College bookstore managers aren’t popular these days.

With textbook prices steadily increasing and used books becoming more difficult to buy, some students don’t even buy the books assigned for their classes. Sometimes, they let bookstore employees know about their frustrations.

But Bill Muggy, owner of Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road, said bookstores were simply the messengers in a long process that included authors, publishers and distributors.

“We don’t choose the book or the cost the professor or the publisher does,” he said.

Increasing prices are just one issue facing the changing student bookstore industry. With online outlets threatening to steal sales and large chains selling merchandise with university logos, bookstores are looking for niches to secure their futures.

Price hikes

Muggy, who has owned his store 25 years, said textbook prices increased about 5 percent each year because of rising paper costs.

Students are finding they can’t buy used books as often as in the past, too. Publishers are releasing more editions of books, rendering the old versions obsolete. Some books include workbooks or CDs that are required for a class and aren’t always returned when books are bought back from students.

The result? Some students don’t buy books for the classes, hoping to get by on lectures alone. Others students share books.

Many students assume bookstores are making a lot of money on textbooks, said Mike Reid, director of the KU Bookstore in the Kansas and Burge unions. Almost all stores including those in Lawrence adhere the 25 percent mark-ups on textbooks.

But Reid said his store actually lost money on its textbook operations. Profits from general book sales and merchandise keep the store going, he said.

Logo mania

While interest in textbooks may be waning, KU fans still seem willing to buy almost anything adorned with the Jayhawk logo.

Everything from shot glasses to candles and from board games to windsocks sport Jayhawk pride.

And sometimes the trends buck common sense. For instance, students hit the book stores last winter looking for “butt-print” shorts short shorts with Jayhawk logos on them.

“We sold shorts in December, which is crazy,” said Kristin Vickers, store manager at University Book Shop, 1116 W. 23rd St. “We never sell any of those.”

While the KU Bookstore reported more than 90 percent of its sales was in merchandise and general books, the University Book Shop and Jayhawk Bookstore said their sales were slanted toward textbooks.

But Muggy said with convenience stores and chains such as Wal-Mart selling Jayhawk logo items, the merchandise market would become more challenging for bookstores. He said the store recently had to stop carrying Jayhawk golf club covers because the manufacturer required them to be bought in 5,000 sets.

“Who’s going to tie up that much inventory?” he said.

Location, location, location

When Reid started working at the KU Bookstore 24 years ago, someone told him the store, in the Kansas Union, had a “captive audience.”

Now Reid says that isn’t the case. He says being in the university’s unions isn’t as much of an advantage as it once was.

“Students are more mobile than they used to be,” he said. “About every kid has a car. And they’ve got so much at their fingertips on the Internet.”

Vickers said the University Book Shop tried to capitalize on being on busy 23rd Street. She said many shoppers were from out of town, especially those coming from Kansas City to sports events.

Muggy said his store’s location was close enough to campus to draw students and it still could provide free parking, unlike the KU Bookstore.