Amazon takes over university's textbook sales operation

[fjtorres]

From the Boston Globe:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/...pOJ/story.html

The campus bookstore, a seeming anachronism in the digital age, will soon become history at the University of Massachusetts.

Starting next fall, students at the flagship Amherst campus will buy almost all textbooks from Amazon.com. The online retail giant has struck a deal with UMass to replace an on-campus “textbook annex” run by Follett Corp. with a smaller Amazon distribution center.


UMass officials hope the arrangement will save students money.

“We really recognize that textbooks and course materials are a major expense for students, and those have continued to go up over time,” said Ed Blaguszewski, UMass spokesman. “This is about convenience and saving money for students.”

Amazon told UMass that it could save students an average of 31 percent, or $380 annually, compared with prices at the old store.

The Amazon system will offer students access to digital textbooks and, for old-fashioned ink-and-paper texts, free one-day delivery to addresses on campus and apartments in nearby towns.

Students can also pick up texts, ordered online, at an Amazon-staffed storefront in the campus center that’s set to open in June.

The company said it is negotiating similar contracts with a number of other universities and colleges.

“Many schools are feeling pressure to control the cost of education, and textbooks contribute to that,” said Ripley MacDonald, Amazon’s director of student programs. “Many are also seeing revenues in their bookstores flat at best, or even going backward, so they’re looking at ways to stem that trend. We’re trying to reinvent the bookstore experience.”

More at the source.

[harriska2]

Textbook costs are a mess. There are now instructors and professors that create their own textbooks and sell them to students - only to upgrade them *yearly* so that students can't sell the older version. Seems a conflict of interest to me.

Originally Posted by harriska2

Textbook costs are a mess. There are now instructors and professors that create their own textbooks and sell them to students - only to upgrade them *yearly* so that students can't sell the older version. Seems a conflict of interest to me.

There are professors on both sides of the fence. Many do their best to accommodate students who have different editions of a textbook, some will write textbooks for the benefit of their students (e.g. to have an updated text that covers recent developments, rather than "tweaking" a book to profit from new editions). And yes, there are those who do seek to profiteer from their students. Thankfully I only encountered on of those in my university career, and even then he had at least one redeeming quality: he was an excellent instructor.

While I agree that the cost of textbooks are a mess and that conflicts of interest should be addressed, we should also acknowledge that at least some of these people are advocates for quality education.

[Calenorn]

Anyone visited a college lately? The bookstore is far from an anachronism, it is a GIANT CASH COW! It's not about the books, it's about tee shirts and snacks and "oh, I forgot to bring a trash can."

No, college bookstores aren't going away any time soon. One company that knows this, and has bought into the business heavily, is Barnes & Noble. They're on dozens of major college campuses.

This initiative by Amazon is clearly a dagger pointed at B&N's heart.

Another one.

It almost makes me feel bad for them.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

Anyone visited a college lately? The bookstore is far from an anachronism, it is a GIANT CASH COW! It's not about the books, it's about tee shirts and snacks and "oh, I forgot to bring a trash can."

No, college bookstores aren't going away any time soon. One company that knows this, and has bought into the business heavily, is Barnes & Noble. They're on dozens of major college campuses.

This initiative by Amazon is clearly a dagger pointed at B&N's heart.

Another one.

It almost makes me feel bad for them.

They're only taking over the textbook sales.
Follet is still going to be selling the licensed t-shirts and trash cans.

For now.

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

They're only taking over the textbook sales.
Follet is still going to be selling the licensed t-shirts and trash cans.

Yes, but if the students don't go there to buy their books, Follet is going to lose much of its footfall and resultant impulse purchases.

Mike

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Mike L

Yes, but if the students don't go there to buy their books, Follet is going to lose much of its footfall and resultant impulse purchases.

Mike

Hence the "for now".

Amazon is all about getting the toe in the door.

[murg]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Hence the "for now".

Amazon is all about getting the toe in the door.

I thought Amazon was all about getting its nose under the tent.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Mike L

Yes, but if the students don't go there to buy their books, Follet is going to lose much of its footfall and resultant impulse purchases.

Mike

I think that's why stores like Wal-Mart shift things around now and then too. That way while you're looking for item x you find item's y and z that you have to have.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by crich70

I think that's why stores like Wal-Mart shift things around now and then too. That way while you're looking for item x you find item's y and z that you have to have.

The grocery store chain I shop at used to do that every 6 months or so, and I felt like killing someone by the time I left the store. I'm one of those who goes in with a list, grabs only what's on the list and gets out, I hate shopping, and changing the location of everything just made it insanely painful.

[Love.Forever.]

In university that was the most frustrating thing. Professors always wanting the latest edition, and it was very hard to sell the books. The cost of textbooks too is another problem, spent so much money on books and sometimes you don't even use all the books.

[fjtorres]

This is what the store at Purdue looks like:

http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/03/ama...38984711657493

0ne employee at a help and a bunch of lockers.

There is talk they're looking to pick up a bunch of sites from Radio Shack and put in stores like this. But that is just speculation, so far.

Would make a ton of sense, though.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by Love.Forever.

In university that was the most frustrating thing. Professors always wanting the latest edition, and it was very hard to sell the books. The cost of textbooks too is another problem, spent so much money on books and sometimes you don't even use all the books.

This approach seems win-win for students (who can rent e-textbooks more cheaply than they can buy textbooks in any format, and e-textbooks are pristine, unlike hardcopy rented or used books) and for professors/textbook authors. Of course, this is a huge coup for Amazon.

My favorite school store (but not for book prices, even with the member rebate) is the Harvard Coop.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by Love.Forever.

In university that was the most frustrating thing. Professors always wanting the latest edition, and it was very hard to sell the books. The cost of textbooks too is another problem, spent so much money on books and sometimes you don't even use all the books.

This approach seems win-win for students (who can rent e-textbooks more cheaply than they can buy textbooks) and professors/textbook authors. Of course, this is a huge coup for Amazon.

My favorite school store (but not for book prices) is the Harvard Coop.

[murg]

I having the weirdest feeling of deja vu...