Fly the Coop

How much can you get for $1? Although we didn't expect much in return for a Harvard Coop membership, we certainly didn't expect to get ripped off. We understand that the Coop was losing money, but instead of reaching deep into students' pockets, perhaps it can restrict its uncompetitive prices to items popular among the hordes of tourists who are dropped off by the bus load in the Yard almost every day.

The Coop was started as a cooperative to serve students; its even inherent in the name. But the Coop has lost its sense of mission. So long as it fails to give students a fair deal on student essentials such as textbooks, its mission will go unfulfilled. We have two suggestions that would make students happy without bankrupting the Coop.

First, make textbook lists public. As of now, all students inevitably find themselves forced to buy at the Coop. Although some humanities textbooks are available at other bookstores, science textbooks can rarely be found elsewhere. Notebooks, pens, and other non-essentials--even Harvard insignia clothing--exist at other stores in the square. But the Coop has a virtual monopoly on textbooks, the fundamental item in every class, and prices them uncompetitively. If other bookstores had access to these lists, students would get better deals as numerous bookstores vied for their attention.

(In the meantime, we suggest students check out competitors such as Quantum Books, Harvard Bookstore and WordsWorth, three stores which offer lower prices on many of the same textbooks the Coop carries.)

Second, the Coop should buy back more used books at a better price--50 percent of the original price. When we buy used books, the prices are typically more than 50 percent of the list price, so the Coop would not be losing money, and the higher prices paid would encourage more students to sell their used books. The larger number of used books available by this move would then make buying textbooks cheaper for those students concerned with cutting costs.

The Coop should be a co-op first, a tourist gift shop second. We are not afraid to say that we do not like the Coop. If it does not shape up, we will look forward to its demise.