An Unhealthy System

In a free market economy, when one's choices are not significantly limited by external forces, competition exists, usually pushing quality up and holding prices within the realm of the reasonable. But when it comes time each term to buy textbooks, students do not have the luxury of choice; it is the professors who decide what we buy. And what students buy consistently breaks the bank.

Since most university bookstores are owned and operated by the universities themselves, profits go straight back to the school administration. According to the College Stores Research and Education Foundation, this contribution averages 12% of the retail textbook price. Silly me for thinking that I was already paying for my college education by sending in the tuition check. Can you also imagine what the school administrators could do to the textbook retail price? The Physical Plant could paint a lot of yellow, webbed feet with 12% of the bookstore profits.

"Only a handful of university bookstores operate independently of the schools," said Jim Williams, General Manager of the University of Oregon bookstore said. The UO bookstore just happens to be one of those independent operators. As such, they do not answer to the school administration, nor do they set the prices for the retail sales. Instead, the prices are fixed based on what the textbook publishers charge the stores. The 25% markup for retail sale is spent on the operating costs of the bookstore, with an average of 3.2%, in contrast to the 25% average of university-controlled stores, left over as profit. However, we as students receive a 10% discount at the bookstore. Choke on this the next time you shell out $73 for a Discrete Mathematics textbook: The bookstore actually lost money on that transaction. Don't break out the Kleenex yet. That loss is subsidized by other merchandising like clothing and food. The Rose Bowl last year did not hurt one bit.

The textbook publishers need to pay for authors, editors, a sales and marketing staff and production costs. This adds up quickly, and the cost is passed on to you. But the publishers make this investment without knowing if professors are even going to order the books. The production costs of each book not ordered must be paid for by raising the price of the books that are. Again, the bookstore has nothing to do with this part of the process. It is simply inherent in a system that according to Williams, "...isn't really a healthy one."

What better way to entice someone who will not have to pay one penny to order your book than to include lots of extra stuff? This extra stuff includes study guides, computerized test banks, quizzes, lecture notes, overhead transparencies and production-quality video case studies. Since professors only choose one book for the class, textbook publishers need to make up for a significant financial loss if their book is not chosen. "The more popular the class, the more stuff you get," marketing professor Mark Elton said. "Books in the second or third edition are less complete. By the ninth edition, you get the whole package."

The only time most students feel they are getting a good deal at the bookstore is when they buy used books. But that is one of the main reasons textbooks cost so much in the first place. When current editions of textbooks are not reordered, the publishers will undoubtedly push for professors to use new editions, meaning more expensive graphics and more revisions, whether they are necessary or not. How much can calculus, accounting or the history of the Civil War change over the years? "The new book business never realized the used book market... students buying used books today drive up new book prices for the next edition," Williams said. No one will ever exclusively buy new books in order to help out future students. Remember, this is an unhealthy system.

Is it worth it? Do you as a student feel as though the value you derive from your textbooks outweighs the cost? "I think if it makes the book more readable or accessible, it's worth the investment," Elton said. Then again, he is on the side that makes decisions with our money, while getting the books for free. It's doubtful many students would choose a textbook filled only with text over a book with graphics, maps and charts. But are the hundreds of four-color transparencies and libraries of video tapes that are often included in the package really necessary? What is left for the professor to do? Conceivably, if quizzes, tests and lecture notes are all provided by the publisher of the textbook, at the students' expense, a professor would only need to read the notes once in awhile and grade a few exams. Unless, of course, a GTF were employed to grade papers. That would cut the workload in half.

If students feel that a professor's choice of reading material for the class creates an unnecessary financial burden, they could try reminding him that he does not have to pay for the book and that they do. Then students could complain about the book's content and quality and see if anyone listens to an undergraduate. They could carefully explain that a textbook written any time after the fall of the Roman Empire would probably suffice for a class dealing with the Roman period and that a newer edition, although colorful, would not be necessary. If all else fails, you can always organize a campaign for direct-marketing of textbooks to students and see if any publishers come to you offering free stuff.

The truth of the matter is that undergraduate students just cannot generate enough influence to change the book buying process. Whether you would prefer textbook publishers to market their product on a price or non-price basis is moot. Professors are not likely to listen to lower-classmen who might not even care about the content of the book or the class. Of the students that are concerned with their education as well as their pocketbooks, an argument can be made both for and against the multimedia experience that publishers can offer.

No argument, however, can contend with the fact that it is the students who ultimately get screwed. We are removed from the entire free market process as we are denied any significant influence over the purchasing decisions. Professors cannot be expected to make truly informed and unbiased decisions as to what the best choice of text would be when they never have to pay for the book. The system of supply and demand is irrelevant to those who foot the bill as enrollment in the University constitutes demand for a product that is marketed to someone else. When the benefits of a purely competitive marketplace are lost, prices almost assuredly go up while the question of quality is decided for, and not by, the purchaser.

Steve Tosterud is Online Editor for the Oregon Commentator