People have mixed feelings about the University Co-op (Me being one of them)
The Bad: The Co-op has completely run out all of the other bookstores on the Drag, then bought their buildings from them. Just recently Barnes and Nobel was shut down, and the Co-op has taken over THAT building. What are they trying to do exactly? The Staff, many of the staff are queit and not all that friendly like an Austin store should.
The Good: If you want to find longhorn ANYTHING, go to the co-op. It won't be cheap though, but people are willing to pay anything for longhorn gear. They seriously have anything, even pointless things such as a longhorn flashlight that projects an image like a "batman" symbol, so useless. The co-op also claims to pump hundreds of thousands of dollars back into the university to fund student programs.
The Ugly: The co-op has a monopoly on the books that are required by the university of Texas. The teachers and staff directly place orders with them to carry the books in stock. In a given semester a student could easily save hundreds by buying on-line or used. They also buy back books for 1/2 their new value then raise the price up for people who want to buy used books.
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