This is in response to the September 7, 2025 article in The Retriever ‘UMBC’s biggest scam: the Yum Shoppe’s trick to squeezing money out of poor college students’. While the article calls attention to an important issue at the Yum Shoppe, price signage and transparency, it does paint an incomplete and potentially misleading picture.
The UMBC Bookstore (including the Yum Shoppe) is university owned and operated, independent bookstore, with a significant portion of its proceeds going back to the university. As a self-supporting unit on campus (with no state funding), the UMBC Bookstore maintains a very lean budget, while also striving to keep prices affordable for students. Previously, price tags have not been featured in the Yum Shoppe to maintain the ability to adjust prices based on changes in the market and who we are sourcing from.
However, as the article points out, students and customers appreciate price transparency and the ability to make buying decisions before the check-out process. The UMBC Bookstore is working on a plan to ensure that the Yum Shoppe is properly equipped with shelf tags that will feature the price of items.
The lack of price tags in the Yum Shoppe was a result of attempting to respond quickly to price and sourcing fluctuations as opposed to a ploy to scam or deceive students. While the Yum Shoppe (and Bookstore) operate on a limited budget, they utilize Handshake to recruit and hire a significant number of students (39 this fall).
It’s also important to note that other merchandise in the Bookstore (clothing, gifts, supplies) feature prices already, as the turnover of inventory for those items is not as frequent as food and snack items. As part of UMBC Auxiliary Services, the Bookstore and UMBC Dining (operated by Chartwells), strive to provide best-in-class service and affordable prices.
Our goal in the Yum Shoppe, as well as the Retriever Markets in Commons and True Grit’s, are to offer a wide selection of convenience items at competitive prices that are comparable with off-campus convenience stores. We’re committed to continuous improvement and always welcome feedback from the campus community.
As noted previously in this letter, our team is working to have the appropriate price tags in the Yum Shoppe to enhance the customer experience.
Thank you,
Mike Clemons, Executive Director
UMBC Auxiliary Services
Division of Administration & Finance
