Initially, I wasn’t very excited about the sale of the PSU bookstore to a bigger corporation, because although the bookstore’s prices were never great, it was good that it was independently owned. I’m cautiously optimistic, but I hope the new management takes some things into
consideration.
They’ve touted more merchandise and more book rentals.
I don’t care about a greater variety of merchandise. Variety is great, but I make it a point to not buy things at the bookstore that aren’t actual books, if I can help it. Need some sort of computer or TV cord or cable in a hurry? The bookstore will charge about $10 more than you should ever pay. The same goes for ink cartridges, batteries and all of the other technology needs I unfortunately have (although the sale on rechargeable batteries last week was hugely appreciated).
I would be a lot more pro-new-management if the booklist generated at the beginning of the term were more accurate. Nebraska Book Company cited technological improvements as one of its changes. I don’t know if it’s the bookstore’s fault or the professors but, for me, the booklist is a randomly changing beast. Some days it shows one book for a class, others it shows three new ones, and some days it shows none at all. Improving that would be a great help.
Merchandise and functionality is a plus, but the only thing most students really need from the bookstore is books, and the ability to rent any book is pretty good news. If renting a book is cheaper than buying it and selling it back at the end of the term, that’s a great opportunity for students.
Expanding the textbook scholarship program is another great thing, because PSU doesn’t have a sterling record with financial aid.
When it comes down to it, the most important issue for the bookstore is cheap books, and I didn’t notice that much of a difference. The Campus Bookstore and Amazon still beat the PSU bookstore’s prices across the board, like I’ve come to expect. I hope this changes.
A company that owns dozens of bookstores and has a much bigger stock should be able to beat the prices set by its independently owned predecessor.
NBC’s recent bankruptcy also unsettles me. I know filing bankruptcy in order to escape debt and restructure is a standard business practice, but at the time of filing in March 2011, the company had $547 million in debt.
I’m sure there are a lot of factors—like the economy tanking and how fast Amazon grew—but at the same time, textbooks are a huge, exceedingly profitable industry.
A debt of $547 million seems like a really big number to bounce back from and doesn’t give me a lot of confidence in the company’s ability to manage things. I hope they know what they’re doing this time around, and can control the expansion. Students still staff the store, and if the company starts downsizing or floundering, it would be wrong for students to suffer for it.
Like all things, only time will tell if the bookstore will be better off under new management, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.
I hate to see it go as an independent operation when our food comes from Aramark (a big, unsustainable corporation) and Higher One (which is dealing with lawsuits on several campuses) takes care of our billing and financial aid.
I’m not even happy with giving Amazon so much of my money every term. Big corporations profiting from higher education is something that should be avoided. But if it means the difference between a triple digit bill and a double digit bill when it comes time to buy books, I can deal with it.
Correction:The Vanguard incorrectly printed that the Portland State Bookstore is under new ownership. The bookstore has been, and continues to be, a nonprofit, independently owned organization.