Why do textbooks cost so much? Could it be...a conspiracy?
Filed under: Budgets, College, Ripoffs and Scams
I used to be an English teacher at what Penthouse forum would call "a major mid-Atlantic university." One of the things about teaching English is that it's impossible to escape the high cost of books. Unlike PE teachers, art professors, or the guys who teach underwater basket weaving, English instructors have to assign texts, which means that our students end up having to lay out a lot of dough.
I fought against this by carefully choosing my books. Whenever I assigned a text, I would look at all the available editions and consider the benefits versus the costs of each one. I often used xeroxed copies of stories or placed reserve copies in the library to reduce my students' textbook burden, and prided myself on the relatively cheap cost of supplies for my classes.
One year, attempting to standardize its introductory classes, my department developed an in-house textbook. Initially, using the book was a voluntary choice, but over the years, the department textbook became required for every freshman English class. For a while, this wasn't too much of a problem; the textbook was pretty decent, and I can honestly say that it helped my students. In my final year, however, the department came out with a completely worthless edition of the damned thing. It cost $90, and I was required to assign it in my classes. In my last semester, I decided against using it, which earned me some stink-eye from a few colleagues, but little else. On the other hand, I had already announced my decision to leave teaching.
One of the reasons that my bosses were so adamant about the textbook was the fact that the publisher kicked back a percentage of the profits from every copy sold. This money ended up funding department grants, small scholarships, and other worthwhile programs. At least, that's what we were told; I never saw any numbers on the actual disbursement of these impressive funds.
I was somewhat disgusted about all of this, seeing it as a major sell-out. While I appreciated that the money generated from the textbook made it possible for the department to do all sorts of wonderful things, I also am a strong believer in the freedom of choice and an open market. By giving the department textbook a monopoly, my bosses were discouraging competition; this became particularly troubling when the new, miserable edition was released.
When I told my wife about this, I received a major wake-up call. As a textbook buyer for the university, she had seen deals that made my department's collusion look like child's play. For example, one program required that all its students buy a textbook that had been written by the department head. Every year, the head wrote a short teaching insert, which meant that previous editions of the book were useless. This, in turn, minimized textbook buyback and the loss of revenue caused by used books. The head of the department was paid more than $200,000 for writing the original book and received a significant sum for every insert that he authored. This deal was far from uncommon; in fact, academics and publishers had made devil's bargains throughout the university.
As my colleague Zac Bissonnette mentioned in an earlier post, one solution to this scuzzy little process is to rent textbooks. As he pointed out, renting books significantly reduces the cost of texts; the trouble is that, in spite of the excesses of the publishing industry and academia, textbooks can be outstanding resources. Even now, years after I left school, I still have some of my undergraduate textbooks and use them for reference. Returning textbooks at the end of the semester may be a fiscally-sound solution, but it seems a little short-sighted.
One solution that I proposed to my students was sharing textbooks. Not only did this encourage them to get to know each other, but it also helped offset an almost back-breaking expense. At the end of the semester, the textbook pair could negotiate over who got to keep the book. One partner would get a textbook, while the other would get a little bit of money. Many of my students followed this suggestion and found that it worked well.
Another solution that I suggested was that they use ABE books, a site that allows users to search the stocks of over 19,000 independent booksellers. ABE's textbook prices are often comparable to the cost of book rental, with the added benefit of allowing the buyer to keep the book.
Textbook collusion is a major problem and it's only getting worse. For publishers, students represent a huge captive market, and the lure of filthy money is an irresistible temptation for many underpaid academics. Until Universities enact ethics rules for textbook selection (and, by the way, I wouldn't hold your breath), it will be the responsibility of savvy students to ensure that they don't get screwed.
Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He never pays retail for his books.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-29-2008 @ 11:13AM
Jerry Ubigau said...
When I went to a major state university in Washington state they made you buy the text book that was written by the the professor that taught the class. It
turns out that the text book was not recognized or used at any other college in the country. The lectures were incomprehensible as were the texts. I soon left for a smaller private university. There, well known nationally recognized authors such as Samuleson in economics were assigned. It was like a breath of fresh air.
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2-29-2008 @ 11:15AM
Bruce Watson said...
Jerry-
The school at which I taught was also a state university. I wonder how much textbook collusion is tied to public education. My school was woefully underfunded, which made it ripe for these kinds of deals. How many other state schools are in the same boat?
Thanks for the thought-provoking comment.
2-29-2008 @ 12:25PM
sarah said...
I go to a private university in DC with an outrageous tution fee. I've been living on-campus for two years, and have finally found an apartment that will ultimately save me a BUNDLE on room and board. The fact that it's cheaper to rent an apt. in this market than to live on campus is a crime. . . but I digress.
As a student who is financing her own tuition (i say financing, but I really mean selling-my-soul), working nearly full-time, and soon to be renting, I have to make money stretch. far. For text books, I go to places like Half.com to buy cheap, used, often mangled and nearly-destroyed texts. It's worth it. I'm a double major: philosophy and spanish, so text is fundamental to my disciplines. Many of my profs have "let us in" on the edition-scam, though a few insist that we buy the new edition. For those particularly persnickety profs, I quietly tell them to go to hell, and buy the perfectly usable old editions. . . and have not yet had a problem.
