Xref: utzoo sci.math:4998 sci.physics:5029 comp.edu:1488
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!gauss.rutgers.edu!math.rutgers.edu!bumby
From: bumby@math.rutgers.edu (Richard Bumby)
Newsgroups: sci.math,sci.physics,comp.edu
Subject: Re: the high cost of text books!
Message-ID: 
Date: 5 Dec 88 16:57:16 GMT
References: <278@heurikon.UUCP> <6304@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> <4959@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Reply-To: bumby@math.rutgers.edu (Richard Bumby)
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 37


In article <4959@bsu-cs.UUCP> dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi) writes:

> 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 bookstore decides what margin it wants;  publishers have no say in
> deciding at what price a bookstore will sell textbooks.

Actually both are right.  Until very recently, the publishers marked
the retail price on the book and offered the bookstore a discount from
that price.  The latest trend is to sell to everyone at the same price
and let the store decide on its price.  This means that you should be
able to order direct from the publisher at the wholesale price.  In
some cases this is possible, but it is more likely that the publisher
will deal with the public through its own retail outlet.  The real
effect of this is that the stores now treat all prices as wholesale
prices, e.g. the Rutgers store sells Spivak's "Joy of TeX" for $42.70
on those rare occasions when it is in stock, but you can order it from
the AMS for $25 if you are a member (and not that much more if you
are not).  Similarly, when I used some modules from COMAP for a
course, the store sold them for between $2 and $2.50 apiece when they
were advertised as available for $1. each.  The store can only meet
its operating expenses through the markup on what it sells, and there
is no better way to get a Calculus book into the hands of thousand
diverse students scattered around the campus, but the lower volume
stuff needs a different method of distribution.



-- 

--R. T. Bumby ** Math ** Rutgers ** New Brunswick **
(in one form or another for all kinds of mail)
[bumby@math.rutgers.edu]