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	Vol.7, No 51, November 29, 1999
	Net bookstore denies deceit By Sarah LaVoie Daily Forty-Niner The president of a major online textbook seller denies claims from a recent lawsuit accusing his company of using false and misleading advertising to attract students. "We think that each and every claim in the lawsuit is completely without merit," said Eric Kuhn, president of VarsityBooks.com, during a teleconference Nov. 15. The National Association of College Stores, a nonprofit organization that helps college stores succeed, fears that advertising is tricking students into believing they are saving money on books, said Cynthia D'Angelo, association spokeswoman. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 29, states that the 40 percent discount advertised by VarsityBooks.com is deceptive, because the "suggested price" used for comparison does not exist. A suggested price is usually the price printed on the book cover by the publisher. Traditional bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble, often sell books at the suggested prices. "As an industry standard there really aren't suggested prices on textbooks," D'Angelo said. Baker and Taylor, a national book distributor utilized by VarsityBooks.com, is widely used as a source of suggested list prices, Kuhn said. Available representatives from this distributor were unable to comment on the validity of this claim. The suit, which seeks no monetary damages, aims to prevent VarsityBooks.com from including inaccurate information in its advertising practices and prohibit them from using the term suggested price. "From day one in our advertising, we have said that we offer up to 40 percent discounts. We have never stated that we offer a 40 percent [discount] for all books," Kuhn said.  "We believe that college students are intelligent enough to determine for themselves what is a meaningful discount." The action also requests a public retraction from VarsityBooks.com for its alleged false and misleading advertising claims, according to a press release from the bookstore association. The suit asserts that these claims from VarsityBooks.com have caused irreparable harm to as many as 3,000 stores in the association. "The point is to have them stop deceptive advertising practices and put everybody on a level playing field," said Roman Gulon, Forty Niner Shops general manager. "They are advertising suggested prices and there are no such things."		Net bookstore denies deceit   Mural brings nature to life   H.B. surfers blame illness on water Religion hitting schools   Drug abuse is baby abuse   Holidays ending More weekday video picks   Motherly review   Soul Wax serves diverse musical platter with release Giambi enters hall Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.