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Textbook purchasing options can
drop the price -- but there may be a hitch
By Camille Blake
January 27, 2006 | Christmas has passed, tuition was
paid, you are officially broke. You wish you didn't
give your mom that George Foreman she'd been wanting.
Now it is January and you have to buy textbooks.
So why do textbooks cost so much?
Kris Kuchenmeister of Express Books for the USU Bookstore
said there are many reasons. Textbooks are almost exclusively
sold to students and there is a high demand in that
market. Publishers set the price and then the bookstore
adds a "relatively low markup" to make profit, he said.
Used books are different because the publisher has already
made a one-time profit, and thus the bookstore can charge
based on demand.
Jared Fisher, manager of Aggiebooks, said he decides
the price of the books. He said he gets the price from
the publisher, compares it with the bookstore's price
and then sets his amount. If USU sells a book for $100
he will usually sell it at $92. Neither Kuchenmeister
nor Fisher said how much the markup is, or what the
original price is.
Students have turned to other sources to get their
books. Paul Murdock, a junior majoring in political
science, said he buys the book from a friend who already
had that class. He likes to split the cost of books
with a friend and just take turns with the book.
Erica Jolly, a sophomore majoring in public relations,
said she gets her books at half.com,
a subsidiary of Ebay.
"I just go online and the books are close to half
of what the bookstore is selling them," Jolly said.
Students sell their used books at half.com and then
ship the book to the buyer. Jolly said she prefers used
books because they are cheaper.
A look at what the bookstore charges for typical entry-level
freshman classes and how much you can get it for at
half.com:
| |
Bookstore
new |
Bookstore
used |
www.half.com |
| Psychology 1010 |
$80 |
$60 |
$40-$68 |
| Biology 1010 |
$82.60 |
$61.95 |
$54.87-$73.49 |
| JCOM 1000 |
$82.05 |
$61.55 |
$34.99-$70 |
| English 1010 Required: New Century Handbook |
$63.55 |
$47.55 |
$35-$47 |
| Math 1050 |
$110.80 |
$83.10 |
$59-$75 |
However, Jolly said she bought a book from a student
at half.com and she never got her book.
She emailed the student seller and never got a response
back. Jolly called customer service at half.com and
told them the story, they refunded her money in full.
Jolly said she may not use the site in the future because
of that experience, but before she always got her book
on time.
Aggiebooks closed on the 17 and doesn't open again
till the end of the semester for buybacks. Fisher said
there isn't a big difference between the price he buys
books back and the price USU sets.
He compares his price to the bookstore's and whether
the book is going to be used next semester.
Why aren't more students taking advantage of alternative,
less expensive sources?
"Students don't mind the price so much because of the
services we provide," Kuchenmeister said.
Professors have a deadline by to let the bookstore
know which book to get, he said. Then students can go
online, submit their class schedule, request new or
used and the bookstore will get all the books they need
and box them up.
By the first day of class they are good to go. Students
are sure to get the correct book by the time they need
it.
He said they are paying to know they are getting the
right book on time. The bookstore is open all semester
for students.
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