The College Textbook Shakedown

The COLLEGE TEXTBOOK SHAKEDOWN %24 Major textbook publishing companies are set on squeezing every penny out of students. Textbook prices have risen 186% since 1986, and they're increasing in price at 4X the speed of other consumer products. Here's a look at how textbook costs break down, how to avoid them, and what the future looks like. TEXTBOOK COSTS ARE INSANE AVERAGE COST: $175 (per book) ONE MONTH OF GROCERCIES $900 (per year) SCIENCE ECONOMICS FOR DUMMIES POETRY HISTORY OF ALGEBRA 3 MAMMALS ONE MACBOOK AIR* *With Apple's student discount 72% Textbook costs are equivalent to 72% of tuition costs at at a 2-year public school. WHY YOUR BIOLOGY BOOK COSTS $200 The textbook market is one-sided and broken: In a normal market, suppliers compete with one another to sell the most goods. e $175 PUBLISHER CONSUMER S100 $50 Consumers choose what they want to buy from a selection based on price and quality. NORMAL MARKET VS TEXTBOOK MARKET Students have In the textbook no power of choice Professors choose market, publishers can charge what- ever they want. the textbooks $175 for a course PUBLISHER PROFESSOR STUDENT NEW 94% 130th 12% $55 $175 EDITION BIOLOGY 77% 94% New editions cost 12% more, of professors say publishers rarely or never disclose prices of professors say they would buy the cheaper of 2 equally good books if they knew the costs. make old editions useless for sell back, and come out every 3-4 years. HOW DO YOU BEAT THE SYSTEM? There are several ways of lowering your textbook costs; unfortunately, none of them are perfect. USED BOOKS 25%-50% cheaper than new books Only 25% of textbooks for sale are used. 44 EDITIC Sell out quicker than new books. BUY ONLINE Books can be 20%-40% cheaper on Amazon and Textbooks.com. Not guaranteed to have the books you need. BUY $$$$$$$$$$ BOOK RENTALS RENT $$$$ 61% cheaper than buying. 93% of students would rent if given the chance. Not yet widely available on campuses. E-BOOKS 52% cheaper than physical books. No buyback value, often expire after 6 months. Only 50% of students are comfortable using them OPEN BOOKS Students choose format: print or digital. PDF Average cost per book: $27 Not yet widely available. Adobe CONGRESS IS HELPING OUT Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) - July 1, 2010 Publishers must provide pricing information to professors. Publishers must break up textbook bundles. Colleges must list assigned textbooks during course registration. Publishing companies have been having their way with college students for far too long. $45 Up 'til now students have had no say in the discussion over textbook pricing. But with new S60 technology, new ways to read books, and help from Congress, that is all about to change. $50 Created By: www.OnlineEducation.net References: http://www.studentpirgs.org/textbooks/campaign#research http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/acsfa/kochreport.pdf http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/acsfa/turnthepage.pdf http://www.uiowa.edu/-ipro/Papers%202008/Textbook%20Cost.pdf http://www.campusprogress.org/articles/delving_into_textbook_costs/ http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/permalink/The-Spending-Habits-of-College-Students.html http://www.calpirgstudents.org/uploads/74/80/748035ae5b3d25dae46f40517401fOef/A-Cover-To-Cover-Solution.pdf This work is under a Creative Commons License. BY NO ND BIOLOGY 101 GINEERING COMPUTER CENCE 1993