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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1978)
Bookstore discount rate helps Non-profit status shares the wealth By RICHARD WIENS Of the Emerald When the University bookstore turned into a non-profit corpora tion giving direct discounts to stu dents on textbook purchases, some people worried that it might not survive the change. “It’s basically a unique set-up,” says Jim Williams, Bookstore manager for the past two years and assistant manager before that. “At thaftime, we weren’t at all sure it would work.” Such fears were unfounded, however, since the bookstore has thrived the past five years. Indeed, for a non-profit organization, the bookstore has been quite lucra tive. Meanwhile, students have enjoyed lower textbook prices than most of their counterparts at other universities. While University students re ceive a direct 10 percent discount off the suggested retail price of text, students at UCLA and the University of California get no discount. At the University of Washington and Oregon State, students receive five and 10 per cent discounts respectively, but only if they keep their receipts until the end of each fiscal year. A simi lar system was used here before the 1973 restructuring. The combination of high operat ing costs, high shipping charges and high wholesale prices makes it impossible to sell textbooks for a profit. Like others, the University bookstore offsets textbook losses through sales of general trade books and non-book merchan dise. Indeed, 50 percent of the bookstore’s total sales volume is generated by non-text items on which it makes about a 35 percent profit. Sales of non-text items have been so successful that the book store has consistently accumulated excess profits. Since the book store is a non-profit corporation de signed to serve its members (stu dents, faculty and staff), its goal is to “minimize profitability,” says Williams. “Our goal is to have a profit margin that will meet our ex penses and provide for improve ments.” Williams says a $60-$70,000 annual net income is necessary to meet that goal. Over the last four years, the Bookstore has aver aged over $98,000 in annual net income. In fiscal year 1976-77, its net income was $130,100. The Bookstore’s board of direc tors, which includes eight stu dents and two professors, has “worked diligently to return any profits that are beyond our needs to our members.” says Williams. A recent one-day sale in which al most all Bookstore items were discounted 25 percent was one ef fort to disburse excess profits. Since there have been consis tent excess profits for four years, why doesn’t the Bookstore raise the direct textbook discount for students? Such a move would be “premature” says Williams, who points out that the Bookstore does not have a secret stash of ac cumulated profits. What the Bookstore does have, thanks to its recent prosperity, is a $200,000 contingency fund in corporate investment bonds to be used only in an emergency. It also has a $50,000 general savings account. The rest of the Bookstore’s money is “tied up in inventory,” says Williams. Thousands of un sold textbooks sit in an “em ployees only” section of the store, waiting to be sent back to the pub lishing company or ordered for a future class. Steve Girsch, associate biology professor and a member of the board, agrees with Williams that a larger textbook discount is not the best answer. “The problem is, if we raise the discount and then fall on lean times, it’ll be hard to pull it away,” he says. “It wasn’t too long ago that the Bookstore was in the red.” Student pay under minimum By ANN KELLY Of the Emerald The Oregon Office of Education (OE) has granted a waiver to the Oregon State System of Higher Education (OSSHE) permitting the College Work Study Program (CWSP) to pay student em ployees 15 percent below the Federal minimum wage. As of July the minimum wage is $2.65. Since April the Oregon Student Lobby (OSL) has petitioned against the waiver. The lobby supplied up to 22 pages of documented reports and wage tables which supported their position that the lower wage paid to CWSP students is unfair and detrimen tal to college work study’s efforts to assist financially needy students through school. The OSL’s stand on the waiver is supported by the Oregon State Scholarship Commission and the executive committee of the Oregon AFL-CIO. Both organizations sent letters along with the OSL docu ment. Despite thorough and ongoing documented re search by the OSL, the waiver presented by the OSSHE was granted. The OE passed it without re quiring the OSSHE to justify their request for the waiver. Apparently the OE's reorganization efforts did not give it time to deal with the OSL reports, says ASUO president Ramon Herrera. “There is something wrong if we (OSL) submit ted 20 pages of adequate documentation supported by the State Scholarship Commission and the Ex ecutive Committee of the Oregon AFL-CIO and the fact that OSSHE submitted 1 page, did not submit any documentation at all and got the waiver," Herr era says. “It’s crazy that it passed.” The OSL continued to wage battle with the waiver and through inquiry and conversation with the Bureau of Financial Assistance, the National Student Association/Lobby, and staff Representatives of Al Ulman and Jim Weaver. XNJOY A CV? op OVK Ytlffc KZSSO WITH HOVfL YIZZA1 WE TEATURU: *£STR£SSO'RPHANO •CIOteoiUTA TAKTASIA • CAffc LATTE •ClQCCOtATA IAOCA * CAFFC/CUiO fhm: Girsch would prefer the Book store to expand, possibly adding a student travel agency and an op tometric office. He said a recent survey conducted by the board showed students most interested in the Bookstore expanding to in clude a record shop, a coffee bar and a florist shop. “In the long run, students would benefit a lot more from expansion than from a higher text discount,” says Girsch. If expansion plans are stymied, however, Girsch would support sin increase in the textbook discount, possibly to 12.5 percent. He says it is hard to predict what will hap pen until the newly-elected board of directors begins meeting in the fall, but he would not be surprised if they raise the textbook discount in spite of expansion plans. In addition to enjoying relatively low textbook prices (and possibly still lower prices to come), the University community has the ad vantage of a nearby alternative bookstore, which competes har dily with the university store. The Id Book and Record Shop, 134 Alder St., has been syphoning off business from the University Bookstore since 1966. Many pro fessors now order textbooks through the Id, and the philosophy department deals exclusively with the upstart shop. Caroline Keutzer, associate psychology professor, orders some textbooks through the Id because she feels it provides fas ter service. “I just have to call up Ken (Rob bins, the Id manager) and he'll get right on it and make the phone calls,” says Keutzer. She feels the University Bookstore is “too big to handle personal requests.’’ "The Id is good on emergency orders and substitutions,” says Frances Cogan, an English dept, graduate fellow. “They’re good about keeping you from being in a lurch at the beginning of the term, even if it’s your fault for ordering late.” Like the University Bookstore, the Id offers a 10 percent discount and loses money on textbook sales. The school books serve to draw students into the shop, how ever, where they may purchase records, art prints and general trade books which afford the Id a profit, according to manager Rob bins. Both Robbins and Williams feel the competitive textbook situation is healthy. Although Williams de nies it, Robbins claims that the University Bookstore was forced to start offering a 10 percent dis count in 1973 because the Id was offering a similar discount. He also believes the University Book store’s recent 25 percent off sale was patterned after a similar Id sale. In the spirit of competition, Wil liams cites such improvements at the bookstore as longer hours, expanded inventory in all areas, more special-ordering of books and, beginning in the fall, a new ticket outlet. Also, the Bookstore has purchased new cash registers (not yet installed) and a bookkeep ing computer. University students will proba bly always complain of high text book prices. But given the circum stances, one is certainly justified in saying “it could be worse.” Dairy Queen Dairy Queen Dairy Queen Best Milkshake and Hamburger in Town!! Campus Dairy Queen ^ 706 E. 13th Are. Dairy Queen Dairy Queen . 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