operations.
According to Cavenah, new book prices are marked up approximately 25 percent from publishers’ prices. Used books are priced at about 75 percent of new book prices.
“Textbooks are very expensive,” Cavenah said. “But it’s the publisher that sets the pric-es.”
Rising book prices can be attributed to many factors. Compared to the past, books tend to have larger pages, bigger print, color, more pictures and graphics, and white, slick paper. This contributes to increased produc-tion costs. As well, TU professors tend to require several books per course, which also increases the amount that students must pay for books each semester.
Many students, discouraged by high prices in the bookstore, go to online retailers to find their books. Cavenah points out that prices online are lower because buying books online cuts out the middleman. Online sites also do not need to pay rent for their facili-ties.
“In this business, it’s tough,” Cavenah said. “We don’t feel like we have a monopoly. You can go several places online to get your books.”
Each semester, the bookstore contactsfaculty and teaching staff to compile a list of books that will be needed for the next semester’s courses. The store does not pro-vide ISBN numbers on its website, though students can come into the store itself and find this information.
“We’ve worked hard to get correct data about the books and it’s our way of trying to protect our market,” Cavenah said. “We are a for-profit business.”
The bookstore also buys books from students near the end of the semester. The amount paid for each book depends on whether it is currently in demand. If a book is needed for the next semester and the store’s quota of used books has not yet been filled, the store will give the student one-half of what was originally paid for it.
Timing is everything. Cavenah urges students not to wait too long to sell their books
back.
“One of our goals is to bring as many used books to the shelves as we can,” Cavenah said. “If it’s near the end of the semester and we haven’t filled our quota, we will buy books from used book companies.”
The bookstore has nine full-time employees. The staff is dedicated to helping students and work for modest salaries, says Cavenah.
“The staff really works hard to do a good job for the students and make their trips to the store quick and efficient,” said Cavenah. “Nobody is getting rich here.”
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