Why are college books so expensive?
Textbooks are one of the major expenses of college. According to the National Association of College Stores, students spent an average of $702 on course materials during the 2006-2007 academic year. There is some disagreement on the reasons for high prices, but they are probably the result of a combination of factors.New EditionsTextbook publishers regularly update their books to ensure that information reflects changes in the field. The practice, though, is controversial, because new editions mean price increases and a dearth of titles available on the popular used book market. Many students complain that the changes from one edition to the next are often minor.ReturnsCollege bookstores order texts based on enrollment figures. Quite often, courses fall short of their projections, or fail to run altogether, leaving significantly high numbers of books to be returned to the publishers. This extra processing adds to the ultimate price of the textbooks.Supplementary MaterialsBesides the mo
