VOL. L
L0NGWO0D COLLEGE, FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1975
NO. 14
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Campus Bookstore Under Attack By Students By ANITA RIVARD The Longwood College Bookstore has long been a focal point of criticism and controversy among the students of the college. The surprising expense of textbooks and supplies, as well as the presence of random price increases causes many students to question the operation of the campus bookstore. Although this reporter was unable to contact Mr. Harper, operator of the Longwood campus bookstore, prior to the printing of this issue, other sources of information were used to clarify certain points of interest and concern. In communicating with two other student bookstores in the state, it was discovered that the textbook business is not as profitable to the retailer as one might suspect. Specific selling prices of books are set by the publisher, and these current selling prices are widely advertised. According to Mr. Locke, manager of the William and Mary campus bookstore, professors are usually well aware of the current selling prices of the textbooks they choose, and bookstore operators are conscious of this fact. For this reason, it is almost impossible for these books to be sold appreciably higher without detection. Mr. Locke explained that most of the larger publishing companies establish a current selling price for a particular book, and the bookstore buyer then obtains these books at a discount. The difference between the current selling price and the retailer's discount price constitutes the
initial profit for each book sold. In a majority of cases, this discount is a fixed 20 per cent, but individual research into the matter will show that on a few certain books, the discount to the bookstore operator is less than 20 per cent. The bookstore's profit on these books would decrease according to the decrease of the discount. A ten-dollar book, for example, might be sold to a bookstore at the 20 per cent discount for eight dollars, the gross profit being two dollars. Theoretically, if one hundred ten-dollar books were sold, the bookstore would receive only $200, while the publisher would pick up $800 on the sale of these books. It was learned from Mr. Ferneyhough, operator of the University Bookstore, Charlottesville, Va., that approximately 99 per cent of the books he receives are sold to him at the 20 per cent discount. However, a publisher may raise the wholesale price of a particular publication and not increase the current selling price. Thus the bookstore operator's discount and eventual profit would be decreased. In the event of a new shipment of a certain book arriving at a higher selling price than those already in stock, Mr. Locke of Williamsburg said that it is his option to mark up the older books to the current selling price. It has been his policy lately to sell books at the amount which they were pre-priced when shipped to him. That is, a book received in August may have a lower marked selling price than the same book arriving the following January, but each will retain its original
selling price. Again, this is up to the discretion of the retailer. Mr. I/Ocke added that he has followed this procedure for a relatively short period of time, and has not yet felt the full impact of it. Publisher's Prices Available Many indexes of books in print at a particular time are available and contain the latest current selling price for each book listed. One such index is Books in Print in 1974 prepared by the R.R. Bowker Co. in collaboration with the Publications Systems Unit of the Xerox Education Group. This particular publication, along with many similar to it, are in the I^ancaster library. This reporter compared ten textbooks now stocked by the Longwood College Bookstore to the Bowker listings. Of these books, one is paperback and the others are hardbound texts. The books consisted of those currently used by the departments of history, art, mathematics, science, business, and English. Four of the books surveyed sell for the price listed by the Bowker Co., three are priced 45 cents higher than originally listed, and three are priced at a one dollar increase. The Bowker Co., however, stated that the prices quoted in its publication are subject to change. One of the books, which now sells at Longwood for one dollar higher than the Bowker listing, is also sold at the increased price by the University Bookstore in Charlottesville. Mr. Ferneyhough said that many books he has recently received show an increase of 35-65 cents over the old set price. Maintenance Costs The William and Mary campus
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bookstore is operated by that college on a self-sustaining basis; no college funds are used for its upkeep. Any clear profit must be applied to maintenance costs, employee salaries, and other debts. On occasion, money must also be set aside for future expansion of the existing facilities. The University Bookstore at Charlottesville is one of three in the University of Virginia area. It is a private enterprise and therefore responsible for its own maintenance and other costs. Mr. Harper operates the Ixmgwood College Bookstore on a lease basis, and the Bookstore Committee of the College oversees this operation. Rent is paid on the bookstore itself, a certain fee goes into a scholarship fund, and additional costs include maintenance and employee salaries. Mr. Locke and Mr. Fer-
neyhough both agree that, many items, the net profit from the sale of books is less than what is needed to sustain the operation of the bookstore. It is evident that the bookstore must pick up additional profit on other items. These include pens, paper, notebooks, art supplies, and a variety of other non-required items. Many of these items are pre-priced, so the bookstore's profit is again limited. Other supplies, and some books, have a recommended selling price which may be increased slightly at the option of the retailer. Most of these items are also available off campus, so the students are not forced to buy such supplies at a prive that they may feel is unreasonable. Bookstores stock these non-essential items for the convenience of the students, as well as to obtain some extra profit.
Snack Bar Fails To Escape Inflation Minimum Wage Cited As Main Cause By ELLEN CASSADA "Have you noticed the prices in the Snack Bar lately? They're out of sight!" "It looks like it's Slater meat loaf or nothing." Comments like these have been prevalent in recent weeks, with many students complaining about the soaring costs. Mr. Joseph Carbone, Director of Dining Services, stated that Slater had no other choice but to increase prices. "Number one, the minimum wage has increased 40 cents an hour. Where a worker used to get $1.60, now they're earning $2.00 an hour. We're absorbing as much as possible on it, but when there is an average of 306 hours of labor, a 40 cents increase amounts to a lot." A second explanation for the increase is the greater expense in purchasing coke, milk, ice
cream, and other dairy products. According to Mr. Carbone, prices remained stable as long as possible, but "It was a losing proposition. We've tried to soften the blow as much as possible." Mrs. Nancy Shelton, Executive Alumnae Director, commented that the Snack Bar was started by the Alumnae Association, and as the operations grew, control was turned over to Slater. All major policy changes must be approved by the Association, though, and they have veto power. The Snack Bar was originated for the students' convenience, and was "not intended as a profit-making deal," Mr. Carbone stated. Even though no profit is intended, "We don't want to lose money either." Mr. Carbone continued by stating, "Just about everything we use has gone up.
There are increases in dairy products and meat fluctuates so we can't maintain a steady balance, as far as prices, they increased last year also." Food prices are not the only areas that have skyrocketed. Mr. Carbone said, "The overall labor picture has increased. Taxes, costs of linen and especially paper supplies are out of this world." It was hoped that the addition of beer would help defray extra expenses. But, according to Mr. Carbone, beer sales "have amounted to nil. The week before Christmas, sales came to $72.56. This past week they were $41.00. We had anticipated the sales helping lessen the overall costs, and we offered the beer at less than regular cost. But now the (Continued on Page 6)