College Textbooks for Sale – Why So Expensive?

Any student attending college knows the high cost of textbooks. Unfortunately, textbooks are a requirement and there is no getting around that. Why are they so expensive and what can be done about it? Are the colleges or government looking at ways to contain the costs?

College students rely upon textbooks but with their increasing prices, this simply adds to the expense of getting a higher education. As with anything, the only way to find a real solution is to first discover the reasons behind the problem so that more people are able to realize their dreams of attending college.

University Textbooks Are Expensive

At the beginning of each semester, students must look for their college textbooks for sale. According the College Board, a student can expect to pay about $900 just for their textbooks each year. This increase of $200 over five short years merely adds to the already steep cost of tuition. And, for students in all walks of life, this increase means they must seek more financial assistance from the government or be unable to complete their schooling.

The Steady Rise in University Textbook Prices

Textbook cost has been steadily rising over the last 20 years. The average increase is 6 percent per year. To compare this to the national inflation rate in the period of 1986 to 2004, textbooks increased 240 percent while general inflation was 72 percent.

With closer examination into a breakdown of the cost of textbooks it becomes more clear who is profiting the most from these outrageous prices.

According to the National Association of College Stores College Store Industry Financial Report 2003, the breakdown of textbook costs is as follows:
– 1% freight cost
– 4% store income
– 7% publisher income
– 12% author income
– 17% store personnel and operational costs
– 59% publishing expenses

As you can see from the figures, the publishing costs are the largest piece. Without some change in how the publishing of textbooks takes place, prices are sure to continue increasing.

Combating the Cost of College Textbooks

The United States government’s accounting office (The GAO), has been delving into the incredibly high cost of college textbooks and why prices have been on the rise at such an alarming rate. They have discovered that much of the increase lies with product development. Adding supplemental learning materials like CD ROMs, which are frequently requested by professors, along with countless revisions contribute greatly toward the often unaffordable prices of textbooks.

The U.S. state and federal governments have also stepped in by declaring college textbooks exempt from sales tax, and encouraging publishers to find viable alternatives to bundling books with software. Ongoing studies are still being done to find additional ways of decreasing the cost of textbooks.

There is much that professors and students can do to keep costs down. Professors need to start thinking about the cost when choosing materials for their class. Much of the increase in costs have been linked to professors requesting improvements and supplementation of textbooks.Some companies have started offering chapters, or even an entire textbook online. This is environmentally friendly and saves on printing and shipping costs.

Many colleges have begun stocking the school’s libraries with current textbooks. Others are implementing a rental system to allow students to use books without the need for purchasing them.

Students can also be resourceful. They can find university textbooks for sale in a variety of places, other than the campus store. They can share or borrow books from friends, or look online for used texts.

The increasing price of textbooks is definitely a real problem that needs a viable solution. But, if everyone works together, each doing their part, more people would be able to afford a higher education without needlessly worrying about how they will pay for their textbooks.