The vicious cycle of textbook prices — and how profs try to beat it
The Minnesota Daily explains University of Minnesota bookstore manager Bob Crabb's take on how used books help lead to higher new-book prices:
... By the third or fourth run of a volume, the sales pale in comparison (to sales of previous new editions) due to used book sales. ... The business (that) used and rental books take from new books forces publishers to raise prices, which in turn drives students to purchase more used and rental books.
Despite that, average U of M bookstore prices have actually dropped since last year, Crabb tells the paper. That's apparently due in part to professors of large class sections leveraging their buying power to secure lower-priced contracts.
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