Attending college is more expensive than any other time in the past. Tuition continues to rise and so does the cost of textbooks. High school textbooks are provided for free, so the thought of purchasing a new textbook for $80 or more is shocking for most new college students. Fortunately, college students have several avenues besides the local college bookstore to purchase needed textbooks.
The Cost of College Textbooks
College textbooks for a semester can cost up to $900 or more. The cost of an average textbook is determined by the costs incurred by the publishing company and the college bookstore. The National Association of College Stores released an outline of how the average textbook dollar is alloted:
- publisher manufacturing costs – 32.8 cents
- author royalty – 11.8 cents
- publishing administrative costs – 10.2 cents
- publisher marketing costs – 15.6 cents
- publisher income – 7.2 cents
- college store personnel – 11 cents
- freight expense – 1 cent
- college store operations – 6.3 cents
- college store income – 4.1 cents
In 2004 The State Public Interest Research Group released a study entitled "Ripoff 101: How the Publishing Industry's Practices Needlessly Drives Up Textbook Costs." The study revealed interesting statistics on textbook publisher practices that directly related to increasing book costs. Some examples include that publishers, on average, create new editions of books every few years. This entitles publishers to increase the price due to added information, which average 12% more than the old edition. Old editions are no longer printed, so colleges are required to purchase the new editions. College students need an alternative way to purchase textbooks at a reasonable price.
Locating Cheap College Textbooks
The internet can assist college students to locate textbooks at a cheaper rate than the local bookstore. Websites that specialize in selling new and used college textbooks. Barnes and Noble is promoting a new device called the Nook. This personal, hand-held PC that will download ebooks. The device can cost from $149 for a black and white screen to $249 for a color screen. Customers can choose to rent a license or purchase a license for an etextbook. Students can save anywhere from 5% to 70% for the cost of a textbook; however, there are a limited number of etextbooks to choose. Other devices, like the Kindle and Sony reader also have the capability to download ebooks.
In 2001 Bobby Brannigan, then a college student, created Valore Books. This online bookstore assists thousands of college students the opportunity to purchase used textbooks at a fraction of college bookstore prices. Additionally, students can sell their textbooks on the site to earn extra money.
Eager to join the textbook selling business, Ebay has established the Textbook Superstore on their Half.com site. The user friendly site permits students to both locate books for sale and to sell their own.
Overall, college student now have multiple options to obtain their textbooks. Options can include new, used, book or digital. This allows students to save some on college expenses.
Kerrie Troseth - Kerrie is a licensed school counselor who works exclusively with adolescents. As a school counselor she is trained in the areas of ...
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