The Industry Of Textbooks And North American System
If knowledge is power, then books are the most powerful resource on this earth. Still, what are the origins of the books that we know today? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a book is “a set of written sheets of skin or paper or tablets of wood or ivory” that contain information’s, stories … Scrolls and codex of ancient Egyptians are considered the oldest version of what humans consider it is a book. It evolves during the centuries from until what we know now. Today there is even an industry of books, especially on the North American style of education. The problem in that industry is that the price is very high and there are only five major publishers where they monopolize over 80% of the industry. So why the price of textbooks of the North American style of education is expensive? What are those publishers doing to maintain those prices high and what are the alternatives to this problem?
Textbooks are the core of a university course; in fact, these textbooks give you an idea about the content of a specific course in addition to sources to prepare for that specific course. According to The National Association of College Stores, “an average college student spent about $655 on textbooks each year” and it does not seem to be decreasing in fact that according to Business Insider article “Textbook costs rose 67% from 2008 to 2018”. Students tend to complain about those high prices of textbooks to publishers but those claim that they are not the main reasons why those prices are high. Indeed, they claim that they only get one-fifth of every textbook sold and that all the rest go to the publisher. They also justify their one fifth by all the fees that they generate from printing, publishing, advertising and so on. Therefore, the main reasons why those texts books are very expensive is that the original publisher chooses to. Sometimes, professors who wrote a book force their students to buy their expensive books to make profits. Yet, not all professors know about the prices of the textbooks that they assign to their students; in truth that they rather focus on the quality and content of a textbook rather than its price. As Libby Nelson said, “College textbooks are like prescription drugs” When a doctor is advising you medicine, they try to give you the best one without looking if there is a less costly alternative. The person making a prescription is not the one who is buying it. Therefore, the teacher that is giving you a book is not the one that will buy it. Surely, the prices of these textbooks are high; however, why are those prices still high?
Historically, students tended to avoid buying new textbooks by purchasing or renting a used one. Therefore, the five main publisher that own over 80% of the industry (Pearson Education, Scholastic, McGraw-Hill Education, Cengage Learning, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) decided to riposte by many was such as: In one research, 67% of the students avoid the purchase of schools textbooks because of the increasing prices and restrictive code. In addition, every five years there is a fresh edition revision; nonetheless, it is only now between two and three years for every new edition. What makes those new editions a problem is a fact that they are doing their best to make it hard for the students to use old ones. For instance, flipping the pages, reordering the chapters, or even changing the design that makes it hard to use different editions in one single class. Not to mention that sometimes the new edition can cost until more than $150 compared to the older ones. Textbooks editors are trying to find new ways to get more money from textbooks such as releasing international editions. It is unwise to think that a single book can suit all the students all over the world. The price of those international textbooks might even triple from the original version. For these reasons, students avoid buying new textbooks.
Students are finding new solutions to avoid buying textbooks such as: skipping buying it, using e-books, using old ones or even sharing the price of one book with your friend. “The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, progressive research, and advocacy organization, found in a survey that 65 percent of college students had at some point decided against buying a college textbook due to its high price”. Sometimes students are even scarifying their meals for it. Much like the airplanes flies comparator where you can find the cheapest one to your destination; there is also one for books. However, buying an E-book is much cheaper than buying an actual textbook, which makes it an alternative. “A quick review of a textbook retailer will show that the online version of a textbook can be up to 60% cheaper than its printed equivalent, but that is not the only factor to consider.” However, students admitted that if the price of textbooks were affordable ($20-$40), they would buy a print version even if the online one could be free. Used textbooks industry is real, according to a study made in 2018, “67% of college student buy used textbooks and 55% of students rent or have rented textbooks or course materials.” There are many ways to find well-used textbooks such as buying it directly from an old student, libraries and finally buy it online. The most popular websites to buy used textbooks according to students are BookFinder, Bookbyte, and Amazon. Finally, students might even share a textbook if its price is too high.
The industry of textbooks is using the North American style of education to get the most profit possible. In fact, only five major publishers own more than 80% of the industry and making the price rise in an unbelievable way. Defending their self by telling that they are not the main actors to decide the price of a textbook. Even so, they are doing their best to keep the prices high. On the other hand, students are looking for new ways to avoid those unfordable prices.
References
- Echevarria, G. (2018, December 04). Almost 80% of the textbook industry is dominated by 5 publishing companies that make books so expensive most students skip buying them. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/why-college-textbooks-expensive-textbook-publishing-2018-12
- Valle, G. D. (2019, March 06). A single college textbook can cost more than $100. It didn't use to be this way. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/3/6/18252322/college-textbooks-cost-expensive-pearson-cengage-mcgraw-hill
- Weissmann, J. (2013, January 07). Why Are College Textbooks So Absurdly Expensive? Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/why-are-college-textbooks-so-absurdly-expensive/266801/
