Buying textbooks for the spring semester: $300. Selling textbooks back for the fall semester: $63. Realizing textbooks make you poorer: not worth a cent.
It is time to get to the bookstore and buy your books. Unfortunately, many students feel negatively about the process of buying and selling books at the on-campus bookstores.
'They rarely accept textbooks back,' said Gina Thelemann, a sophomore majoring in communication arts. 'Even if they do take them back, they give you back only a tiny amount of what you paid in the first place.'
The University Bookstore and the Underground Textbook Exchange, 401 Lake Street, sell used textbooks for 75 percent of the original price and are bought back from students for 50 percent of the original price, at the most. Other factors determining the amount paid for returned books include the age of the text and how much longer it will be used by university instructors.
According to Steve Scheibal, text manager at the University Bookstore, the average buy back price is 33 percent.
Jeni Weis, a recent graduate of UW-Madison, feels similarly. 'Most students don't have the opportunity to comparison shop before buying books,' Weis said. '??Also, the bookstores don't carry enough copies of used versions of books, so you have to pay full price.'
However, students should be aware that bookstores are not always responsible for high prices. Scheibal claims that prices of new textbooks are 'almost exclusively determined by the publisher.'
According to a pamphlet distributed by UW-Madison for January 2005, publishers distribute new editions with different page numbers and little enhanced material to force cheaper and older editions off the market and drive up prices.Textbook publishers also 'bundle,' or include other materials that cannot be bought separately from the book.
'It frustrates me a lot when the books are bundled with a workbook and three DVDs I don't need,' said Melissa Knudtson, a sophomore pursuing a nursing major.
Course materials are made available at campus libraries to create alternative options for students who cannot afford or do not wish to buy their textbooks. College Library allows course materials to be checked out for three hours at a time and charges two dollars per hour in late fees.
However, students may benefit by simply buying the book, expensive or not.
'I spent way too much time in the library cramming,' said Weis, of opting to check out books rather than purchasing them. 'Books were usually not in when I needed them, so I sacrificed my time and sanity trying to cram when I could get my materials.'
More positive alternatives for students include buying and selling books online, buying international editions or sharing with other students and splitting the cost.
The ease of buying and selling from other students is increased by such websites as campusbookswap.com where students make their own prices and carry out their own transactions.
Course material lists are also made available early on university department websites campus library web sites and other independent sites to allow students to browse for the best price.
