Independent stores offer cheaper books

By Laura Pelner
Campus Editor

Some Purdue professors are now ordering the books for their courses through independent bookstores not associated with the university because they think it will save students money.

Judson Jeffries, an assistant professor of political science, ordered his books through Global Greetings in Lafayette. "I was a student three years ago and I understand that not everyone can pay $60 a piece for a book," said Jeffries.

"Since I came to Purdue, three years ago, it's come to my attention that when (students) purchase books from Purdue affiliates they pay more for a book then they should," said Jeffries. "I started (ordering books through outside sources) last fall and thus far it's been working well. The books I ordered last fall were significantly cheaper than they were at the bookstores. They were about $8-$10 cheaper."

A lot of professors order the books for their courses through Von's Book Shop in the Village. Jim Martin, the Von's Book Store manager, said that his store sells books for about 70 or 75 courses, mostly in the fields of the humanities.

Martin said that some professors regularly use Von's for their book requests. "Some professors swear by us and other people use other stores. (The amount of courses we sell books for) has probably leveled off (in the last few years)."

Martin and the managers of University Book Store and Follett's all emphasized that they do not control the prices of the books they sell. "Everybody wants something for nothing but we don't set the prices," said Tom Frey, the manager of University Book Store. "The price is set by the publisher, but we're the ones who bare the brunt of it. I'm sorry if the books are expensive but there is nothing we can do about that."

Martin said that the books at Von's may be a little cheaper but he acknowledged that they do not sell used books, which can make a difference. "So, in a sense, (the other stores) would be cheaper if students buy a used book from them then if they bought a new one from us," said Martin.

The majority of professors on campus do order their books through the University affiliated stores. In an average semester Follett's and University bookstores sell books for around 4,000 courses.

Jeff Gulick, the book store director for Follett's, said that he thinks the Purdue faculty order books through his store because it's tradition. "We've been here for over 65 years serving this campus. It's what we do, we're a professional college book store," said Gulick.

When asked about the price of the books, Gulick said that the majority of the profit goes to the publishers and that on average the store makes 20 percent of the book's price.

Gulick and Frey also said they do not think buying books through outside stores is really cheaper because some of those stores do not offer used copies or the option to buy the books back later.

In fact, Gulick said that when professors order books from other stores they actually might be making books more expensive in the university related bookstores.

"For us to pay half price for a title (at the end of the semester) we have to have the order for the next semester. So if a professor goes to another place students won't get half price (for the books)," said Gulick, "If they order it through traditional book stores that offer buy back the student gets more money back and that lowers the cost of their books."

Martin added, though, that Von's Book Shop will buy books back if they have an order for them for the next semester, and Jeffries said that students in his class can sell their books back to the Purdue stores even though they were not purchased there.

Frey said that another benefit of the university bookstores, though, is that they are all close to campus and they offer one-stop shopping. "We try to have all the books. If we find out that the book is on sale somewhere and we have the book we will put it on the shelf. If an instructor asked Von's to carry a book and we have a warehouse of them used we will put them out on the shelf."

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Campus editor: Laura Pelner

Assistant campus editors: Kurt Esposito, Dave Stephens

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