An intense rivalry between two teams has been brewing around SMUsince 1947. The competition begins the week before the fallsemester and rages on throughout the year. With the same colors andgame plan, these teams strive to please their customers whileremaining one step ahead of the competition.
The battle between the SMU Barnes & Noble College Bookstoreand the Varsity Bookstore truly begins in the pre-season whenfaculty members release their book lists for the followingsemester.
The SMU Bookstore’s team is composed of approximately 55-60graduate and undergraduate students from community colleges in thearea as well as students from SMU and UNT.
“We’re here to supply the SMU community at large,” saidbookstore manager Marilyn Hartman. “Our staff strives to befriendly, helpful and accommodating [to everyone].”
Owned by the Nebraska Book Company, the Varsity Bookstore, oneof 110 off-campus stores around the country, is the second largestwholesale vendor of used books in the United States.
Despite their significantly smaller team, the Varsity Bookstorepromises to deliver outstanding customer service as well as higherbuy-back prices for used books.
“That’s how we make our money,” said Varsity Bookstore managerDavid Geist. “We put more effort into things here and are dedicatedto customer service.”
The Varsity Bookstore has a customer loyalty plan that gives thepurchaser a chance to earn a gift certificate for up to $100 goodfor anything in the store when they spend $1,000 over the course ofa semester.
Each team allows students to pre-order their books with a holdof payment, such as a credit card, to save time and trouble.However, the SMU Bookstore receives home field advantage foraccepting Pony Express and student charge.
Student charge is the most convenient form of payment,especially for first-years that don’t have a working pony expresscard, Hartman said.
Despite this advantage, the Varsity Bookstore raises the bar oncompetition by offering competitive prices for used books as wellas having more used books in stock. For new books, both stores arewithin the same price range.
The SMU Bookstore attaches a refund pamphlet to all bookreceipts. Students will be given a full refund on their books untilAug. 28 with the receipt. After the first week, a full refund maybe given up to 30 days after classes begin if students show proofof a schedule change or within two days of the purchase. All othertextbook refunds within the first 30 days will be honored at 75percent of the purchase price. All textbook sales are final bySept. 19.
Despite the fact that ten thousand pamphlets on how to get arefund are distributed during each book rush, students continue totry to bend the rules. A strict “no receipt, no refund” policy isexercised for all refund or exchange transactions.
Once the semester begins, the SMU Bookstore recommends thatstudents not sell back their books until finals week. By this time,the bookstore has received book lists from the professors and thebuy back prices are higher.
“Timing is important,” Hartman said. “We can’t buy back books ifthe professor doesn’t order it again.”
The timing factor tightens the competition once again for theVarsity Bookstore.
Because SMU is a private university, professors are notobligated to share their book lists with the Varsity Bookstore.
“It is an obstacle that is hard on us,” Geist said. “Sometimeswe have to beg for book requests.”
Recently, Geist and some employees went into the SMU Bookstoreto look at book prices and were asked to leave.
“Everyone is welcome here,” Geist said. “They’re not bad people,they’re just protective of their store.”
The SMU Bookstore may be more “guerilla” in their tactics, butthe Varsity Bookstore fights back by not having time restrictionsfor selling back books. The buy back prices remain fairlyconsistent throughout the semester. The Varsity Bookstore also buysbooks purchased at the SMU Bookstore.
“We try to buy back anything at any time,” Geist said.
While these two stores battle for business, Half Price Books onNorthwest Highway isn’t entirely out of the competition.
Tim Pallanch, assistant manager at Half Price Books said, “Wesee a lot of textbooks come through, and we sell a lot too.”
Half Price Books is a great store for students looking to savesome cash, but like all great deals, there is a down side. Thetextbooks at Half Price are one edition out of date.
Pallanch said a student could come in with a complete list oftitles and authors and get a much better deal but they would haveto be willing to work with an out-of-date book.
At the end of last semester, many students that couldn’t selltheir books back to the SMU Bookstore turned to Half Price Bookseven though the buy back prices are considerably lower.
You really have to take a gamble when selling your books,Pallanch said. The amount of money you receive depends on supplyand demand.
