Why Are Textbooks So Expensive?

Textbooks are expensive because the persons making the selection are not the persons paying the bill.

As the master said: "very few people spend other people's money as carefully as they spend their own".

When you are making the selection of something to purchase that benefits you, but the bill is to be paid by others, that causes quality to be weighted much more highly in the decision than price.

I think you also have to look as the support tool they offer instructors. Often students have books forced on them that come with some fancy extras for the instructor such as pre made tests and online content that makes grading the class easier.

I quickly learned as a Freshman in college and spending over 600 bucks on books my first semester to wait to buy the books. More often than not, the teachers would put down a huge list of books, sometimes 4 or even 5 books...which you might never even use during class, or would use once.

This is definitely not the reason the cost of books is so high, but it's part of the problem. Another problem is the teachers requiring the latest edition of the texts. You might find a 2008 version of the 2011 text for ten or fifteen bucks, about a tenth of the price. The content of the text is not that different, so there's no reason to require the newest version each year. Especially in certain subjects, which don't change that much from year to year.

As someone in the business. Costs have been shaved to the bone in set-up production, with most of the textbook publishers sending the writing, art and editing work to India. This has not resulted in reduced prices, but in major profit gains for the increasing consolidated publishers (Pearson, Cengage, McGraw-Hill for example)… and USA freelance writers and artists becoming poorer.

i always bought used books, because first, we rarely used them, and second, the "newer" version didn't have many updates that I needed to have. such a scam. look on the used book websites or find someone that already had the class. YOU DON"T NEED A NEW BOOK PEOPLE>>>>

It seems odd that we focus on the cost of textbooks as the financial killer to attending college. The clear fact is that the cost of higher education is the ultimate killer. No one ever addresses the amount of subsidies to universities that disguise themselves as loans and grants. The cost of education continues to rise and the government subsidies rise right along with the costs. How many state colleges or university campuses have you been on that have not been building or constructing something?

You probably don't need the book in class. With well coordinated study groups, you can share the book costs among group members, and use it in the group. Can't noodle that out? Get used to paying full price, dweeb. Effective teams always trump individual performance - over time.
But I have to read this...sure, and later your boss will want you to read his every memo. Will you, dweeb? Three-point-oh-and-go! Life's too short.

Jay, I don't think anyone said the cost of textbooks was the difference between going to college and not going to college. It's just what this particular article focused on.

You can often find the same textbook in an "international edition" or being sold on an eBay affiliate in Europe for a lot less.

Textbooks in the US are so expensive because we have such an insane financial aid program. Countries without massive giveaways to students (the UK, France, Sweden, etc.) have much cheaper books (and tuition as well.)

Fight back. Avoid the campus bookstore. Go online if you want cheaper textbooks. As long as some people are still paying retail prices the publishers are not going to be compelled to end their monopoly on student's wallets. Go online and search for used books, international editions, older editions, rentals, and even e-books to combat the high prices. The only problem with this solution is that there are so many places online promising cheaper books. That's why I use http://www.bigwords.com They are a textbook price comparison search engine that searches all the online retailers and rental site to find you the best prices, no matter which format you are seeking.