Craig Case, co-owner of the Saluki Bookstore, said they are ready to take a chance with the SIUC campus and offer competitive prices on textbooks and SIUC memorabilia.

The market is big enough. There is room for another store, Case said.

Jim Skiersch, director of the University Bookstore, said the campus store is aware of its newest competitor. He said the campus store will try to give customers a reason to continue shopping there.

Advertisement

Skiersch said the University Bookstore’s revenue has a direct effect on Student Center fees and products sold in the center.

All the money taken in here stays in the Student Center. If the (University) bookstore is successful, other fees will not increase, Skiersh said.

The 710 Book Store, 710 S. Illinois, also supports many campus activities and local services. Lee Blankenship, manager of 710, said he feels it is anybody’s right to start their own business.

There is no control over anyone who wants to go into the business. You can only provide service at a good price and hope people remember that, Blankenship said.

Sigurd Utgaard, co-owner of Rosetta News which carries many books used in the College of Liberal Arts, said it is hard to break into the bookstore market in the area.

There is not a big textbook market, and I am skeptical about a new store, he said. I wish them luck to find what piece they can carve out.

Skiersch said bookstores that carry used books compete with wholesale companies to find enough books to accomodate customers. For owners, a new bookstore means losing a percentage of their used book stock, he said.

Advertisement*

Skiersch said this will invetibilty leave the store with fewer used books annually.

But Case, also a co-owner of two Dallas-based bookstores, said his company has strong wholesale accounts, and he is not worried about the competition for used books.

The Saluki Bookstore will be located at 701 E. Grand Ave. and will open in November.