If you’re like most students at VCU, you probably
spend a minimum of $1,000 a year on textbooks. In
the aggregate, that means the book-selling business
is booming on our campus with a conservative $30
million a year in revenue. Not bad. If the mark-up is
50 percent, that could mean a very healthy profit for
somebody.
Most newspaper articles are written to provide
answers. This one is written to ask questions. The
reason is that the bookselling process at VCU is
bathed in mystery, shadow and secrecy. Are we paying
more than we should for our books? Perhaps. The
university and its students would greatly benefit if
university bookselling practices were more open and
more transparent.
Earlier this semester, I accidentally discovered that
the university periodically contracts with one bookseller
to operate the official campus bookstore, and the
contract is now open for renegotiation. I don’t know
how much longer it will remain open, but it seems to
me this contract has importance to every student on
campus. I addressed the student senate on Sept. 24
with the hope of learning more about and generating
a larger student voice in the process. The senate took
action to support increased student involvement in
the process. But the most effective way to bring about
change is for large numbers of students to back them
up by expressing their opinion and asking questions
right now about the decisions that so significantly
affect their pocketbooks.
So many questions come to mind. Why is there only
one official bookseller? We can’t just shop at another
bookstore because, it seems, other bookstores aren’t
given advanced information about what texts will be
used in various courses. You would think that with such
privileged information and the consequent possibility
of bulk book purchasing, there would be economies
of scale that could be passed on to the students.
Moreover, with the captive market, it should be
possible to save the large advertising expenses incurred
by off-campus booksellers resulting in even lower
prices. Have you noticed lower prices at the official
bookstores? The only thing that will bring about lower
prices is competition and a free market. Competition
would force booksellers to be more effective in their
operations, reducing overhead and point-of-sale
prices. (And maybe even reducing executive salary?
The rumored $2 million eFollett company gifts to the
university didn’t come from the tooth fairy.)
Why is the contract for such a long term? The last
contract was for 12 years, and I’ve heard that the one
now being negotiated is for five years, with a possible
one-year extension. Would a shorter term be better
for both parties?
Why do we receive only 10 to 15 percent of the
new-book price when we sell a text and yet have to
pay 85 percent to 90 percent of the new-book price
when we buy a used text? How can we create a more
market-driven textbook service? It just seems fair that,
as captive consumers, we should know more about
the process and be more involved in determining the
results.
None of this is meant to suggest that current policy
and procedures are wrong. It’s just that nothing is
perfect; everything can be improved. We must bring
about the improvement we seek. We must find a better
way. If there are good reasons for the way things are,
what are those reasons? We need to know.
At the beginning of this semester, I took a small,
informal survey of students waiting in line to pay for
their books. The average student said he or she spends
between $500 and $700, which probably compares to
your own experience. One girl said she had to drop
a class because she couldn’t afford the text. When I
asked her why she didn’t buy a used text, she said she
couldn’t because it was a new edition. Her unfortunate
situation made me feel sad. Surely, she is not unique.
How many other students might have dropped a course
for the same reason?
As the customer, you have more power than you
realize. A small effort on your part can help introduce
more transparency and more competition into the
process. Express your views and address your questions
about the process to your Student Government
Association president, your senator or in the form of
a letter to the editor to The Commonwealth Times.
Even a 5-percent reduction in purchase prices or a
5-percent increase in the sale price of used texts would
make your expression a bargain.
Let’s hear your thoughts and your questions. The
time is short, so speak up no, and encourage others to
do so as well. Whether this issue becomes a shout or a
whimper depends on you. Charity begins at home.
– Jibran Muhammad