Has anyone noticed how sad Loupots looks lately? Flags are all torn to shreds and folded up, their bulb sign is all burned out. Just plain sad.

Today was the last straw, now there are all these 'Neebo' signs all over Loupots. Like its a complete book rental service with nothing to show for the Loupots name. Neebo is pasted all over the store-front. What's going on with this store/company? Judson is probably rolling in his grave.

I just came back as a full-time PhD student and been around the area since 2003 but I have never seen Loupots look so terrible.

I went to the Loupot's website this weekend to reserve my textbooks and it said something to the effect of "go to the traditions bookstore website to reserve textbooks". Now when I type in Loupots.com i am re-directed to neebo.com.

It was sold. Almost all bookstores in BCS are owned by Neebo.com.

That is a Nebraska based book chain. They also sell books on Amazon, so you are going to get....either way.

~egon

Traditions is owned by the same company. Does this mean the Southgate Loupots will close since both of these are in the same shopping center?

Pretty much what happens. Out of state book companies come in an buy the local named store and run them.


College Station is tough because its one of the most competitive textbook college cities in the nation.

So now traditions and loupots are owned by the same people? Great so now there isn't even any competition..

Maybe not any local competition, but there are still ways to get good deals by shopping online. I have had great luck with both amazon.com and textbooks.com.

there's also textbooksolutions

there's also textbooksolutions

My fiance used to work there for many years and just finished working there after the summer.

The store has been sold and most all of the workers that had been there for awhile are leaving. The new book store management is terrible.

From what I understand, the owners sold because they were basically breaking even every year and not making any money. However, they kept the Loupots tradition alive. They sold upon them retiring (which I cannot blame them for) but yes it is in fact Nebraska book that has bought them.

They have no interest in keeping the Loupots tradition alive and in short time it will be completely turned into that "Neebo" name.

Brehnam,

Most of the "brick and mortar" companies are the ones selling them online. Barring the occaisional personal seller, you are going to buy from them, one way or another.

~egon

I quit Loupot's something like a week before they sold, but Textbook Solutions has had better prices for a while anyway. If you're going to go into a store, make it Textbook Solutions. Especially now.

Sad.


Now the thing that I call livin' is just bein' satisfied with knowin' I got no one left to blame

I never shopped at Loupots because they had the books behind the counter. Let me get my own books!

It seemed like most people are too dumb to get their own books. It was all too common for someone to come in and need a "psychology book" or "the red book" with no other description whatsoever. Letting dozens of those people at a time meander amongst our book shelves would have been disastrous.

Occasionally someone would follow us back behind the counter. That was always startling, because you rarely realized they had until you turned around to come back and there they are, 4 inches away peering around like newborns.

Loupot's sucked anyway.

I only go to Loupots to buy books for the first week of class, then return them on friday when my books from Amazon come in.

is loupots still owned by the guy that used to own double t bookstores in lubbock? if so the guy is as cheap as they come.

Loupot's was sold out of the family in April to an national chain. I don't know if they also owned a bookstore in Lubbock.

aero, i didn't realize you had to be so special to be able to pick out text books. people like you are why i refused to go to Loupots.

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Loupot's was sold out of the family in April to an national chain. I don't know if they also owned a bookstore in Lubbock.

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correct me if i am wrong but hasnt loupots been owned by a guy named shri for 10 years or was he just the manager? my uncle used to work with him in lubbock.

Shri was a part owner of Loupot's, and also the book department manager.

Pro Sandy, you don't need to be special to pick out books. On the other hand, someone who does it for a job year round tends to pick up a lot of knowledge about textbooks. I don't know what your job is, but I bet you can do it a lot better and faster than someone who just walked into your office off the street.

It is much, much quicker to have someone who knows exactly where the books are go back and pick them rather than let 100 random people in at once to browse through. Then we can bring them to the counter and explain to the buyer which ones he needs and which ones he probably doesn't. That's why we always ask why books are returned. We also talk amongst ourselves about the different classes; since all the employees are students, we've taken a ton of classes. It's pretty rare for a student to need a book for a class he has already taken, but I've talked to several people who have taken almost every class.

At my branch (Wolf Pen), we put a lot of effort into making sure people got exactly what they needed. I've heard that the other branches and most other stores had a less involved approach. I've saved students thousands and thousands of dollars. It's not the toughest or most involved job, but there is some satisfaction to doing it well and helping out your fellow students.

...and for the record, the galactically stupid people were pretty rare but made for some good stories. Most students just lack the experience we had.

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Pro Sandy, you don't need to be special to pick out books. On the other hand, someone who does it for a job year round tends to pick up a lot of knowledge about textbooks. I don't know what your job is, but I bet you can do it a lot better and faster than someone who just walked into your office off the street.

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How did I manage to graduate from A&M with two degrees without anyone to pick out my textbooks?

You do not provide me with a service, instead you provide me with a disservice because I can't pick out my own textbook. You actually manage to take value away from my purchase.

troll, troll, troll your boat....

I'm sure you never made a book-purchasing mistake. Actually, if you do as I always suggest and wait until you've actually been to class to buy books, you probably haven't. Since a lot of students want their books before classes start (or their professors/syllabuses say they'll need books that they really don't), a little extra advice comes in handy.

Either way it's not a disservice, that's just you crying. Whatever episode prompted your abrasive and irrational attitude towards bookstores sounds more personal than a financial transaction.

[This message has been edited by aero ag 2010 (edited 10/7/2010 11:23p).]

holy mackerel, how did i ever make it through school without you? how did i manage to wait to buy books every year until I went to class without the college kid at the book store telling me to do this? how did i manage to never buy the wrong book?

i refuse to use books stores that do not let me peruse the books stacks. the book store worker does not provide me with any added value except as a person who can complete the transaction at the cash register. if they want to get my books for me, they are removing value and i refuse to go to any bookstore, including yours, that gets my books for me.

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It seemed like most people are too dumb to get their own books. It was all too common for someone to come in and need a "psychology book" or "the red book" with no other description whatsoever. Letting dozens of those people at a time meander amongst our book shelves would have been disastrous.

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In the years I worked at the MSC Bookstore, it wasn't a problem.

There were always a couple idiots, but man it wasn't horrible.

With the prices of books, how were they only breaking even?

Because most of that money goes back to the publisher, and then the distributor.


As much as people whine about book prices, College Station is one of the most competitive local markets in the country, nevermind the effect of internet sites.

I forgot what it was when I worked at the bookstore, but our margins were not huge.

I liked to pre-order my books at Loupot's, and then use my Lou-bucks from buy back to get a discount the following semester. They always had the books ready when I went to pick them up too. Loupot's was greatness.