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Buying books blows

Kevin M.Kevin M.
edited June 2007 in General
Grand total for summer semester (3 classes) = $387

Tuition is bad enough as it is, but it's a necessary evil and understandable. Book prices, on the other hand are overinflated and dare I say a very sneaky method of extortion by the book companies. Sure they can justify it by in one way or another, but paying 160$ for a bio textbook is just crazy. I can't wait till the day we can download textbooks, I bet the prices would go down like crazy (no printing costs)...thats if the companies even let that happen

Comments

  • NukeChem
    edited May 2007
    'Licence to print money' is what the text companies should have as a motto. ;)
  • Jessika
    edited May 2007
    My friend was telling me he downloaded some of his textbooks from bitorrent, anyone know about this?
  • Insatiable
    edited May 2007
    Kevin M.;12832 said:
    I can't wait till the day we can download textbooks, I bet the prices would go down like crazy (no printing costs)...thats if the companies even let that happen
    I assure you that I'll be downloading regardless of whether or not the companies let it happen.....:shade:
  • babygurl
    edited May 2007
    Me too :teeth:
  • toast
    edited May 2007
    why are books so expensive.....

    it's ironic that they encourage kids to read more, yet books are so expensive to purchase one, and library usually doesn't have books that one wants
  • baby e
    edited May 2007
    Dont buy the books then.

    Or just buy the books and then resell them afterwards to get some of your money back.

    Problem solved.
  • meeshmeesh
    edited May 2007
    yeah reselling is always another option, though I do it through craigslist rather than through the school buybacks.

    the problem is that some textbooks are always being updated so the publishers don't even want them back, which is why the school pays back so little for them.
    Or when some courses don't use the same book anymore, such as one of my philosophy courses last semester. I now have a $90 novel-sized Philosophy anthology in my bookcase collecting dust...
  • Insatiable
    edited May 2007
    meesh;13031 said:
    the problem is that some textbooks are always being updated so the publishers don't even want them back, which is why the school pays back so little for them.
    Or when some courses don't use the same book anymore, such as one of my philosophy courses last semester. I now have a $90 novel-sized Philosophy anthology in my bookcase collecting dust...
    Two words for you: planned obsolescence
  • meeshmeesh
    edited May 2007
    Insatiable;13040 said:
    Two words for you: planned obsolescence
    gah... i feel so much more anger towards publishers now that you bring that up, yet so much more helpless as well.

    ironically, the line of work i'm in is related to publishing. crap.
  • Malakaiii
    edited June 2007
    I think the school should put a cap on how long a text has to be useful before they switch to a new edition. It pisses me off when you have to buy a new one because it's a new edition, and then they switch right after your semester, so your $80 book is now worth $10.

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