Contemporary fashion can be used as a barometer for what is hot, and what is not, among students of college age, and there is no better place to test this than at the 87th Annual Meeting and Campus Market Expo (CAMEX) 2010, which took place March 12-15 at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.

Fashion is generally fun, with fabrics and colors determined by need. Fleece and twill continue to be in, as are T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, “cool” graphics and all types of leisure wear. And childrenswear and “tweenage” wear are also hot areas that some companies are exploring, as are apparel-linked categories such as luggage, backpacks and handbags.

In addition, college students have, for generations, been known for their activism; often what they wear shows off what cause they are aligned with. The current generation follows this path, too, wearing garments that are both environment friendly and cause oriented, but in a more muted, gentler and oftentimes humorous way.

The National Association of Campus Card Users (NACCU) holds its 17th annual conference at The Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix, Ariz. from April 18-21.

More than 450 expected attendees, including college and university bookstore personnel, will be able to view firsthand the latest technological advances, marketing innovations and business practices of implementing, operating and expanding a successful campus card program.

There will be a number of opportunities for attendees and vendors to interact. A grand opening reception will take place in the exhibit hall on Monday, April 19, from 4-6 p.m. Participants can discover new technology, make contact with vendors and interact with fellow campus card professionals, while enjoying food and refreshments.

One of the Used Textbook Association's marketing products reminds students each day to “Go Green, Be Green and Get Green” for their books during finals at buyback, which lowers their textbook costs.

Affording college textbooks can turn into a financial burden for students. With an increase in new editions being published, as well as an unexpected bundling of course materials and less timely faculty adoption rates, the cost of textbooks continues to rise.

The Used Textbook Association (UTA), formed in 2006 by six wholesalers and currently serving more than 540 members, advocates the role and value of used textbooks in the college bookstore market and works toward a solution to the problem of textbook affordability, while providing students with high-quality educational materials.

In addition, the UTA provides information for students and faculty members on the book buyback process, improve the rate of early adoptions by faculty members and ensure textbook merchandise practices are appropriate and meet the goals of higher learning.

Eunice Clark, UTA executive director since July 2008 and a 28-year bookstore industry veteran, noted that UTA “is the only industry association totally focused on used textbooks and helping members increase timely adoptions, increase buyback and lower textbook costs for students.”

According to Kelly Gray, general manager, Ned's Berkeley Bookstore, University of California, Berkeley, a majority of students want to shop for used textbooks, and their demands are simple. “Quality and quantity of used textbooks to choose from,” she said. “The availability of such affects the students' viewpoint of us and their buying decision.”

Besides being good for the environment to purchase a used book, it's also good for their pocketbook, Gray explained. “Students can save 25 percent off the new price by purchasing a previously used book. And with the added incentive of returning that book by reselling it to us during buyback, they can see up to an additional 60 percent back.”

Ned's Berkeley Bookstore held a promotion during fall 2009 buyback, in which students could win an iPhone or other prizes when they sold back their books at the store. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NED'S BERKELEY BOOKSTORE)

Ned's Berkeley Bookstore utilizes various advertising strategies to promote the price savings used books represent for students.

“We utilize the most typical of advertisement strategies of passing out flyers and coupons, posting advertisements in the local papers, Facebook and ads on buses that most students typically use to and from campus,” Gray noted. “In addition to outside store advertisements, in-store savings are listed on bookshelf tags, with the new price listed next to the used price and signage to draw attention to the 'deal busters,' so to speak.”

Upon graduating from a college or university, showing pride in your alma mater can be displayed through the emblematic merchandise you wear as an alumnus.

Whether wearing a T-shirt with the school logo proudly beaming to all who can see it, or a school's team logo emblazoned on a coffee cup or across a bumper sticker, this type of merchandise allows alumni, as well as students, to show their school pride to all around them.

Building alumni support for a college book-store can be a challenge. Jamestown College, a four-year liberal arts college in Jamestown, N.D., hopes to increase alumni patronage of the bookstore by using a radio campaign.

Jamestown offers students and alumni a wide range of emblematic merchandise, said Bookstore Manager Tanya Ostlie. In fact, these items are so popular on campus that three-quarters of the approximately 4,000-square-foot bookstore is devoted to them, with the other space devoted to textbooks.

Part of the appeal of this merchandise is related to the school's team name, the Jimmies, and the folklore associated with that name. “It has to do with the James River, which runs through North and South Dakota, and Sir James the Knight riding on top of a horse, which is our logo,” Ostlie said.

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