Books cost a lot. Why? It is a bit of a puzzle I wish college students would attempt to understand. Clearly, you can visit any “public” bookstore and most books one would think require the same quality of writing and editorial support as a textbook cost much less. The problem is the resale market and we seem to be caught in a spiral from which we cannot escape.
Given the existing circumstances (the book company must make a certain level of profit to meet costs and pay authors, books are resold through various sources without compensating the company producing the book or the author, local bookstores and used book vendors make money from resales, students pay so much for books they cannot keep their books, book companies employ tactics such as frequent revisions to discourage the use of used books), we are stuck and it is possible no one is being unethical, greedy, etc. Each party seems to want to blame another participant in this cycle, but it takes all parties looking out for their own interests to keep the cycle rolling. If a book company sold a $30 book, would students still resell the book? Would the book store still buy it back? Would that guy still come to my office asking if I wanted to sell the free books I was sent? Would used book companies accept books from all these sources for $15 and try to sell them for $25? You tell me.
See Daily Texan piece that offers an analysis of this situation. Search the same student paper to see some of the replies.
