Textbooks: Buying, Renting, and Saving
With only a few weeks left in the fall semester, the classes of spring 2010 are rapidly approaching. Along with this comes a process that is too familiar to college students: buying textbooks. The total cost of buying even a few books can amount to the equivalent to purchasing a new 32GB iPod Touch and about 60 songs, 134 gallons of gasoline, or about 68 pizzas (not including a tip for the delivery guy). Especially while working with a tight budget, college students must put forth extra effort if they want to salvage as much money as possible for these extra necessities.
In order to find the best deals on textbooks that are required, try comparing the prices of multiple retailers both in-store and online. To illustrate how much costs can vary, the prices of two textbooks were compared between The Husson Bookstore, Half.com, and Chegg.com. The Husson Bookstore and Half.com sell both new and used textbooks while Chegg.com primarily rents textbooks via mail. Chegg.com also gives its renters the option of buying rented books at the end of the rental period rather than returning the book.
The book Mind on Statistics by Jesica M. Utts, R. F. Heckard, and Robert F. Heckard, is the required textbook for the class Probability and Statistics. The full retail price for this book in new condition is listed as $183.25 at The Husson Bookstore. It is also available in used condition for $137.50. On Half.com, this same book is listed for $85.00 in brand new condition and as low as $42.00 in good condition. On Chegg.com, this book can be rented for one semester for $31.49.
The book required for Anatomy and Physiology I, titled Anatomy & Physiology by Elaine Nicpon Marieb, Katja Hoehn, and Katja N. Hoehn, is available for $180.75 in new condition at The Husson Bookstore, as well as $135.75 in used condition. On Half.com, it is available for $127.56 in brand new condition and as low as $76.95 listed in very good condition. It is also available for rent on Chegg.com for $62.99 for one semester.
With such a noticeable difference in prices, one would wonder why students don’t simply get all of their textbooks from either Half.com or Chegg.com. When Follett, the company that owns The Husson Bookstore, was asked how prices for textbooks are decided upon, Elio Distaola, Follett’s Director of Campus Relations, replied by saying, “Textbook selling prices follow a very simple model…and are determined by the cost from publishers and by the contract that Follett has with the college or university. New textbooks for which the publisher has a suggested selling price, i.e., a list price, are sold at that price. New books that have no list or preprinted price are sold at an agreed upon margin between the institution and Follett. Used textbooks are usually sold at a 25% discount from the selling price of the new book.”
For some students, though, getting their textbooks in a timely manner has priority over its cost. “I bought my books at The Husson Bookstore because of the convenience,” said Tim Ferris, a sophomore at NESCom. “I did not do research, but I intend to next semester.”
Not all teachers insist on their students buying text books for their classes, however. “I don’t want to ask my students to buy a textbook unless it’s going to absolutely benefit them,” said Mark Nason, WHSN’s Program Director and professor of radio classes at NESCom. “We have found books in the past but they [don’t] keep up with evolving technology.” Since Nason does not use a text book for any of his classes, he has found that he is required to do some more footwork than if he did. “I have taken bits and pieces, whether it is articles or chapters here or there…and put [them] in [handouts] rather than require the students to buy a textbook.” This way, learning content stays fresh and students can keep up to date with what is going on in the radio world.
It seems without fail that every semester, a professor is accused of requiring a text book for their class which ends up being a waste of money when it is not used at all or is not used to an extent to justify its purchase. Professor James Passinisi is one professor who falls under the fire of such accusations. When Passinisi was asked about his 20th Century American History class and the textbook that is said to be hardly used, he elaborated further on his point of view by saying, “You can’t require students to do the reading even if it’s assigned,” he said. “I use the book to give the students a different view from what I say in class…[but]… I can’t look over everyone’s shoulder to make sure that it is being done.” When asked if he believed whether a student could succeed in his class without purchasing or having access to the required textbook, Passinisi replied by saying, “If they were extremely motivated, but I think it would be challenging…Depends on the student.” He also added that he takes into consideration the price of the book and encourages his students on the first day of class to look at alternative sources to find a cheap copy. To give them a sort of leeway, he provides copies of the first few chapters and hands them out to the students, for as long as copyright permissions will allow, to give them time to have the book shipped to them.
Before fully committing to buy from an alternative source, students should understand that it is not completely fool-proof. “A problem with buying from an alternative source is they don’t always come with the CDs that may be required for the classes,” said Husson student Kylie Cleary. “[And] sometimes it’s hard to find the edition you need.”
In ideal situations, some students may not even need to buy a textbook at all for a class they will be taking this coming spring semester. Professors have the option of leaving a textbook, whether it is theirs or an additional copy that they have, on reserve in the library for students to use. “Professors do [this] sometimes because there aren’t enough copies in the bookstore or they are too expensive and are giving the students a break,” said Husson University Library Director Amy Averre. “However it the professor’s decision to put it on reserve, not ours… If a student wants a teacher to put a book on reserve, they need to ask the professor.” Even though this could amount to big savings for students, students also need to take into consideration that they won’t be the only one needing to use the book. “It’s not always convenient,” said Kylie Cleary, “because other students might have them out.” Not all professors may be aware of this option, so if a student would like to find out about this being a possibility, they should get in contact with their professors as soon as possible so they know whether or not they will be needing to purchase or rent a textbook of their own.
article by Christopher Esterguard
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