Labyrinth owner not making economic sense
Regarding ‘U. students weigh in on Labyrinth,’ (Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008):
I am writing this letter to encourage Labyrinth Books co-owner Dorothea von Moltke and others associated with Labyrinth Books to take one of the phenomenal introductory economics courses offered by the University. Her comments in yesterday’s article clearly display her lack of understanding of certain economic principles. She states that “independent booksellers simply cannot afford to compete with internet giants like Amazon.” If that is in fact the case, then economic efficiency demands that Labyrinth leave the textbook business and allow other sellers who can compete to enter the market.
I have to question, however, the assumption that Labyrinth cannot compete with other textbook sellers. A big part of Labyrinth’s sales model is its system of “running course books.” Providing this service undoubtedly costs the store a sizeable amount of money. This increase in expenses then must be incorporated into textbook price. In other words, students are forced to pay higher prices for their books so that the store can provide a service that many students do not want in the first place. In my three-and-a-half years of shopping for textbooks at the U-Store, I never once heard my classmates complain about the unmanageable stress of going through the shelves and collecting their own books. Is a service really a service if it is not serving students’ needs?
I confess, I am one of those insidious comparison shoppers that von Moltke so loathes. I do not at all see how going into a bookstore and seeking the prices of items before I decide to buy them is “unfair.” In fact, my economics training tells me that my decision to buy or not to buy should be determined largely by price. I cannot imagine walking into a supermarket and discovering the prices of my purchases only upon reaching the register; why should a college bookstore be any different?
I get the impression that Labyrinth is not inclined to change its policies in the near future. That should not stop students from comparison-shopping. I would encourage my fellow Princetonians to do as I did this semester: Walk into Labyrinth, hand them the list of courses you’re taking, and before the runner goes to fetch your books, tell them, “No books, just prices please!”
Meghan Howard ’08
Price-shopping is fair
Regarding ‘U. students weigh in on Labyrinth,’ (Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008):
Labyrinth co-owner Dorothea von Moltke’s concern that students are going to abuse an open-stack system to unfairly record prices and turn Labyrinth into a “resource into easier online shopping for somebody else” completely embodies the nature and ineptitude of those at Labyrinth Books. Never mind the fact that students have to wait in two lines or that the books are in “closed” stacks and ridiculously overpriced. The belief that it’s unfair to check the prices of the textbooks is dumbfounding and idiotic. That argument is analogous to going to the supermarket, the mall or a restaurant and not being able to know the prices until unloading the items at the register. We’d never accept such an arrangement from any other business or in any other circumstance, so why would we accept it in Labyrinth’s case?
Christian Husby ’08
University policy lets wealthy students shop classes longer
As the free course-add deadline passes with nary a peep for another consecutive semester, I’m worried that the University continues to allow those with the means to ignore the $45 late-drop fee to shop multiple classes for longer than their less well-off peers. Students from affluent backgrounds shouldn’t be granted yet another academic advantage.
Rob Biederman ’08
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