Still, even with the Coop's new customer-friendly approach, students are still complaining of its high prices.
Powell says this can be explained because "in the book industry, the more you buy, the more it costs." Buying a larger quantity causes distributors to assume that the book is being used as a textbook, he says, and actually leads them to charge a higher price than usual.
This discrepancy explains why the identical edition of a book can be priced lower in the Coop's trade section than in the textbook section.
"We try to catch those discrepancies, but our system is not yet set up for that," Powell says.
But the Coop is not profiting from the expensive books, Sullivan says.
The store's main source of profit comes not from its textbook division but from other wares, such as trade books, clothing and dorm room furnishings.
"It's done as a service," Sullivan says of the textbook floor.
And for those who are doubtful that the Coop is passing along the best price it can?
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