Price controls on college textbooks

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Kidicious
No. I'm not saying that. Smaller books are probably better, from the students perspective. But a standards board could pick and choose what the books should include.

You run into the same problems. Particular teachers want to emphasize certain things. Better to let them choose the reading material to do so.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Kontiki
Right after they select what the country's factories are going to produce and who is going to do what job.

No we need decentralization.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


You run into the same problems. Particular teachers want to emphasize certain things. Better to let them choose the reading material to do so.

You run into the same problem that you do when you let doctors choice what health care should be included in insurance. The doctors think everything service they perform is necessary, and profs think that everything in the most expensive textbook is necessary.

[Datajack Franit]

just copy what you need

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Datajack Franit
just copy what you need

That's what I do actually.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Kidicious
You run into the same problem that you do when you let doctors choice what health care should be included in insurance. The doctors think everything service they perform is necessary, and profs think that everything in the most expensive textbook is necessary.

Not all of them. Plenty will pick smaller, cheaper books.

And the difference is you choose your own health care and you decide what procedures you can do under your health care. It's not the same for a standardized textbook. You don't choose your textbook and then have the professor teach to it.

[Datajack Franit]

It really offends me to find some books I bought for 60 euros for sale on Amazon at 6 dollars

Greek art should be priceless

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Not all of them. Plenty will pick smaller, cheaper books.

All of mine are over 100 bucks this year. IMO they should be around 30 or 40 bucks and should be just about the same quality. The fact is that there aren't many good quality cheap books, for profs to choose from because the markets so screwed up.

And the difference is you choose your own health care and you decide what procedures you can do under your health care.

Too bad you have to idea about the choices you are making until you get sick, and you've already purchased the policy.

It's not the same for a standardized textbook. You don't choose your textbook and then have the professor teach to it.

Well, in this case there really is no one looking after the students interest to get a good, cheap textbook. So it's even worse.

[Imran Siddiqui]

The fact is that there aren't many good quality cheap books, for profs to choose from because the markets so screwed up.

No, actually, it's because there is such a small potential market. The demand is high for students, but low for the general population. The price has to be high to get some money on such a small number of books.

Too bad you have to idea about the choices you are making until you get sick, and you've already purchased the policy.

That's your own fault. Read your policy.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

The fact is that there aren't many good quality cheap books, for profs to choose from because the markets so screwed up.

No, actually, it's because there is such a small potential market. The demand is high for students, but low for the general population. The price has to be high to get some money on such a small number of books.

So control the price so that producers have to get economies of scale.

Too bad you have to idea about the choices you are making until you get sick, and you've already purchased the policy.

That's your own fault. Read your policy.

I'm not an expert on every little medical area, and either are you.

[flash9286]

My old school used to have textbook rental program, you pay 80 dollars and you can rent as many textbooks as you need, of course some of the professors complained b/c they all had to use the same books, and they didn't upgrade to newer editions as fast as other schools do, but I thought it was pretty cool. At my new school most of the professors in the upper level courses just post the readings online from their own textbooks they have written.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Arrian


That's a problem, yeah.



The counterpoint is that often a science class requires a single textbook. Sure, it might cost $75.

More like 130$

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Why should the profs have to waste their time photocopying, all they would have to do is send their requested works in sufficiently ahead of time, and the store could whip it up.

They already do that, at least at the McGill bookstore

[KrazyHorse]

I stopped buying textbooks when I realised that the average markup on them (year over year) was over 10%

**** them. **** them all up the ass with a big pole. I photocopied the textbooks required for the last two years of undergrad.

**** especially texts like Goldstein's "Classical Mechanics" which is in its third edition, costs 140$ and which still manages to have typos, errors etc. scattered throughout the book. **** Jon Wiley, **** McGraw Hill, **** them all.

[Ramo]

I could probably spend a hell of a lot less on text books if I really wanted to (through checking out books from the library, etc.). I have a book addiction, so I usually buy the text books that I find at least marginally interesting/useful (in fact, I just bought a text book that I probably won't use in a class for several months, if ever - Goldstein's Mechanics - because I found a used copy at a good price). But they're almost always used, and the oldest addition available.