In 2023, inflation has played a role in society which affects college students at Colorado State University to obtain course material. This will mainly affect students with families in the low to mid-income range as they cannot afford to obtain the newest edition of books for every semester which could put them at a competitive educational disadvantage.

Past Trend of Textbooks:

By the 2000’s, the college textbook industry was dominated by three companies that accounted for 67 percent of all textbooks sold in the United States. In 2004, the average used textbook cost would cost about a third less than a new version of the book and every new edition that would come out years after, the sales of selling newer editions of textbooks would drop by 50 percent according to Are College Textbooks Priced Fairly? by Robert Carbaugh and Koushik Ghosh.

The reason why publishers are constantly making new editions is to prevent students’ secondhand market to sell to and the publishers would keep profiting. If the textbook was sold at a higher price, it would increase the probability of selling the book afterwards according to Why College Students Sell Back their Textbooks by Beaulieu.

Some bookstores buy-back textbooks after the semester are nearly over to profit off it during the following semester due to the books still being in good condition most of the time and covenant to acquire as it is usually on campus. Bookstores would generally sell the textbooks back to students or rent them out for the semester.

Factors Contributing to Overpricing:

Factors that could potentially drive up the cost are things such as being multi-color, format, and pictures to make it user-friendly for students. With higher prices, it discourages lower-income students and families to reconsider purchasing it on top of tuition.

Another problem within the publishing industry is that other countries outside of the United States could purchase textbooks for a lot cheaper due to the different rates in different countries and sell it back to American students for profit but it is prohibited in some countries. If publishers didn’t sell their textbooks out of the country, the textbooks in the United States would be higher because publishers aren’t making the revenue that they want, Beaulieu states.

A possible reason why publishers sell textbooks at an increased price is to offset the reduced sales volume. Textbooks add up its cost due to paper, printing, and editorial services along with figuring out marketing cost, administrative cost, and general cost. Publishers roughly walk away with 10 percent of the books cost per sale and publishers under contract can get up to 20 percent of the sales cost.

From a publisher’s perspective, they are trying to expand their sales to decrease the price and still maximize their profit but figuring out the sweet spot could be hard. In recent years, inflation has also played a role in society contributing to rising textbook prices.

For bookstores, they only buy back about 50 percent of student books because if they can’t sell it back to students, the textbook is considered a loss due to having to sell it to dealers for less or get destroyed. At the end of the day, bookstores usually break even on making profit from new books, used books, and the rental of books.

The Impact on Students and Families:

Students that couldn’t afford or didn’t buy a textbook would resort to borrowing/sharing with other students in the class but typically get lower grades and be less organized according to Beaulieu.

Ronald Mmopi, a second-year student getting into computer science at CSU, has a budget every year and typically doesn’t buy newer textbooks. Mmopi would share textbooks with classmates that have it because he thinks that “it is like a waste of money” to him.

If the textbook is necessary for the class, he would buy previous editions of the book from third party sellers and check newer editions to see if the content varies from classmates. After the semester is over, he would generally keep the textbook as a remembrance and look back on if he did need reference from the textbook in the future.

Ava Barbaris, a fourth-year student getting into zoology, likes that her textbooks are mainly online because they are a lighter load in her backpack, ease of accessibility, and the convenience factor. “For professors, it ensures that everyone is learning from the same book, working along with the same practice problems, and provides an easy resource to look back on for students on essays citation and studying for exams,” Barbaris said.

Barbaris’s take on newer editions is that it is important for her because in zoology, science is always growing so she hopes that it is always the newest edition. “You need the required textbooks and if you don’t have them, you won’t be able to pass the class,” Barbaris said.

Jocelyn Howard, a freshman at CSU getting into equine science with pre-vet, thinks that textbooks should be included in the tuition when registering for the class. Howard’s personal preference is having the physical textbook as it may include real life references that are included in the sidenotes of books but could be costly, therefore she does search around in the used textbook market.

Since this is her first semester transitioning from high school to college, she didn’t have to pay for textbooks before. To cope with this, if Howard finds a verified and cheaper third-party seller, she might look into buying from them. Along with purchasing a textbook in college, she possibly will try to sell it to the following semester students because to her, it doesn’t make as good of a return from selling it to the bookstore.

Potential Solutions:

In recent years, online textbooks which would help stop the second hand selling of textbooks, Beaulieu states. Online textbooks also help the overpriced sale of textbooks and provide a better experience to both professors and students.

Brittney Morgan, an assistant professor in the chemistry department at CSU, adds that newer editions sometimes have little changes with the same context but sometimes have value in using the newer editions.

To Morgan, past editions as there aren’t much difference the majority of the time unless it is a couple of years apart from the last iteration. Coming from a low-income family, she doesn’t want students to fall into the same hole and provides cheaper resources for students like online textbooks.

Online textbooks can include hyperlinks, videos, and different types of media to access the resource while being more adaptive and interactive. CSU students can buy the textbook if they want as an option, but it is now usually rolled into day one access textbook online which is cheaper.

Kerry MacFarland, general chemistry coordinator/assistant professor at CSU, states that having a required book is a good strategy to prepare students for exams even if the book isn’t really used. MacFarland believes that if the textbook is valuable in learning, it is better to pay a little extra for the education you gain from it.

Finding a balance between the cost and learning they gain from the textbook is essential for professors at CSU. Students in science are spending less now compared to back then due to online textbooks being generally cheaper and everyone would have day one access to it and the fee is automatically applied to your student fees.

One potential drawback of online textbooks is “not having something to look back on in the future,” Mmopi said. There is a possibility that students will lose access to the online textbook after the semester is over.

Bookstore:

Deana Rea, the course materials manager for the bookstore at CSU, states that the bookstore doesn’t set the pricing on the materials, that’s done by the publishers and supply vendors. The CSU Bookstore has always tried to help students save money.

CSU was one of the largest buybacks in the country, handing out over $1 million in December and May each year. Rental books were where students saved the most, and the Day One Digital Access program saved over $1 million per semester compared to print materials for students.

The reason why publishers look towards selling the book higher is because they can’t make enough to sell for every student due to variation between students’ financial standpoints. Bookstores like the CSU bookstore tend to order a certain percentage of copies for each course with statistics from past semester sales, thus why there are shortages at the beginning of semesters.

For fall and spring, research found that the sell back didn’t vary much from each other of how much students sell back their books. If the course was an elective compared to a course for their major, the book would have a 23 percent likelihood that it would be sold back.

Used books, students would resell them to the bookstore for half the price or to third-parties for a third of their price and would usually sell for 25 percent of the original price. All throughout the year, CSU buys books back at 40 percent of what the student paid for. Bookstores order through the publisher as bulk to save a bit and resell them to students.

Rea’s take on third party or secondhand books is that “it’s great that people are selling books to each other, more power to them.”

Conclusion:

For the students that couldn’t afford or didn’t buy a textbook would resort to borrowing/sharing with other students in the class but typically get lower grades and be less organized. What has been gaining popularity is having online textbooks which would help stop the second hand selling of textbooks.

Professors do get complimentary copies of the book to see if they want to adopt it for the semester. Although professors might not know the price, the student is more or less forced to purchase the textbook depending if it is required by the professor.

“Textbooks should be added to the tuition when you sign up for the course selection,” Howard said.