Selling their ware on campus

Vendors aid student organizations' fund raising

On-campus vendors give student organizations and departments an opportunity to fund raise, while providing students with a convenient means of shopping.

There are about 50 vendors that are approved by JMU's department of Events and Conferences to sell goods on campus. Some of the most common vendors, at JMU include Beyond the Wall Posters, Earthware and Oceans Away.

Debbie Miller, of Events and Conferences, is in charge of these vendors, and works to provide their services to students. She reviews vendor applications and approves events.

"There is an application process that interested vendors must complete," she said. "Each year, we update the list of approved vendors, and the list can be found on the Events and Conferences Web page.

"Paperwork approving the vendors and the event must be completed at least two weeks before the event, and any item being sold must be pre-approved," Miller said.

Vendors are sponsored by student organizations or departments as fund-raising events. The organizations must work with the vendors before the sale, and the group will receive a certain amount of money from the sales, according to Miller.

"Once [the vendors] are approved by our office, they must pay a fee to the school for each event, based on the amount of space and tables they use," Miller said. "So, some of the money that students spend buying things from vendors gets recycled back in to the university organizations.

"The vendors are used for fund raising by student organizations as well, so usually a certain amount of the profit is given to that group. Each organization works their events differently, and they work out the details with the individual vendors themselves," Miller added.

"Many of these vendors aren't selling things from a shop; it's their business to sell things at county fairs or arts and crafts fairs," Miller said. "They can come from all over the country and they just travel around to different places and sell their products."

There are designated spaces around campus that may be used by vendors. According to Miller, the College Center and academic buildings are the most used locations, but other approved locations for vendors include PC Ballroom, Taylor Hall, Warren Hall and Grafton-Stovall Theatre. The commons and the patio behind Warren Hall also are available.

Student organizations and departments also can reserve sale space to sell their own products, such as baked goods. Bakes sales that occur around campus also must be approved by Events and Conferences. Students appreciate the convenience of having the vendors come to campus.

"Having different vendors on campus makes buying all sorts of things much easier," sophomore Dan Teweles said. "It's much more convenient to buy things as you are walking by than to wait and go somewhere else later."

Junior Evan Bolick has bought many things on campus. "Every year I buy posters from Beyond the Wall posters," he said. "It's easier to buy them here, and the selection is impressive. It's a good idea for vendors to sell on campus because there are always so many potential customers walking by."

Sophomore Ricardo Pineres said, "I have bought a few things from vendors over the past two years. Sometimes I wish that they had more to offer, but I am always satisfied with the convenience of it."