Xref: utzoo sci.math:5014 sci.physics:5049 comp.edu:1494
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ncar!ames!killer!elg
From: elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green)
Newsgroups: sci.math,sci.physics,comp.edu
Subject: Re: the high cost of text books!
Message-ID: <6346@killer.DALLAS.TX.US>
Date: 7 Dec 88 07:09:49 GMT
References: <4959@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection, Dallas, Texas
Lines: 29

in article <4959@bsu-cs.UUCP>, dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi) says:
> Xref: killer sci.math:4953 sci.physics:5165 comp.edu:1644
> In article <6304@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green)
> writes:
>>...your local bookstore gets a
>>VERY small percentage of that cover price. The reasoning of the
>>publisher is, "they have a guaranteed market and sell hundreds of the
>>things, so they don't need a big margin".
> The bookstore decides what margin it wants;  publishers have no say in
> deciding at what price a bookstore will sell textbooks.

True enough, BUT, if you look at "Books in Print", the publishers tell
you the cover price of the book, i.e. what the bookseller SHOULD sell
it for. But, since the "cover price" is nowhere on the cover of any
academic textbook, the bookseller can, indeed, sell it for any
price... just stick any old label on it.

That, of course, only works if the bookseller has no competition. What
generally happens when there IS competition, e.g. on the USL campus,
is that the competing bookstores have a "gentleman's agreement" to
keep prices high. E.g. "look, you get the Pell grant students, so just
let us charge 50 cents less than your 100% markup, and we'll be
satisfied and won't make a hassle for you with the Pell Foundation". 

--
Eric Lee Green    ..!{ames,decwrl,mit-eddie,osu-cis}!killer!elg
          Snail Mail P.O. Box 92191 Lafayette, LA 70509              
"We have treatments for disturbed persons, Nicholas. But, at least for
the moment, we have no treatment for disturbing persons." -- Dr. Island