Buying bargain books

With this year’s economy demanding many students to dive into what savings they have for everything from gas to tuition, it’s no wonder most are looking for the best deals when it comes to textbooks.

But some Utah State University professors worry students may be costing themselves more money in the end by buying used textbooks from the university bookstore, Internet sites and local vendors.

The cost increase for college textbooks is due in part to inflation, said David Lancy, a sociology, social work and anthropology professor. Yet, the exponential growth of the used textbook industry is having a larger impact on price increases, he said.

“Ultimately, it’s the students that will suffer,” Richley Crapo, a sociology, social work and anthropology professor, said, adding the buyback industry “makes [students] pay twice as much.”

In the past, publishers had up to 10 years to recover the costs of issuing a textbook, Crapo said, yet with the buyback industry in full swing, many publishers are trying to recoup costs in as short as a few semesters. To do so, publishers need to increase the price of their products to cover costs and make a profit to continue to stay in business, he said, and therefore they issue a new edition every three years or so.

Increased prices aren’t an isolated result of the buyback industry. Many publishing companies have gone out of business or have been absorbed by another firm, Lancy said, resulting in fewer book options for professors to choose from as course material.

There used to be enough variations in textbooks to fit a personal curriculum, Lancy, who has authored six books and working on his seventh, said, but “that’s pretty much gone by the wayside.”

“You can’t make it unless you go for the whole enchilada,” he said.

However, for students like Beckie Sheffield, a senior majoring in English, purchasing used textbooks is saving her money she can use for housing and tuition costs. Sheffield said she buys, on average, 20 books per semester, costing her about $300.

“[Used textbooks] are cheaper and sometimes it’s good to read other people’s comments they write in,” she said about her reasons for buying used books.

The USU Bookstore derives 40 percent of its profits from used textbooks, Susan Miller, curriculum materials manager at the bookstore, said.

“I’m a fan of used books,” Miller, who has worked in the bookstore for eight years, said. “I realize there needs to be new [textbooks] in order to [have] used. I think there needs to be a balance, too. The biggest reason we engage in it, is that it is what the students want.”

The Bookstore actively tries to find used textbooks to sell students because that is what the market demands, Miller said. The bookstore contacts companies over several months trying to locate the most used books to have shipped to the university, she said. And it works. Through this active textbook hunting, the percentage of profits the bookstore derives from the buyback industry is twice as high as the national average, she said.

“It means we’re doing a good job and we’re proud of that,” she said.

Another avenue students may take is buying used books from Aggie Books. Aggie Books buys back textbooks from students as well as searches for used textbooks from other venues, Jared Fisher, co-owner, said. Fisher said he doesn’t agree with the high prices publishing companies sell textbooks for or the number of editions issued.

“It’s absolutely unfair for the consumer,” he said about the frequent and multiple editions. “It’s absolutely ridiculous.”