The Park Place Bookstore officially goes out of business on Friday after several years of declining sales because of online competition and the Georgia State University’s unwillingness to accept competition, said a Park Place employee.
Rebecca Latham, daughter of bookstore owner Greg Latham, said they noticed decreasing sales about five years ago after online sales diverted business and Georgia State University Bookstore stopped allowing the store to accept Panther Card payment options and advertising.
This mode of payment had helped the 15-year-old independently owned and operated business greatly, Latham said. Neighboring businesses were allowed to continue Panther Card transactions, Latham said.
“It pisses me off to no end” said Rebecca Latham, who now is a student at Georgia State. “I’ve been at this store since I was 7 years old.”
The Latham’s tried offering deferred payment plans as a substitute for the Panther Card but the easiest way for the students to pay with financial aid money was through the Panther Card.
During Incept tours, tour guides always walked around Park Place and Decatur Street to introduce the bookstore, but not anymore, said Donna Smith, a long-time employee at Park Place Bookstore.
“We used to stand out on the corner and hand out free t-shirts and water bottles,” said Smith. “But that’s stopped now.”
Latham said she tried to advertise the store’s cheapest prices and half the market of the Georgia State University Bookstore’s textbooks but once they found out, they made it stop.
“That’s a good bookstore,” said Liliana Bakhtiari, a student a Georgia State University. “I am sad to see it go.”
