They need to start putting textbook pdf's on the torrent sites. That will bring the prices down.

And Flojo, I'll pay for the textbooks if you can overnight me some Rosario's food. That place was like a religious experience.

 

"They" could be you

I'm a seeder and leecher, not a creator of torrents either. But you're right, it is a serious racket that needs to be broken up.

 

see my posts above, facts don't change. I have used old text books and still did well in classes.

text books are good for as long as no new facts were discovered. I think my Calculus book is still valid, 20 years later. As far as I know, George Washington was the first US prez, unless you know something I don't.
you can't read a car and you can't drive a text book. what's your point?

Are you saying that a business is not allowed to "maximize its profit", is there a new law I don't know about? it's a free country, no one holding a gun to your head.

 

buy them used on amazon and re-sell them and you don't take a big loss

 

The thing is, George Washington may have been the first president, but this isn't first grade.

I haven't been lectured on presidents in ANY of my history classes up until this semester, since, probably, 6-7th grade (if that). And in my history class this semester, his mideterm and final are based 99.9% off of his lectures, not the book, anyways.

The things the teachers lecture on have to do with THAT edition, and that edition only. So if you want to keep up in class, you need to buy the edition they are using (most of the time).

 

I wanted to add to the rant:

Our school now offers "student value editions" which aren't bound, and cost maybe $20 less.

Accept then you can even sell them back

 

Quite honestly, why the complaint on the cost of textbooks but no complaint on the cost of sitting in a room for an hour or two while some idiot reads out of the book you already bought? The professor for my last programming class would put a slide of the book page on the screen and proceed to read it aloud to the class. Then go to the next slide. WTF am I there at 8:00 AM if I already own the book?!?

The assumption is the information in the book is worth no more than the paper it's printed on, but if that's the case, why spend thousands on college classroom time? How is that time worth more than time spent drinking rum and cokes in the sun?

Yeah, the books are expensive. It's always been that way. That's why you always try to buy used if possible.

 

very good point. my us history prof read straight from the book (verbatim). it was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life, but it was good at times when I needed to catch up on work for other classes....

 

Bought a brand new $300 economics textbook. Returned it last week and the cashier could tell I never even opened the book. They gave me $50 for it..

 

You're right, however most of my classes purposefully used the textbooks in some manner, homework, projects, etc. I can also understand using older texbooks in general ed classes but once you get to core classes it's a little harder to use a 20 year old textbook. Some of them teach straight out of the textbook.

A textbook business can do w/e it want's I'm aware of this free country you speak of. However, maximizing profits is not always in the best interest of the student. This doesn't help the already shitty education system in this country.