Textbook store closes; students with credits may get help

A local franchise of a popular college textbook re-saler closed its doors without notice, leaving many customers, along with their in-store credit, hanging.

National franchise owners of Beat the Bookstore, whose University of Utah location closed unexpectedly sometime in late October, were unaware the store would be closing and are taking legal action to obtain customer lists and financial information.

"We only recently learned of this matter ourselves," said David Monk, Beat the Bookstore president. "It is common for a store to close for a period of time during the off-season to conduct physical inventory, and in the beginning we were informed that this was the case."

The store did close temporarily for inventory, but Monk said it did not reopen its doors in the time stated on a sign in the door. Later, the corporate office learned the store's phone had been disconnected.

It is unknown how many customers are affected by the store closing its doors, but Monk said the number was "significant." Financial information is stored electronically and will likely be accessed sometime next week.

Word of the store closing hadn't yet reached the University of Utah Bookstore Friday, but associate director Shane Girton said it was definitely odd.

"It's still a very busy time of year," he said. Beat the Bookstore's presence made a small impact on the campus bookstore's business when it opened, but Girton said it improved the way books are sold in the campus store.

"It made us re-look at our business and find ways to be more competitive," he said.

Students who have outstanding credit with Beat the Bookstore are entitled to their money, and Monk said the company is doing everything possible to preserve the integrity of its name.

"We're working for a fair resolution for our customers," he said. He's been in contact with the franchisee and at last word, there was mention of an issue with an employee and the store's cash account. Details of any incidents were not released and an investigation, including possible legal action, is ongoing.

"Our intent is to make every effort to make sure that no customer loses money related to their in-store credit," Monk said. "We are working to reopen this store as soon as possible and that should resolve many of these problems."

The independently owned franchise, located at 1330 E. 200 South, had access to the network of textbooks within the Beat the Bookstore chain, but the books are all property of the national franchise. The issue of unpaid in-store credit, Monk said, should be resolved soon, but customers with concerns or questions are encouraged to call the corporate office at 801-886-1699, extension 222, or send an e-mail with their name, phone number and in-store credit balance to utahcustomers@beatthebookstore.com.

Meanwhile, management at the U.'s bookstore is thinking of ways to make up the loss to any affected students.

"It's maybe an opportunity to take care of those customers and see what we can do to help students who got stuck high and dry," Girton said. Talk of honoring the credit or buying it from students is on the table. Textbooks make up only 45 percent of the U. bookstore's business, while computer and merchandise sales round it out. Girton said the compensation would be worth the business.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com