Most people seem to blame the book publishers for the exuberantly high prices, jacking up prices to create a healthier profit margin.
Others cite that larger companies create a monopoly by buying smaller publishers, which allows price gouging. However, the real reason prices are so high is due to the mass selling of used books by bookstores.
Bookstores raise prices on books an average of 30 to 40 percent above what they paid the publisher, a ridiculous mark up for anything manufactured.
To make things even better for the bookstores, they will re-buy students’ used books for roughly 40 to 50 percent of what the students paid for them.
They then turn around and sell them again for almost the price of a new book. However, the second time a book is sold in a bookstore the publisher gets absolutely nothing. Not to mention, new books bought by the bookstore can be returned for a full refund, which creates a no loss situation. Then, the publishers are forced to raise their prices.
It is time this cycle stops.
Instead of selling your books back to the bookstore, donate them to a particular department that can make use of them. Then professors can lend those books out each semester, not unlike high school, in that if a student loses or damages the book they are responsible for replacing it.
Will Lancaster
junior, social work
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