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