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The Rice Thresher
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by Martha Jeong for the thresher The Campus Store plans to stop selling Apple Macintosh computers. The few Macs that remain on the shelves may be the last computers students will see for sale in the Campus Store for a long time. Rice's negotiations with Apple fell through nine months ago when the company stopped offering wholesale prices. Before this change in policy, Apple gave the store an eight percent retailer's discount. Even this small discount did not yield much profit to the store due to specifications laid out by the contract, Campus Store Manager Michelle Jones said. "Apple required a full-time staff member dedicated to Mac sales [and] a certain number of computers to be on sale at all times, as well as detailed specifics on how much shelf room would be needed," Jones said. With the new contract terms, Apple no longer offered a discount, which meant the Campus Store had to buy Macs at the same educational price offered to students online. After deciding computer sales would be cost prohibitive to Rice, Vice President for Finance and Administration Dean Currie and Associate Vice President for F&A Neill Binford made the decision to stop sales. Apple changed the contract terms to promote direct computer purchase from students online to avoid complications of invoices and payments. Many students were not aware of Campus Store plans to discontinue computer sales, but said they felt they would not be impacted by the decision. "People use the store for convenience, and computer shopping just doesn't work that way - you just don't run into the store and pick one up," Jones College sophomore Polly D`Avignon said. The decrease in student purchases of Macintoshes over the past five years was another element in the decision to stop sales. "A few years ago, we would make $30,00040,000 in one day during Orientation Week in computer sales alone. ...This year, the number has gone down to about $10,00013,000," Jones said. Sid Richardson College freshman Kate Beckler said she needed to buy a computer, but because the Campus Store only offered Macs, she decided to make her purchase off campus. "More of a selection would've been helpful," Beckler said. "Not a lot of people want Macs." Jones said the implication of the decision to stop sales will be that students will not be able to try out computers before buying them online, the reason the Campus Store offered them in the first place. Currently, Binford and Apple are negotiating possible future contract terms. The Campus Store will continue to sell software and computer accessories.
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