MACS NEWS

       Newsletter of the Michigan Association of College Stores/Spring 2005   

A Note from your President…

                                April 25, 2005

                                Hello Everyone!

                                I hope everyone is having a nice spring.  After this weekend of a late
                                Spring snow I find my self looking towards warm and sunny days.

                                Please, join me and the executive Board and spring into action at

                                Hillsdale College June 5, 6, and 7.

                                Your elected board has been working hard on planning an

                                informative and fun packed meeting.  We will be hosting educational

                                sessions that will feature a state representative.  The state

                                representative will focus on legislative issues in Lansing.  Monday

                                afternoon will feature a representative from ICBA that will focus on

                                buying groups, as well as a session on used books.  The vendors will

                                be giving us a sneak peek at what is new for fall.

                                At this time we also expect Senator Debbie Stabenow to share

                                information that will center on the GAO study and investigation that

                                is due in July.  It is expected that this study will have an impact on

                                college bookstores and the publishing industry.

                                Bring your Country and Western Ware. An old fashion hoedown is

                                planned for Monday night.

                                See you in June.

                                Adrienne Loftin

                                President

                                MCS web site: www.michigancollegestores.org

MICHIGAN ASSOCIATON OF COLLEGE STORES                                  PAGE  2

Member News

Camex 2005 hosted in New Orleans was another great success you can see for yourselves

looking at the posted photos from that event( courtesy of  Michael Kuzak, Bookstore Manager from NMU).

Picture # 1 left to right are:

 Robin Manor from Third Street formerly with LSSU, Joelle Topp from Thomas Cooley Law School, John Belco from CMU and Betsy Jaakola from NMU. Seem like a happy crowd representing MACS.

Picture # 2 from left to right are:

Mary Norton (Mikes Norton’s wife) from Delta College, Connie Kuzak (Mike Kuzak’s wife) from NMU, Angie Berry from Hillsdale College, Darlene Zar from Northland College, Jeff Spangenberg from Northland College, and Paul Wright from NMU. Again Happy faces from MACS enjoying each other company during MACS Reception at Hard Rock Café.

Picture # 3  - Brian Thelen is accompanied by Barry Waters from CMU and Lyndsay Tagarel from Schoolcraft College enjoying MACS reception

Picture #   Past presidents of MACS – folks who served the MACS organization well it is only appropriate to pay them our tribute and post them in the center of the members news page.

Something new for everyone – a puzzle and a joke:

Country Girl, a very well known MACS member, whose identify we’ll keep anonymous, had a little adventure, while attending the MACS Reception in New Orleans had too much to drink and fell off a table while dancing…However one of our members explained, “See what happens, when you send a country girl to the big city? Surrounded by bright lights, big buildings and strange people, she forgot where she was going” end of quote. Sorry, picture not available!

Polish Joke, “A Polish immigrant goes to the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles to apply for a driver license. He has to take an eye test.  The optician shows him a card with the letters ‘CZWIXNOSTACZ’. “Can you read this”, the optician asks. “Read it?” the Polish man replies, “I know the guy.”  Since you asked a Polish girl to take care of your Newsletter, than you have to put up with Polish jokes as well!

Back to serious News from the MACS members:

Congratulations to Vicki Nash, Mike Kuzak and Paul Wright for passing the College Certified Retailer exam. They are the first three in Michigan. There are only 45 thus far in the USA.

St. Clair College Bookstore has been leased to Nebraska Book Company.

Brian Thelen, from Thelen & Associates would like to reintroduce the tradition of summer golf outing. Interested vendor/store members are invited to join to golf together, exchange ideas, share experience in the relaxing atmosphere. Let’s go to have some plain fun, if interested, please contact Brian via e-mail thelenb@chartermi.net

Mike Norton, MACS President Elect

Hi, people! 

        I was asked to do an article about the future of textbooks and

college stores, based on a round-table discussion I headed up at a 

CAMEX session in New Orleans.  Julie Balamut, Director at College of St.Catherine 
Bookstore in Minneapolis asked me to cover topics I had been ranting about on the NACS listserv,
in quotes in articles in NACS publications, and anywhere else people would listen.  
I seem to never lack an opinion, and I am more than willing to share it.  Even if I'm

not asked!  I AM getting mellower...my wife of 38 years, Mary, will 

tell you.  She used to say if I was asked the time, I'd tell the person how to build 
a clock.  I'm better now...just 4 years, 8 months to

retirement!  Jess needs a companion for trips to the record stores in

the U.P.!

        Enough silliness!  Here are the big concerns, as I see them, 

And what they mean.  I will quickly discuss "answers" to the challenges at the end 
of this.

1.  Bundling/packages:  the reps sell the books to the profs saying 

that what is added to bundles is "free," and how it will help their students learn.  
The students NEVER use any of the "free" stuff, and tell us that at buyback!  
Each new bundle bears a price increase from the previous one, so I wonder 
what part of it is "free."  What is the purpose of bundling? As the old saying goes, 
you can't make a silk purse out of a cow's ear. The pubs can't make a 
best-selling textbook out of a "dog" title adding CDs, study aids, or 
web access cards by bundling the text, either! Part of their reasoning 
for bundling is just that, though:  marketing against their competition.  
At the heart of it, they are simply trying to stop used book sales in our 
stores and buyback from our students.  The fact that wholesalers have made 
a billion dollar industry out of used book sales galls them!

2.  Electronic delivery, direct, publisher to student:  the reps will

tell you this isn't feasible.  I will tell you, maybe not yet.  As soon

as they figure out how to make it impossible for more than one student

to access the online materials using the same code, look out! Seriously!

3.  Web access cards or CDs in "value-added" packages:  web access 

cards are the most heinous of ploys by pubs to make students buy only new books.  
As long as the prof requires the information accessed.  

