Willow Glen Resident

Letters & Opinions

One bookseller has decided to buck the trend

By Moryt Milo

Gifts can show up in some unexpected places. One such location is Aida's University Book Exchange in Cupertino. Owners Angela and Michael Peters have a daughter who goes to Archbishop Mitty High School, and when the couple tallied up their daughter's books last year--somewhere in the $600 range--they decided to do something about it.

What they did was order all the books for all the grades for the upcoming 2006-07 school year. And--here is the gift-- their prices are significantly lower.

For example, my daughter is taking precalculus. The two textbooks for that class, if purchased new, are $232, according to the online bookstore the school links to. I was able to purchase the same books for $113. That is almost a 50 percent savings. This deep discount also holds true for all the other books my children needed. What would have cost me more than $1,200 was closer to $700. Part of that savings was through some book swapping with friends, the other part was being able to purchase most of the books used. Online, when you try and request the used book feature, it's usually out of stock.

Angela told me when her husband saw the exorbitant prices, he decided to do something about it for his family and the Mitty community at large. To me, that was an incredible gift, and I told her so. Plus, next year the bookstore will buy back most of the books at a 50 percent exchange rate. Not only does it put money back in a parent's pocket, but it helps the next parent trying to save a buck because there are more used books in stock.

I was one of the lucky ones to have Aida's bookstore information in my packet from the school. Apparently, the flier was randomly distributed.

Michael said if this year goes well he would consider stocking books for other high schools. I hope he does, because everyone could benefit from this service.

The experience was a real education, since I was able to compare standard charges with what Aida offers.

So I would like to suggest a logical solution that would benefit more parents:

Why can't the private high schools buy the textbooks and ask the parents for a security deposit? These textbooks on the average are $90 each. Many of them are only used for one semester, certainly no more than a year. Schools can "loan" the books to the students, and if they fail to return them after the class, parents lose the deposit. I don't think it's that difficult a process to put in place. It can be part of the deposit when securing a spot for the upcoming school year. Theoretically, the money would probably keep rolling into the next school year. But by the time the child graduates the family would get it back, instead of forking out thousands of dollars for books that will never be used again. I suggest this only for textbooks. Paperbacks, workbooks and other required materials would still be out of pocket, but it would cut a family's overall costs significantly. Maybe one of the schools will take me up on the idea.

Until then, we are fortunate enough to have booksellers such as Angela and Michael Peters, who saw a need and responded. For those who haven't gotten all their books, it is worth a trip to the store at 21269 Stevens Creek Blvd., or a phone call at 408.517.0245. Chalk one up for personal service versus buying online.

Moryt Milo is the editor of the Willow Glen Resident. She can be reached at 408.200.1051 or via email at mmilo@community-newspapers.com.