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Even in the days of online resale it is this. It's still a racket. One I would love to see government comedown on.
One of my text books this semester is a 9th edition, and even though there is a 10th edition, I will be able to sell it back to Amazon and get back half of what I payed for.
I bought the earlier edition because the newest is a loose leaf version. That is the newest scam the textbook companies are pulling, charge the same price for a textbook that isn't even bound. I had one book that my only option was to buy the loose leaf version. It was 600 pages, so I had to buy a binder to put the pages in, which made it very cumbersome. Then the pages would easily get bent, or tear where they were hole punched. My pages at least looked like they were from an actual text book, some people who bought the book received pages that were printed in black and white on just regular computer paper. Its like they're trying to see how cheap they can go with these books and still be able to charge over $100.
Although it was kind of nice when I went out of town. Instead of bringing a heavy textbook, I was able to just bring the 5 pages I needed. But since that is not a normal occurrence, its not really a feature I'm looking for in my books.
One of my text books this semester is a 9th edition, and even though there is a 10th edition, I will be able to sell it back to Amazon and get back half of what I payed for.
I bought the earlier edition because the newest is a loose leaf version. That is the newest scam the textbook companies are pulling, charge the same price for a textbook that isn't even bound. I had one book that my only option was to buy the loose leaf version. It was 600 pages, so I had to buy a binder to put the pages in, which made it very cumbersome. Then the pages would easily get bent, or tear where they were hole punched. My pages at least looked like they were from an actual text book, some people who bought the book received pages that were printed in black and white on just regular computer paper. Its like they're trying to see how cheap they can go with these books and still be able to charge over $100.
Although it was kind of nice when I went out of town. Instead of bringing a heavy textbook, I was able to just bring the 5 pages I needed. But since that is not a normal occurrence, its not really a feature I'm looking for in my books.
Tell me about it, I had several that were this style. Sadly I wss either not wise to the game or it came with one of those passcodes in order to take quizzes...
Even in the days of online resale it is this. It's still a racket. One I would love to see government comedown on.
There is still a market for previous edition books once a new addition book has come out. Due to supply and demand the price for earlier editions drop. Many college professors are not quick to jump on the new editions. Why would the government come down on a free market? Obviously book publishers are trying to maximize their profits. I found many college professors sympathetic to the financial plight of students. I also overheard many college students state that they don't buy books since they don't read them anyway. Not reading textbooks is common in most high schools. Students become accustomed to learning only what has been spoon fed them on worksheets and study guides.
If the government should come down on anything, it is the monopoly position of Pearson Education, which owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eCollege, Longman, Poptropica, and others.
There is still a market for previous edition books once a new addition book has come out. Due to supply and demand the price for earlier editions drop. Many college professors are not quick to jump on the new editions. Why would the government come down on a free market? Obviously book publishers are trying to maximize their profits. I found many college professors sympathetic to the financial plight of students. I also overheard many college students state that they don't buy books since they don't read them anyway. Not reading textbooks is common in most high schools. Students become accustomed to learning only what has been spoon fed them on worksheets and study guides.
If the government should come down on anything, it is the monopoly position of Pearson Education, which owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eCollege, Longman, Poptropica, and others.
The problem is getting worse, *not* better & Pearson is at the head of that - the latest scam is "e-books" & online access codes being *required* for tests & homework. For my community-college nursing program, a "bundle" was required costing approx $800 (nearly the same amount as tuition!) - the "bundle" has no value at all after the class & those that even need to re-take a class need to "re-buy" access codes to turn in required homework - the access code ties the student to a semester & an instructor (online gradebook) & after that, the student's investment goes "poof". So, in this case, government involvement will be required, as the colleges refuse to police themselves - the relationship between instructors & Pearson is too cozy & allows students to get run-over with insane costs that add nothing to the educational experience.
At my college, they were planning to eliminate real books entirely in future semesters - at the behest of Pearson.
I started college back in the mid 2000s and was on the front wave of this. Books were still largely sold at the store, but I was Amazoning used books. Saved me tons of money.
The problem is getting worse, *not* better & Pearson is at the head of that - the latest scam is "e-books" & online access codes being *required* for tests & homework. For my community-college nursing program, a "bundle" was required costing approx $800 (nearly the same amount as tuition!) - the "bundle" has no value at all after the class & those that even need to re-take a class need to "re-buy" access codes to turn in required homework - the access code ties the student to a semester & an instructor (online gradebook) & after that, the student's investment goes "poof". So, in this case, government involvement will be required, as the colleges refuse to police themselves - the relationship between instructors & Pearson is too cozy & allows students to get run-over with insane costs that add nothing to the educational experience.
At my college, they were planning to eliminate real books entirely in future semesters - at the behest of Pearson.
Thanks for the perspective. I think my family and I managed to avoid the bundles and e-books. Pearson has bought most of the textbook publishers and is trying to maximize their revenue stream. It would be like General Motors buying all the other vehicle manufacturers, and replacing vehicle purchases with annual leases.
There is still a market for used textbooks. I went to a church book sale recently and the place was overrun with book dealers scanning the book bar codes looking for books with resale value.
At my college, they were planning to eliminate real books entirely in future semesters - at the behest of Pearson.
Yup, at my school the accounting department fully switched over to Pearson's online bundle, and almost the entire math department, too. As a side note, their server was down for a while yesterday, and when I texted my husband to kvetch about not being able to take my test because "mymathlab" was down, my phone autocorrected it to my meth lab
Yup, at my school the accounting department fully switched over to Pearson's online bundle, and almost the entire math department, too. As a side note, their server was down for a while yesterday, and when I texted my husband to kvetch about not being able to take my test because "mymathlab" was down, my phone autocorrected it to my meth lab
Yeah, these online sources for stuff was silly. One semester I had an assignment the second week of class (so Labor Day) and I did it that Friday or something and submitted it online through a website (to make sure it wasn't plagiarized) like we had to but then thought better and resubmitted a revised version on Sunday because the professor said you could resubmit. Then come to grading about three weeks later I get a D on the original draft. I protested and luckily he agreed to let me resubmit because the system wasn't the way he explained it was and I believe I got a B. Mind you, I didn't touch the paper since Sunday of Labor Day weekend. To tie back, this is the thing with online sources, not everyone can work around server issues. If you work (and a number do) and do not have as much freetime to submit or take a quiz or whatever, and the server is done whether text or not, it is a problem. Often because the test is on a time limit or assignment is timestamped showing that it was posted late, often with no comment system.
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