THE PURCHASING CO-OP

Here is why you should use the CO-OP

Stretch your museum dollar with Special Discounts

Discounts on Acid –Free Conservation Products and More!

Deepest discounts than other programs - more than 20%

The Purchasing CO-OP through MPMA offers a wide selection of acid-free collections-care products.

For a complete list of the products sold, scroll to bottom of this web page.

• Economy hitting your museum hard?
• Not satisfied with only a 10% discount on collections products?
• Want to save from 20% to 65% instead?
• Want to impress your boss????

Shopping for collection-care items can be expensive, but you can save lots of money if you use the Purchasing CO-OP.   As an MPMA’s Institutional member, you are eligible for MPMA’s exclusive member discounts through the CO-OP.  These discounts are on top of many discounts usually available from  businesses selling conservation supplies.  If you'd like to save more money than you thought possible on your next order of collections-care products, the Purchasing CO-OP can help you save a real bundle.

You may not realize the Purchasing CO-OP has some of the best bargains on conservation supplies.  If you want deep discounts on acid-free folders, tissue, boxes, etc., all you have to do is become an MPMA Institutional Member.  "It's kind of nice because you can sit in your chair, order from MPMA’s list of products and your boss is ecstatic because you saved the museum a load of money," said Jenny Yearous, Curator of Collections Management, State Historical Society of North Dakota. “And shipping is usually free.”

Here is what Jenny saved during her recent shelving project:

Value of items purchased:     $4286.55

Total spent to date:                $2095.22

Total savings                         $2191.33

“It is official:  I have now saved more than I have spent... the savings have definitely paid for our MPMA membership for the next couple of years.  I will definitely use the CO-OP again and will tell my friends about it."

Selections from the 2010 CO-OP List:                                                          Download Full List here  

Free shipping offered on many of the items below::  

QUILT/COSTUME BOXES

Metal reinforced corners. 60 pt. solid fiberboard, Acid-free UNBUFFERED, free of alum and rosin sizing, ground wood, modified lignin.  Priced per box.

                  6” X 30” X 18”                          Catalog price $29.95               CO-OP price $20.12

                  6” X 40” X 18”                          Catalog price $38.95               CO-OP price $25.32 

RECORD STORAGE CARTON

Acid-free and lignin-free corrugated board; 1/16” thick, with separate lid;  Exceeds 200- pound weight test.  Ph 8.5 min., buffered with 3% calcium carbonate,   Priced per box.

                  10” X 15” X 12”                        Catalog price $17.29               CO-OP price $8.18  

PERMALIFE PAPER

Letter size, buffered with 3% calcium carbonate, 20# stock, white, 25% rag, passed P. A. T.  Priced by the package of 500 sheets (1 ream).

                                    8 ½” X 11”                                 Catalog price $18.95               CO-OP price $12.97

IDENTIFICATION TAG

Acid-free, Tyvek stock with cotton string.  Priced per package of 100.

                                    1 ½” X 3”                                   Catalog price $27.20            CO-OP price $12.97 

ACID-FREE TISSUE SHEETS

Acid-free, UNBUFFERED, in sheet form. .001” thick.  Priced per package of 100 sheets

                  30” X 40”                                   Catalog price $118.95             CO-OP price $20.98 

UNBUFFERED ACID-FREE TISSUE ROLL

Ultra-thin and very soft tissue paper with no buffering agents, .001 thick, neutral pH 7.5.  Recommended for protein-based materials such as silk, leather and wool, or if fiber content is unknown.  Priced per roll.

                  40” X 1000’                                Catalog price $199.00             CO-OP price $70.00 

UV LIGHT FILTERS FOR FLOURESCENT BULBS

Wrap around type, 48” long, filters 96-98% of UV light emissions.  Package of 10 filters.

