2008 Woodie Awards
Critics say textbook companies inflate prices
Jessica Riegel/The Daily Pennsylvanian
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: The Rest
But a higher-education act recently passed by Congress asserts that students should be able to choose whether to spend more on extras by mandating that publishers offer unbundled books.
The bill also requires publishers to make pricing information available to professors, which Allen said will prevent them from unwittingly selecting expensive texts and level the playing field for cheaper books to enter the market.
However, Albert Greco, a Fordham University Graduate School of Business professor who studies publishing, said supplemental offerings, content and accuracy are professors' top considerations when selecting books - and price transparency will likely not make cost the number one criterion.
Either way, students will not feel relief until at least next year because this year's books have already been chosen.
Publishers publicly support demands for transparency - 34 states have introduced similar proposals and six have approved them - but legislative pressure is just one of many challenges they face.
Greco said publishers face big risks and high upfront printing and production costs, plus big cuts to authors and vendors, who profit from book sales. And they are increasingly losing revenue to used and black book markets.
Despite challenges, Greco added, business is still strong, which makes publishers an easy target amid college costs that are soaring across the board. "No one likes Goliath," he said.
Hildebrand said critics focus on a few "Ferrari textbooks" and ignore low-cost alternatives. Textbooks represent a tiny percent of what Penn students pay for their educations, he added.
But Allen said even publishers' "so-called lower-price" options serve to destabilize the book market and may cost more in the long run. Though customized and electronic books cost less upfront, they have no buy-back potential so students cannot find cheaper used versions or recoup cash.
Allen agreed that college is expensive all around but said publishers are the appropriate target for book prices because they abuse a system that lacks checks and balances.
"The only people publishers need to justify the price of books to are students," she said. "And students have to buy it anyway."
The bill also requires publishers to make pricing information available to professors, which Allen said will prevent them from unwittingly selecting expensive texts and level the playing field for cheaper books to enter the market.
However, Albert Greco, a Fordham University Graduate School of Business professor who studies publishing, said supplemental offerings, content and accuracy are professors' top considerations when selecting books - and price transparency will likely not make cost the number one criterion.
Either way, students will not feel relief until at least next year because this year's books have already been chosen.
Publishers publicly support demands for transparency - 34 states have introduced similar proposals and six have approved them - but legislative pressure is just one of many challenges they face.
Greco said publishers face big risks and high upfront printing and production costs, plus big cuts to authors and vendors, who profit from book sales. And they are increasingly losing revenue to used and black book markets.
Despite challenges, Greco added, business is still strong, which makes publishers an easy target amid college costs that are soaring across the board. "No one likes Goliath," he said.
Hildebrand said critics focus on a few "Ferrari textbooks" and ignore low-cost alternatives. Textbooks represent a tiny percent of what Penn students pay for their educations, he added.
But Allen said even publishers' "so-called lower-price" options serve to destabilize the book market and may cost more in the long run. Though customized and electronic books cost less upfront, they have no buy-back potential so students cannot find cheaper used versions or recoup cash.
Allen agreed that college is expensive all around but said publishers are the appropriate target for book prices because they abuse a system that lacks checks and balances.
"The only people publishers need to justify the price of books to are students," she said. "And students have to buy it anyway."
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