How Textbook Publishers Manipulate Costs for Students

I remember my jaw dropping the first time I saw the prices for my university textbooks. Textbooks are one of the most frustrating expenses for an undergraduate student. According to the Canadian Roundtable on Academic Materials (CRAM), from 1997-2005, textbook prices have increased approximately by 280%. Over the same period, the Canadian Price Index (CPI) has only increased by 22%. Annette Bright, the manager of the University of Lethbridge Book Store, says that the average full time student should budget around $2000 for textbooks for each academic year. This represents more than 12% of tuition for a sizable portion of the student body.

Many students blame campus bookstores for these high costs but a more appropriate body to criticize would be the textbook publishers/distributors.

The market for textbooks for undergraduate students is very unique when compared to most traditional markets. The individuals that are responsible for deciding what textbooks are used for a course (the instructors) are not the same individuals that are paying for them. For many professors, content and quality are the main deciding factors for deciding what textbooks should be used for a class. While content and quality are important factors, this means that textbook publishers are under less pressure to keep textbook prices low.

Another factor that is driving up the cost of textbooks is the high frequency of new editions. Over the past decade the frequency of new editions for textbooks has increased significantly. According to Bright, it is now customary for a textbook publisher to issue a new edition approximately every two years. This is typically the industry standard regardless of how much change has occurred in the subject matter since the previous edition.  According to Jim Corven, a professor from Bristol Community College, “while updates are useful and necessary, the real differences from edition to edition are often insignificant and do not justify the publication of an expensive new edition”.

The inflow of new editions of textbooks also hurts the used textbook market. A new edition of a textbook may result in students being unable to resell a recently purchased textbook. The shorter shelf life of textbooks results in a lessened opportunity to sell a textbook. For many students, the used textbook market is the most functional medium of accessing lower cost academic materials.

Another item that is contributing to the high costs of textbooks is the increased practice of bundling. Bundling is the practice of shrink-wrapping additional materials such as CDs, study guides, activation codes for websites and foldouts with textbooks. This practice results in an increased price for the textbooks. The main issue with bundling is that instructors rarely include bundled materials in their curriculum. According to the State PIRG study, only 24% of instructors estimate that they “always” or “usually” use the additional bundled materials.

The high cost of textbooks for Canadian post-secondary students is also heavily influenced by Canadian importation regulations. In 1999, the federal government implemented importation regulations in the Canadian Copyright Act in an attempt to protect the Canadian publishing industry. This regulation requires Canadian bookstores to purchase from Canadian distributors as long as the distributor is selling within 10 percent of the American price or 15 percent of the international price. This allows Canadian publishers to sell their products above market price and pass the increased costs on to students. The proceeds from the imported mark-up go directly to the textbook publishers and not to the authors of the text. Also, the American branch for many book distributors will not do business with Canadian bookstores because of internal agreements with the Canadian branch of the organization.

The actions of textbook publishers have caused several groups to react.  In 2008, the Canadian Roundtable on Academic Materials (CRAM), a group comprising of several student associations/unions and campus bookstores, was formed to create a national dialogue on academic materials. In addition to this, several organizations such as the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), Campus Stores Canada, the Canadian Booksellers Associations and CRAM have lobbied to the federal government about issues relating to academic materials.

While the textbook industry may be inherently flawed, there are many things that students can do to reduce their expenses.

• Buy used textbooks- Used textbooks are noticeably cheaper than their unused counterparts. Sometimes they even have helpful highlighted portions.
• Talk to your instructor- Before you purchase a textbook you should always ask your instructor if the textbook is necessary and if you can use an older edition.
• Look at bulletin boards- The hallways are usually filled with flyers from students trying to sell textbooks. You can end up getting a good deal and help out a fellow student at the same time.
• Ask friends- A really easy way to save some money is to borrow or buy books from friends who have taken the class already.
• Share a textbook- If you have a friend in the same class you can possibly consider this option.  The main downside to this is organizing when each of you gets the textbook.
• See if the library has a reserve copy- In some instances, the library will have a reserve copy of the text on hand.
• Visit local used book stores- If you are purchasing literature, a good option would be to visit local used book stores.  If it’s a fairly common text (e.g. Hamlet) it should be fairly cheap and easy to find.
• www.thothle.ca – This is a free web service that searches through several online bookstores to find the best possible deals. The main issue with purchasing online would be waiting for the text to ship.
• eBooks- eBooks are becoming a more viable textbook medium. They are paperless and typically cheaper than physical copies. The only downside is that some are sold on a subscription basis.
• Online Databases- Free online databases in recent years have become a more viable option for students. Some really good databases are Bibliomania, the Guttenberg Project, Open Courseware Consortium and Connexions.

Allan Hall