Counseling Education

Why are college textbooks so expensive and how to get cheaper textbooks

Affording higher education for your children is becoming more and more of a luxury nowadays. The price of college tuition increases significantly every year, which is always followed by a series of other expenses. The most infamous one of these runner-up expenses is the cost that students have to pay when acquiring college textbooks.

Why Are College Textbooks So Expensive?

Many wonder how these prices are formed and the answer lies in the peculiarity of this unique book market. The rules that apply to a regular book market are simply not applicable to this one. The price of making a plant copy of a textbook can go up to $750.000, which is significantly more than what is usually spent on making the first copy of any novel. Various features that a textbook has to posses amount to this sum.

If a particular textbook is paired with on-line video tutorials, that is an additional cost for the publisher. Also, if there are software tools that come with the book, their development also requires serious investments. The amortization of these costs is limited to a period of 3 to 5 years, after which another publication is marketed.

This amortization period maybe doesn’t apply to linear algebra, but in the field of, for example, genetic engineering, new discoveries have to be included on a regular basis. This, of course, implies that a new and improved edition has to be published.

All of these reasons don’t mean a lot to students. How could they, when almost $700 has to be given each year solely for the textbooks. For all of these poor souls, here are some tips on how to save some of that money:

1. Always compare prices

If you use ISBN (International Standard Book Number) you can find all the books you need on the internet. There a lot of websites out there that specialize in price comparison. This way you can find the lowest price for the book you seek.

2. Rent textbooks instead of buying them

Renting textbooks can save you a lot of money, and it’s especially convenient if you need a particular textbook for a single semester only. The only problem is that you have to be really careful not to damage them, as many book rental services won’t accept damaged books back and might charge you full price for an almost unnoticeable damage.

3. Get electronic versions of your textbooks

Whether you decide to rent or buy electronic versions of the books you need, this will without a doubt cost you less money than paper textbooks. You can do your highlighting on the computer so there isn’t much difference compared to a “real” book.

4. Look around your campus

This particularly applies to sophomores and seniors. You can always ask around to see whether someone in your vicinity is selling books they don’t need anymore. This way you can probably get the best price and avoid the extra care you have to take with rented books.

5. Go to the library

Don’t forget that your university library has at least one copy of all the textbooks you are required to read. Some of them even sell used textbook copies and you can get your hands on one of them if you are quick enough.

Author bio: Jekkle is an Australian online resource for University textbooks for all students who need to buy sell or rent their college books.

Image credit:  caswell_tom on Flickr