It IS a conspiracy. Sometimes it takes near-poverty for us co-eds to wise up. Thanks for passing the word along!!
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2-29-2008 @ 4:37PM
Bruce Watson said...
Sarah-
Thanks for dropping in. Most of your professors went to school in the good old days, when tuitions were cheap enough that people could finance their educations with part-time jobs. Obviously, that's not the case anymore!
When I was an undergraduate, I used to camp out in the university bookstore, where I'd pull a book off the shelf to do my work. Only got thrown out once!
2-29-2008 @ 2:47PM
EmilyG said...
I agree - it's totally absurd. I graduated from the University of Texas in May, and many classes required books AND course packets. The books could be bought and sold back at the university's co-op, but many times, when a new edition had come out, they wouldn't buy the old books back. Many times those books had cost a fortune. And the course packets cost anywhere from $30 to $100 each, and can't be sold back. It's all incredibly expensive -- as I got higher and higher in the film department, I needed less books as my assignments became more project-heavy. But friends in Lib Arts spent a fortune on books. I have a friend at a private university in Texas who says most of the books they have to buy are written by the faculty. The whole textbook system makes me want to vomit. I've heard of many people switching to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Half.com.
http://blogs.creditcards.com/emilyg.php
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2-29-2008 @ 4:40PM
Bruce Watson said...
Emily-
Thanks for your comment. For a lot of people, online book shopping is the only way to afford texts. Unfortunately, course packets and the like aren't available, and it can be really hard to find a copy of a random professor's self-published textbook!
2-29-2008 @ 9:48PM
In Los Angeles said...
Thank you! Quite frankly, I have been proclaiming for years the university system is a conspiracy! I discovered this undisclosed truth during my freshman year in college. Ironically, most of my upper level classes were taught by professors who also happened to be published authors. In my experience, students were required to purchase the books (Typically priced $75 - $125) written by the professor of the class - a very unseemly sales tactic. As well the books written by the professors (Which have next to nothing in resale value), had little difference compared to similar lower priced books or even books that could have been purchased at your local bookstore.
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2-29-2008 @ 4:43PM
Bruce Watson said...
In Los Angeles-
The beauty part, of course, is that your professors not only got kickbacks for assigning the texts, but probably also got royalties off the sale of the individual books!
3-03-2008 @ 2:09PM
Kelly said...
I always dread buying textbooks don't buy them at the store bookstore anymore I buy them online at www.cheapesttextbooks.com they have coupons and stuff and are a lot cheaper.
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3-03-2008 @ 2:10PM
Bruce Watson said...
Kelly-
Thanks for another website. It's always nice to have a choice. While you're at it, compare prices with abebooks.com.
Thanks for dropping by!
3-03-2008 @ 7:54PM
Debi in Texas said...
I am astonished that this sort of racket is allowed to continue! I recently returned to college (after 20 yrs) and my Algebra book literally cost more than the 3 hour course at community college. I had to buy the 'new' one because of the on-line password you MUST have to complete homework,etc. They have it rigged so the password is good for just enough time for one student to use the book. This is a horrible injustice.
My son and daughter also attend college, one at a state school, one at a small private school and I try every semester to scour half.com to find their books at a reasonable price. I tell everyone I know.
Happy to know about 2 other sources. Thanks!
I wish there was something we could do to get the attention of SOMEBODY who could stop this. Get a protest, get the info out about profits by the professors, shame universities into stopping this fleecing of students (and parents) ... reminds me of anti-trust, anti-competitive business practices ...
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3-03-2008 @ 8:01PM
Bruce Watson said...
Debi-
The trouble is, this sort of thing is, in many cases, actively encouraged by universities. When my department produced its own textbook, we were praised by the entire school. Everyone was excited about the standardization of learning that the book was going to encourage and praised it as a big step forward for the school.
If you want to stop the practice, one of the best routes might be to talk to parents. I don't know about all schools, but my university was paranoid about parental complaints, and tended to pay attentions whenever parents raised a fuss. The school newspaper would also be a good way to go. Also, in the case of your son's school, you might want to try talking to your representatives in the state legislature--public colleges and universities tend to be very attentive to state government.
Best of luck to you and your children!
3-05-2008 @ 6:22PM
Jessica said...
Have u try the online bookstore Cocomartini.com
http://www.cocomartini.com
I get all my textbooks for this semester from this bookstore. All are brand new textbooks and half price discount textbooks and cheap textbooks.
Good luck and wish some help.
hehe ^_^
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3-06-2008 @ 10:32AM
Josh Smith said...
I'll be teaching my first class as an adjunct prof at a local private uni this fall and I am trying to weigh the benefit of the new edition of the book which is coming out vs. last years.
As a former student of the institution it will be interesting to see how it plays out if I choose the older version.
Since it is a technology in business course I am tempted to go new, but I need to plod through the two versions to see if there are substantial additions.
My advice for students is to wait and see if the book will be used, so many times the book is just given a cursory glance due to handouts etc. It almost seems as if there is a stigma against teaching a class sans book. The wealth of online resources make me wonder if I could try to teach using assigned web readings only.
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