Does the sale of used textbooks raise the price of new textbooks?
Although some people claim that used textbooks force publishers to charge higher prices on new textbooks, NACS believes that it that it is actually the high development costs related to publishing a new textbook that keep new textbook prices high. Generally, the resale market has no impact on the price of new items. For instance, used cars sales do not effect the price of new vehicles, existing housing sales do not effect the price of new construction, and the price of clothing at resale outlets does not effect the price of new apparel in your local mall. Unfortunately, the need for higher education to stay current with changing information often requires frequent revisions of textbooks. Although this is more significant in some fields, such as science related disciplines, than in others, it is the related development costs needed to produce new textbooks that keep new textbook prices high.
