A collection of quote cards from Hongo Books

Q:

Tosho Card Next is being sold at a discount at discount shops, so to help reduce the burden of book costs for students, we would like you to consider the following:

1. Negotiate with major discount ticket shops (such as Ticket Ranger, J Market, or Ticketty) to have them install a book card vending machine in the university bookstore and have the shop replenish the book cards as needed. Alternatively, you can take on consignment sales from the discount ticket shop and sell them to students at a discounted price at the bookstore counter

2. The University of Tokyo Co-op will purchase Next Book Cards in bulk from major gift certificate shops at bulk rates and sell them to students at the University Bookstore (and faculty and staff if there are any surplus). In this case, it would probably be necessary to obtain a secondhand goods dealer license under the Secondhand Goods Dealers Act, but since they are planning to obtain a license in order to start trading in computers, I think the hurdle is low

In addition, please consider items sold at discount ticket shops that may be useful to students, such as JAL or ANA shareholder discount tickets (for returning home, etc.), stamps, and JR Orange Cards (some major discount ticket shops sell stamps at a discount of nearly 20%, while Orange Cards are discounted by nearly 10%)
It is possible for individual students to use gift certificate shops, but as they are small individual customers they are not eligible for bulk rates, and as the transactions are small in volume, shipping costs can be a burden, so it would be better if the university co-op handled them in bulk

Q:

You requested that we sell the cards at a discount, like the book cards sold at gift certificate shops. We apologize for the delay in responding as we have had to check the purchasing conditions of the gift certificate shop based on the information you provided
To put it simply, it is difficult to sell library cards at a discount even if you purchase them from a gift certificate shop
The reason is that if you purchase a book card from a gift certificate shop that provided you with information
When you take into account the costs involved, the total price ends up being higher than the purchase price of a new library card
Co-ops also incur certain costs in running their businesses
Please understand that it is difficult to sell at the same price we purchased it at

Q:

At the recent general meeting, it was decided that we would start a secondhand goods business to trade in computers, but would it also be possible to buy and sell used books on campus? We believe that there is a great demand for specialized books on campus

A:

Thank you for using the Co-op. Regarding purchasing used books, we do not have the financial resources to develop a purchasing system like a secondhand bookstore, and it is difficult to train personnel with the skilled knowledge required for purchasing, as is the case at secondhand bookstores. Considering the recent trends in book sales, we are currently unable to immediately begin purchasing and selling used books. We will consider future possibilities within the Co-op based on your feedback