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September 12, 2006
Textbooks add to cost of higher education
Looking frazzled, large white bag in hand, a student exits the Hamline bookstore. “Four hundred dollars, and I still have another book to buy,” she says. For the senior behind her, $400 is pretty average. Nonchalantly, she holds up her psychology book, saying that at $130, it was her most expensive book this semester.
Textbooks account for roughly four to five percent of a Hamline student’s school costs, according to David Young, who has leased the bookstore through the university for the past 18 years. “I think that textbook prices have taken a jump in the past four or five years.”
Most new books that arrive at the bookstore either come with a suggested retail price. The bookstore has to abide to these prices within a set percentage range, as the contract states. “There are a lot of things beyond our control,” said Young.
The amount of used books in stock is something Young is proud of. Used books yield the biggest profit for the bookstore. “They’re our biggest department, by far,” said Young.
Approximately seventy percent of the store’s business comes from books alone, bringing in about one million dollars a year. Clothing earns the store at least $100,000, while supplies generally yield a profit between $50,000 to $80,000 each year.
For years, students have been looking for ways to beat the system of costly textbooks. A common method is to form groups that circulate books directly student-to-student, not bookstore-to-student. With online networking like Facebook, finding people to share books becomes much easier. The Facebook group “SAVE $$-Buy/Sell/Trade books with Hamline Students” boasts 144 members.
The internet has also become a tool for students to search for their books at cheaper price by using websites such as Amazon.com or E-bay. Buying from a third party can be risky, though. Young said, “Return policies are not the same. You may not have much of a recourse.” Sophomore Nicole Linngren said, “Buying online might be cheaper, but you might not get your books until two months into class. You need them a week into class.”
Occasionally, book prices become too much for students to handle. Assistant manager Jason Schellack said, “In the past we’ve had to call security to take customers away who were so upset about the price of books.” This year has been better, as Schellack reported, “no one is yelling at us about the price of books.” Additionally, there have been no reports of theft, according to Schellack.
“Are textbooks really expensive? Yeah, they are. Is higher education really expensive? Yeah, it is.”
Posted by dwright at September 12, 2006 03:57 PM
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