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BY DANTE FUOCO

In print | Published September 24, 2009 — Updated October 07, 2009 15:39

In an effort to save the college money amid a struggling economy, the bookstore has started to waive fees on large-quantity orders purchased by departments of the college.

Swarthmore College Bookstore director Kathy Grace said in an e-mail that last year it was “frustrating to hear how much some people were spending for their purchases in some cases.”

In the past, when a department would make a large-quantity or “wholesale” purchase from the bookstore, the staff would find out the cost of the order and then add a fee to compensate for their time, essentially breaking even.

Anywhere from $20 to $300 is compensated for the time staff spent researching products, processing invoices or looking into new vendors, among other things.

The new wholesale program now waives that fee, meaning that the bookstore is still facilitating the connection with wholesalers but not breaking even. These large-quantity purchases include orders for supplies, apparel, gift items, computer products, consumer electronics and books, Grace said.

“From the bookstore’s perspective, it is more work and less income. But from a campus perspective, I think it makes sense,” she said. “[The fee] was basically ‘funny money’ because it was just going from one college department to another.”

Last spring, after the bookstore staff thought of the idea of wholesale purchasing, Grace met with Treasurer Sue Welsh, Vice President for Facilities and Services Stu Hain, and Assistant Vice President and Controller Eileen Petula. Grace said that they all agreed the wholesale program would save the college money.

In a time of recession, the bookstore’s decision was a generous one because cost reductions had to be made all across the college, Petula said.

Grace added that while saving money is important, the bookstore wants to contribute more.

“The bottom line is that we are a department of the college just like any other,” Grace said. “We look a little different because we are a store. But we are owned and operated by the college and for the college. And we just want to be good ‘team players.’”

While it might seem as though the wholesale program would just create more work for the bookstore, Grace said that it works well for both the bookstore and the college.

“Hopefully the benefit to departments, and ultimately to the college, is better pricing. We like to think better service goes along with it,” she said. “It makes us more valuable customers with our vendors because we are sending more business their way. And it makes us a more valuable contributor to the campus as well.”

Grace conceded that there are concerns. “My biggest concern is that we might get ‘too busy’ with the wholesale program and that the bookstore side of our operation would suffer.”

All the same, she is optimistic.

“We are managing pretty well so far,” Grace said. “Of course, the program is in its infancy. As it grows we may experience some growing pains. But we’ll figure it out. I think this could be a strong benefit to the college for a long time to come.”

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