                                    48”                                                Catalog price $67.55               CO-OP price $43.91 

MAP AND PRINT FOLDERS

.010 thick acid-free buffered stock.  Priced per package of 10

                                    20” X 30”                                   Catalog price $43.09               CO-OP price $28.01 

TYVEK

Spunbonded olefin that is inert, neutral (pH 7.0), gas permeable, thermally stable, non-abrasive and durable. Resistant to tearing, mold and mildew, dust particles and water. Roll.

                   14M 60" x 50 Yards               Catalog price: $206.25            CO-OP price $165.75 

CORRUGATED BOARD

Blue, 1/8” thick, buffered stock, B-flute.  Priced per package of 25

                  40” X 60”                                   Catalog price $213.15             CO-OP price $169.98 

TEXTILE STORAGE TUBES

Blue, buffered stock, 1/8” wall thickness, 3” in diameter.  Priced per package of 10.

                                    6’ in length                                Catalog price $214.50             CO-OP price $156.28 

FILM TAPE

3M 415 Double Sided tape, Polyester with acrylic adhesive.  Priced by the roll.

                                    ¼” X 36 yards                           Catalog price $8.69                 CO-OP price $6.07

 CD SLEEVES

Tyvek.  Priced per package of 100

                  4 7/8” X 4 7/8”                          Catalog price $26.25               CO-OP price $19.47

 ENVELOPES

Perma/Dur, acid-free buffered stock, side-seam design, non-gummed flap.  Priced per package of 100.

                                    9” X 12”                     Catalog price $48.65               CO-OP price $36.42

 MAT BOARDUNBUFFERED, white 4-ply, 100% cotton rag.  Priced per package of 25

                  20” X 24”                                   Catalog price $196.00             CO-OP price $101.07

 FILE FOLDERS

Letter size acid-free folders, .010 stock, straight cut, reinforced tab.  UNBUFFERED. White, full tab. Priced per package of 50.

                  9 5/8 x 11 3/4"          Catalog price $23.95            CO-OP price $20.60 

PHOTO AND NEGATIVE SLEEVES

2.4 mil polypropylene, sealed on the two long sides.  Priced per package of 100

                                    4” X 5”                                         Catalog price $12.50               CO-OP price $9.22

                                    5” X 7”                                         Catalog price $17.60               CO-OP price $11.89

                                    8” X 10”                                      Catalog price $30.85               CO-OP price $20.79     

FLAT NEWSPAPER STORAGE BOXES

Metal reinforced corners.  60pt. fiberboard, pH 8.5- 10.2, minimum 3% CaCO3 buffered, free of alum and rosin sizing, ground wood or modified lignin.  Priced per box.

                  2” X 22” X 15”                          Catalog price $19.20               CO-OP price $8.50

                  2.5” X 25” X 19”                       Catalog price $23.45               CO-OP price $9.50

                  3.0” X 31” X 23”                       Catalog price $26.20               CO-OP price $12.35

The above is just a selection of the many items in the CO-OP.  Download here for the full list.

Note:the above list of products does NOT include company names or codes.  You must contact MPMA to get those and your institution must be a current institutional member of MPMA.  Not sure?  Call us at 303-979-9358.

We offer a clean, no-hassle interface.  All you do is become an institutional member of MPMA, and we'll send you  a list of products in the CO-OP as well as the companies plus the special CO-OP  code needed to get the deep discounts from each company.  You do the ordering and arrange shipping details with the company.  If you would like to see a list of products in the CO-OP, see the link below.  Or call us at 303-979-9358.

About the Purchasing CO-OP

Since the 1990s,  the Purchasing CO-OP  has been a leading shopping destination for collections-care products for museums. Our goal is to help institutions save money.  We do this by providing  collections managers, registrars curators and directors a quick and easy way to find and purchase acid-free products and more from reputable conservation-oriented businesses.  Our CO-OP offers the deepest discounts on choice products because we set up a bid process to get companies to compete for items.  No one else has a bidding process like ours, and yet this is the ONLY way to get deeper discounts.  We thank our CWAM colleagues for starting the CO-OP and inviting us to join.