Usually, it is just study materials, but this is all part of the electronic 
delivery problem (#2, above).  Get the picture?  The pubs are "practicing" 
with web access delivery, learning all of the pitfalls, so they can do the 
entire textbook that way!  Am I paranoid?  I don't think so!  The CDs have 
a history:  there are already some med and law schools in the country who 
deal with a customizing company which puts the student's entire curriculum, 
registration to graduation, including profs' lecture notes, on a single CD, 
the price of it included in tuition.  When the bookstore manager on a campus 
where they did this asked the chancellor "what do you expect the campus store 
to sell?" The chancellor said:  "notebooks and pencils."  Extras bundled with 
textbooks are usually useless after the first new book sales to

students.  It depends on how the profs teach their classes.  Ask Brad

Miller at Henry Ford about what he does with CDs!

4.  Overseas distributors/imported new book sales, prices and 

discounts: right now, there is ONE big pub who is the primary offender in this deal.  
I won't name them; you probably know who they are.  Ask one of their reps...she 
or he will tell you how their own company is robbing them of commissions by 
dumping huge quantities of their discounted books to their British warehouses, 
then encouraging the warehouses to ship the books BACK into the U.S. for sales 
direct to students.  The discounts are so great, students can order the books 
overseas, asked for and pay for expedited shipping, and STILL pay less for the 
textbook than U.S. bookstores pay NET!

5.  U.S. online competition-the "big guys" and the individual students:

do a Google search for "sell my used books," and you will astound

yourself!  We have MUCH competition out there, no longer just the

"other" bricks-and-mortar store(s) in our towns.  The "Big Guys," like

Amazon, etc., don't even include organized online student exchanges as

well as individual online sales, student to student.  That is a market

share which is growing for the students and shrinking for us.  My

returns two years ago were larger.  This year, they were ridiculous!  I

am at a 10% loss in new book sales over a two year period.  I hope you

folks are doing better!  Keep track!

6.  Custom textbooks:  the pubs see custom texts as the bail-out for

them, and are "selling" the idea to bookstores as well as to the profs.

They are correct.  If they customize books to a particular campus'

needs, that book has killed campus-to-campus sales by students, ruined

it for all of the "big guys" mentioned in #5 above, and for our used

book wholesalers.  We MAY still be able to buy back from our OWN

students, as long as the departments and pubs are honest with us about

revision dates.  If not, we WILL eat those books!

7.  Growth of course pack sales:  many profs are using fewer published

textbooks because of the expense to their students, instead creating

their own material for course packs.  This is GOOD news for us at 

Delta, because all the printing is done by our own printing department, and 
I get the same margin as I do on new textbooks.  The only drawback is 
cancelled classes where an adjunct faculty person has ordered a course pack.  
He or she may never teach here again.  The printed material is non-returnable, 
so it becomes a bottom-line loss.

        I said I would address "answers" at the end of this. The 

Answers to all of the above are simple:

        a.  Do your job well!

        b.  Keep good inventory and financial records!

        c.  Buy back more used books!

        d.  Work your wholesaler(s) harder!

        e.  Build good, working relationships with your pub reps, and

pump them constantly for information.  Most of them understand that

neither they nor bookstores can do anything about what the publisher

executives are deciding, so they might as well tell YOU what's going 

on! In many cases, all of these things I have discussed are affecting and 
hurting the pub reps, too.

        f.  Knowledge is the PRIMARY weapon to keep you in your job and

your store in business.  We ALL need to keep current on these issues.

Go out of your way to be aware, or I promise you, at some point, one or

all of the items I have discussed above will sneak up on you and bite

you!

        Take care, everyone, and if you want to discuss any of these

things in greater detail, e-mail me.  My e-mail is:  

mcnorton@delta.edu.

Michael C. Norton

Bookstore Manager

Delta College Bookstore

Bay County

University Center, MI 48710

CORRECTION:  In the last MACS Newsletter it was an error wrongly directing that MACS correspondence should be sent to Schoolcraft College. 

The correct message should state that any correspondence regarding the Newsletter should be directed to:

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Campus Bookstore

Attn: Regina Borowicz

3535 Indian Trail

Orchard Lake, MI 48324

Tel. 248-683-0321

Fax. 248-683-0547

e-mail: rborowicz@orchardlakeschools.com

Any MACS Directory Listing or delivery address changes should be directed to:

Henry Ford Community College

Attn: Brad Miller

5101 Evergreen Rd.

Dearborn, MI 48128

Tel. 313-845-9603

Fax. 313-845-9776

e-mail: bmiller@hfcc.net

________________________________________________________________________

 Upcoming Meetings:

Spring 05 MACS meeting will be held June 5, 6 and 7 at Hillsdale College.

Highlights: Bruce Caswell – Michigan State Representative,

Debbie Stabenow – Senator “What’s happening in Washington”

1. If you would like to be in the T-Shirt swap, please bring a T-Shirt from your school

- bring the size you plan to take.

2. Spring Meeting Golf Outing on Sunday, June 5, 2005 , 1:00 p.m. at

 Mill Race Golf Course, 200 Adrian St., Jonesville, MI – 18 Holes & a Cart for $ 25.00

Fall 05 meeting will be held on October 16, 17 and 18 at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing.

^{MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE STORES}

Michigan Association of College Stores

St. Mary’s Campus Bookstore

3535 Indian Trail

Orchard Lake, MI 48324

THE MISSION OF THE MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE STORES IS TO PROMOTE THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF ITS MEMBERS THROUGH SUPPORT, NETWORKING, AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.

Michigan Association Of College Stores

St. Mary’s Campus Bookstore

3535 Indian Trail

Orchard Lake, MI 48324