Textbook prices unbearably high

By Lisa Moreno

After being in school for a month, students are receiving bank statements and credit card bills reflecting the damage done by the cost of college textbooks.

The Government Accountability Office has released a report that shows that over the past two decades, college textbook prices have risen 186 percent, twice the rate of inflation.

The GAO attributes this rise to the increased number of resources that are included with the textbook. So, interactive CD-ROM's, online databases, and other study aids are the culprits.

So why buy it? Unfortunately, we have to. Students must have textbooks to participate in class and do homework assignments. This demand allows publishing companies to sell their products at inflated prices and turn a profit.

Because textbooks are a necessary tool of the college trade, publishers are no longer competing for price, but for the attention of professors. And the market competition itself is no longer stiff. Currently, five publishing houses, owning more than 80 percent of the share, dominate the market.

To fight the rising cost of textbooks, students have turned to Web sites such as Half.com, Amazon.com, and CheapTextBooks.com. These Web sites may provide remedy for some; however, the stock on inexpensive textbooks is limited, and waiting for your books to arrive in the mail is sometimes not an option.

Buying online was helpful for Santa Clara junior and communication major Holly Zuluaga. "I bought a book for my journalism class online at Amazon.com. I only paid a few dollars for it, and it is being sold in the bookstore 'used' for $22.80."

For students attending private universities such as Santa Clara, textbooks account for about 15 percent of a student's yearly fees. While that may not seem like a lot compared to $27,000 we pay in tuition per year, it does add up.

Did we leave the days when textbooks were owned and used by the school behind in junior high? Though this concept may seem elementary (literally) to college students, some type of textbook rental system may be one solution to this growing problem. The university would have to be responsible for the distribution of textbook funds, forcing professors to be more careful about the material selection for classes. Another possibility is for publishers to release editions of the text less often, perhaps every four or five years rather than every two or three.

However, this is highly improbable, because it would significantly cut their profits.

According a New York Times interview with Bruce Hildebrand, the executive director for higher education at the Association of American Publishers, "twenty-eight thousand professional hours go into preparing an average new edition."

This may be true, but the books we purchase are usually a second edition or higher and not the original product. When a publisher produces a follow-up edition, often only a minimal amount of the content and layout is changed. Though the book itself may not be affected, the students are. Frequent new editions prevent students from being able to sell back textbooks for more than just a few dollars.

Until major textbook reform takes place, here are a few tips for getting the most money back for your books:

1. Take care of your textbooks. Bookstores are more inclined to buy a book back that has only experienced normal wear and tear. Beer soaked biology books are usually turned away.

2. Sell back your textbooks early. By being one of the first to sell, you are providing the bookstore with necessary inventory, and that is when you actually see the 50 percent return that is advertised.

3. Sell your books online. Though you may not yield much more than the bookstore is willing to offer, there are plenty of students all over the world who would be happy to have your hand-me-downs.

Lisa Moreno is a senior communication major.