2008 Woodie Awards
The cost of convienence
The bookstore offers students a place to buy supplies but can be more expensive
Alison Heims
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Feature
- Page 1 of 1
August is the best and worst time to go shopping for school supplies. Stores are usually packed with students and parents trying to get the best deals at the lowest prices and Kirkwood Community College students are trying to do the same. Some college students take advantage of the low prices and buy enough supplies to last them through the entire school year. But many times students run out of supplies in the middle of the semester and need to get a replacement fast.
Because the Kirkwood Bookstore is the only place on campus to buy school supplies, students are forced to pay higher prices for items that could be found for a lower cost at retail stores.
A package of two highlighters at the Kirkwood Bookstore is priced at $3.15, when the same package of two highlighters was $1.94 at the Wal-Mart on Edgewood Road in southwest Cedar Rapids. A pack of eight BIC pens cost $2.15 at the bookstore and $1.47 at Wal-Mart.
Beth Dickey, Kirkwood Bookstore supervisor, said, "When you have huge companies like Wal-Mart, they negotiate pricing with vendors and often are selling items for less than what we can even buy the item for."
According to Dickey, the bookstore uses the suggested manufacture pricing to set the prices of items and the bookstore never charges students for the freight of delivering the items to the store. She also said the bookstore offers many conveniences that stores like Wal-Mart can't.
"What we strive for is convenience for the student. They can use their financial aid to purchase what they need for classes. We open up items like sheet protectors and sell them individually, where Wal-Mart and Target wouldn't sell things like that. These big retailers sell multi-packs of pens, where we stock individual pens and pencils," Dickey said.
Students should ask: Is it worth driving five miles to a retail store or easier to walk across campus to the bookstore the next time they need school supplies? It may be more convenient to go to the bookstore but what is the cost of that convenience?
Because the Kirkwood Bookstore is the only place on campus to buy school supplies, students are forced to pay higher prices for items that could be found for a lower cost at retail stores.
A package of two highlighters at the Kirkwood Bookstore is priced at $3.15, when the same package of two highlighters was $1.94 at the Wal-Mart on Edgewood Road in southwest Cedar Rapids. A pack of eight BIC pens cost $2.15 at the bookstore and $1.47 at Wal-Mart.
Beth Dickey, Kirkwood Bookstore supervisor, said, "When you have huge companies like Wal-Mart, they negotiate pricing with vendors and often are selling items for less than what we can even buy the item for."
According to Dickey, the bookstore uses the suggested manufacture pricing to set the prices of items and the bookstore never charges students for the freight of delivering the items to the store. She also said the bookstore offers many conveniences that stores like Wal-Mart can't.
"What we strive for is convenience for the student. They can use their financial aid to purchase what they need for classes. We open up items like sheet protectors and sell them individually, where Wal-Mart and Target wouldn't sell things like that. These big retailers sell multi-packs of pens, where we stock individual pens and pencils," Dickey said.
Students should ask: Is it worth driving five miles to a retail store or easier to walk across campus to the bookstore the next time they need school supplies? It may be more convenient to go to the bookstore but what is the cost of that convenience?
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