Does anyone know why college textbooks cost so much?
 

My son is a sophomore in college and he bought 2 books yesterday and they were $110.00 each (used) It's insane. Why so expensive? It's hard enough to pay for college, but book prices are ridiculous. I would like to know why? :mad:

I think it's a combo of different things. My books have gotten more and more expensive as I get further along. I used to think the college bookstores just make up a price but after buying my books from different sources I've come to realize the prices are fairly common across the board. But the bigger the book, the more you pay...

I just spent $550.00 in my daughter's books, her law books are ridiculously expensive, and her biology book is a joke.. but I had to pay for them she really needs them and she is also a junior her major is criminal justice with a minor in philosophy..
hugs,
CArmen in nj

I know they are ridiculously expensive... try to get him to sell it after hes done with it.. not back to the school (because he'll probably get little to no money back), but like a for sale sign at his school..

I don't buy any of my textbooks from the college if I can help it. Most of the time, you can find them so much cheaper online....still ridiculously expensive, but cheaper.

I really don't know why they cost so much. It is highway robbery! :mad:

I have 5 classes this semester and would have forked out $850.00 if i had purchased my 4 books that i needed at Purdue's bookstore.

I went online and bought my books on half.com and amazon.com and saved $500.00.

As long as you know the ISBN# you can always look for better deals online and are not at the campus bookstores mercy.

I have a small fit everytime I have to pay for a textbook :mad: I homeschool and my son takes college classes so I have been paying for high school and college textbooks for years ...I really don't understand why the cost is so much :rolleyes: I try to buy used as often as possible , but if not I try online.

i always used to buy my books new :( but the good thing was i could sell them back to the bookstore or to someone else and get at least 70-80% of my money back from the total cost of the books. i think theyre so much cus they have to pay so many people to get information for the textbook plus editors publication blahblah etc... if that makes sense?

i know for sure my biology book and the lab manual was super expensive and also my business law book was like 220!!! :eek:

In my opinion a book is a book. It is outrageous for them to charge so much for a book. He was going to go on the half price website but he needs the books right away. Last semester he didn't buy any and didn't need them. I don't understand why these professors ask these kids to buy a book and they don't even use it. Right now he is just taking core classes. My daughter is a senior in high school and she just got accepted to the college he goes to. They are both going for the same major so I guess she could use his books if her professors ask for the same books. I just think it's crazy and there is NO justification for it. Books don't cost that much. These kids are our future and if they can barely afford to get an education how could they expect them to pay these astronomical prices to get that education. They will be paying college loans back forever. I just don't know how they are going to have a house , a family, etc. with these rough times we are in. I'm really concerned. I have 4 kids. The other 2 are only 14, and 10 so I have a little while for them anyway. I just think the book prices are out of control and everyone just says, "oh, if that's what it costs I'll pay it". We have no say. Yeah try to sell them back they give you 10 bucks, then sell them used for a small fortune. Why can't they give you a prorated price back for a used book according to it's condition. It's just another waste of money.

OH tell me about it! My books also USED this semester were $104, $134 and $85. The $85 and $104 books are not even hardcover and one of them is like 100pages, thats it.

here is my latest.... my school stinks! I just feel like I have completely fallen through the cracks. Last semester I got advised wrong and bought my books, only to realize it ON MY OWN and have to get readvised. Apparently only 1 person is qualified to advise a WHOLE student body ... if thats the case, why is there an advising dept? anyways.... so I went to return the books but because I had already used them I couldn't get the full money back on them. Now this semester, the kid at the book store told me I had the right book for my class so I bought it, read chapter one and highlighted it, and come to find out I have the wrong book. This book cost me $134 USED. Now I have to go to the bookstore today with my book and try to get the money back to buy the right book that is $128 USED if they have any used copies left at all. Because I highlighted it though I might not be able to. I am beyond irritated with this school. Wish me luck today... Im going to NEED it!!! :)

It's the same reason they charge what they charge for toilet paper and tampons.....You gotta have it and they got it........They figure, how bad do you really want it.....

And everyone cries about how bad the economy is. Go figure.

Try looking online for the books. Just make sure you get the right version. I think the cost of used books are ridiculous too. I think they should only charge half the price of the original cost.

Some teachers actually try to help out and will use books that are as cheap as possible for students. I had a history teacher that put together his own book for the class, it was thin and paperback and it cost like 20 bucks. But then there are some teachers that just don't care. One class I was trying to get into, the book was almost $300, it came out to like 270 something..That was ridiculous, I was actually happy I didn't get in because I was able to return the book.

What makes me mad is that I spend damn near $200 on one book and then I try selling it back and I am lucky to get $20 back.

I too am suffering the college expensive books blues. I hate that I have bought bio books and next quarter, there is a new edition that has one or 2 pages that are different. But the teacher switches anyway!!! If it's a series, guess who needs a new book for bio part 2??? Now that I'm a history major (with a background in bio science) my teachers do their best to choose out of print books so they can get publishers permission to just let us have a pdf version of the book. Saves me about $50 a book, and with 4 classes with at least 6 or 8 books a class.... I'll let you do the math I'm tired from writting up my midterm. :p