Brown's independent bookstore has long been a point of pride among members of the community. Most other Ivy League schools' official bookstores are actually specialized outposts of Barnes & Noble.
The Brown Alumni Magazine reported that a University committee actually recommended outsourcing the bookstore to a chain like Barnes & Noble or Borders in 2007 before a protest movement sprang up arguing that "an independent bookstore would be more responsive to the community's needs." Ultimately, this position carried the day.
Students and administrators have put up with some of the drawbacks of this arrangement, not the least of which is the significantly higher price for textbooks, for various reasons. Indeed, the current situation is buttressed by the pride of independence and an almost automatic, typically Brunonian opposition to the kind of corporatization that a Borders takeover of the bookstore would represent.
And for the most part, the bookstore actually was refreshingly easy to use. The generous textbook return policy in particular often made the bookstore competitive with other textbook vendors despite the greater cost of textbooks. With unlimited returns throughout shopping period, ten-day returns after shopping period and no questions asked throughout, the bookstore facilitated a liberal shopping schedule and eliminated a lot of stress that would otherwise attend the purchase of textbooks.
This is why we were so disappointed to learn of the bookstore's recent change to its return policy. The Herald recently reported that under the new policy, returns will only be allowed three days after purchase during shopping period, only for dropped courses for the next two weeks and not at all for the remainder of the semester. What's worse, all returns must be accompanied by physical proof in the form of an official transcript, course schedule or drop slip.
This is a tremendous change for the worse at the bookstore. We understand that, as Director of Bookstore Administration Steven Souza told The Herald, some students previously abused the generous return policy to avoid actually paying for books. Some alternatives to the new policy come to mind; the bookstore could prevent a student from buying a book he or she has already bought and returned, for example.
However, this new policy is a serious overreaction that immediately eliminates any advantages the bookstore may have had over other retailers like Amazon.com. At Amazon, textbooks are usually significantly cheaper than at the bookstore, as students can see from Mocha's side-by-side comparison, and two-day shipping is free for all students through the new Amazon Student program. Perhaps most importantly, though, Amazon permits returns for a full month after purchase, and we've heard the mailroom can help with shipping.
In our view, the bookstore has shot itself in the foot with this new return policy, which will undoubtedly cause many students to try out alternative methods for their textbook purchases. It might even lose more revenue from disappointed customers than the previous return policy cost.
Like many Brown students, we support the continued independence of the bookstore. It's actually a nice place, especially after the recent renovations. But this misguided change in the return policy has seriously damaged its appeal to students and undermines the argument that an independent store can be responsive to our needs. We urge the bookstore to reconsider the changes and look into other, more sensible reforms that won't have such a negative impact on students, shopping period and the bookstore itself.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
