Recession hits Labyrinth Books

Textbook sales at Labyrinth Books have dropped 13 percent this fall in light of the economic downturn, Dorothea von Moltke, co-owner of Labyrinth, said in an e-mail. This is partly because “about 80 fewer classes than last fall are using any books at all,” von Moltke explained, noting, “Per class, however, our earnings have remained roughly stable.”

One of the greatest challenges to Labyrinth is the rise of online textbook sources: In July 2009, Internet retailer Amazon.com reported more than 94 million active customer accounts, a 16 percent increase from last quarter.

Denzil Harris ’13 said he first bought course books at Labyrinth, but returned most of them later “because they were much cheaper” online. “My chemistry textbook was about $270 [at Labyrinth] ... From Amazon, I got the chemistry textbook — exact same edition — for $90,” Harris said.

Roughly 5 percent of textbooks are returned before the end of the add-drop period, von Moltke said, noting, “We offer easy and flexible returns policies, which we've developed together with students on our Student Advisory Committee. Both getting and, if you change classes, returning books should be as hassle-free as we can make it.”

Another place that students are turning to for course books is Princeton Textbook Exchange, a USG initiative that launched this fall. As of Sept. 18, 967 transactions had been processed online, and 1,760 books had been listed.

“The trends towards Internet purchasing affect us in both towns,” von Moltke said, referring to Labyrinth's New Haven, Conn., store as well as the Princeton one. “The role of the Internet in all its uses in changing our coursebook (as well as other book) sales can't be overstated ... To address this, we have been working to source as many books used as we can. This fall, 35 percent of all the books we carried were used.”

Clare Gottsch ’13 said she bought all her course books from Labyrinth this year, “about half” of which were used. Harris said that though he plans to purchase textbooks online again next year, “it's more convenient to buy textbooks from Labyrinth.”

Many students echoed that sentiment. Rodrigo Munoz Rogers ’12 said he bought almost all of his books this semester from Labyrinth because “it was just quicker.”

But some students, such as Edward Hurme ’10, said that none of their course books this semester came from Labyrinth. Hurme explained that he has used Labyrinth to buy course books before, but this semester he “was able to share textbooks with other people,” while in the past he has bought books from eBay.

Von Moltke declined to comment on the exact amount of earnings from textbooks, saying, “I invite you to consider, however, the reasons why the U-Store wanted to get out of the book business, the textbook business especially, in favor of selling only paraphernalia.”