Why are textbooks so obscenely expensive in the USA?

[Dinner]

Originally posted by LordShiva
There's also a pretty vibrant second-hand textbook market in teh US.

Textbook makers can block most of the second hand market by coming up with "new editions" every year or two. Of course there is nothing new about these new editions other then they change a few trivial numbers. The main point is to control the second hand market by making the "old" editions worthless. Planned obsolescence even though Newton's laws haven't changed a bit.

[Verto]

I fcking hate textbooks.

Every year is a new edition which means the book you just bought is worth ****, and new studetns have to pay 200$.

[Riesstiu IV]

Our textbooks aren't written on discarded tissues with brahmin dung ink.

[aneeshm]

Originally posted by Riesstiu IV
Our textbooks aren't written on discarded tissues with brahmin dung ink.

???

[Qilue]

Originally posted by aneeshm

???

American chest beating.

[Apocalypse]

Originally posted by Verto
I fcking hate textbooks.

Every year is a new edition which means the book you just bought is worth ****, and new studetns have to pay 200$.

Actually it is typically every 2 years. Year 3 is when the average textbook starts to lose money due to people just buying used books.

[Perfection]

Originally posted by aneeshm



???

Pretty much, Indian textbooks suck, the ones I have are printed on newspaper.

[Kropotkin]

I remember that when I went to university some textbooks was insanely expensive. For some reason it was often the same books where the author couldn't spell simple words like labour...

Or in other words; this doesn't seem like just a difference between rich countries and poor countries, but also a difference between the US and the rest of the world.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Kidicious
Hell, people don't even care enough to make gas cheaper and that's a much bigger problem.

Nothing funnier than an american complaining about 'gas' prices being too high. You get it almost for free compared to us.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Kropotkin
I remember that when I went to university some textbooks was insanely expensive. For some reason it was often the same books where the author couldn't spell simple words like labour...

Or in other words; this doesn't seem like just a difference between rich countries and poor countries, but also a difference between the US and the rest of the world.

They could spell labour but printing costs being what they are why bother? besides textbooks are usually thick enough as it is.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Cort Haus




Nothing funnier than an american complaining about 'gas' prices being too high. You get it almost for free compared to us.

I just don't understand how he thinks something refined from a dwindling consumable finite resource is supposed to be made less expensive. It's not like the supply can be appreciably increased or growth in demand elsewhere in the world can be significantly slowed.