Underpricing By Record Store Casts Doubts On Coop Policy

The opening of Strawberries, a new record store in Harvard Square, has apparently muddled an unadvertised Harvard Coop policy of meeting its competition's lower prices.

Strawberries is underselling the Coop by as much as 30 cents on some newly released, major brand records, according to Strawberries' employees.

The Coop policy, according to Sanford Litwin, Coop merchandise manager, is to meet a competitor's price, "unless it is at, or below, cost to the Coop."

But the Coop has not reduced its record prices to meet Strawberries' on identical releases, although Strawberries' prices are apparently above Coop costs.

According to a Coop employee who asked to remain anonymous, the cost to the Coop of new record releases runs from $3.65 to $3.68; the records sell for $3.99.

He added that Strawberries pays the same prices for new releases.

Strawberries' prices for new releases, though, range from comparably priced $3.99 albums to $3.69.

Judy Edmunds, general manager of Strawberries, said yesterday that in the past, the Coop "has always had the lower prices." She said Strawberries, which opened six weeks ago, has 2000 record titles that are lower priced than at the Coop.

Edmunds acknowledged that profits are low, but said that Strawberries' sales volume is three times what it was a month ago, and that "volume is what we're looking for."

The employee in the Coop record department said that "we try to meet as many labels [prices] as we can, but Strawberries has almost made us stop doing it."

He said that if a customer insisted that the Coop immediately meet the lower price of a competitor, his request would be denied. He said the record department would first verify that a lower price is being charged elsewhere, and then try to meet the competitor's price.

Litwin said that "manifestly, it is impossible to meet prices on every single item in the store." Litwin said, "Our policy is to have the most complete record stock at the most competitive prices."