Over the past two weeks, RPI students have taken part in the semesterly ritual of purchasing textbooks. Left a little bewildered by the newfound lightness of their wallet, many students might be inclined to blame the Rensselaer Union Bookstore.
But the Bookstore is not necessarily the source of students’ light wallet blues. Last Fall the RPI Bookstore began implementing the final phase of the textbook pricing proposal. The stated purpose of the proposal according to E-Board documents was to "provide better service to students, prevent loss of current sales to online competition, and become more competitive in pricing."
Like many other campuses across the nation, over the last two years RPI has seen an aggressive advertising campaign by online textbook companies. Despite the competition, the Bookstore’s "textbook sales have risen, but the new pricing scheme may not be the only contributing factor," commented Bookstore Manager Michael McDermott.
In order to determine the competitiveness of Bookstore prices and the effectiveness of the pricing proposal, an independent textbook price checking survey was conducted. VarsityBooks.com prices were on average 10 percent higher than Bookstore prices, excluding the UPS shipping charges, which average $5.00 per book. On the other hand eCampus.com, TheStudentMarket.com, and Textbooks@cost.com prices are very competitive depending on the specific textbook. The three sites’ prices range from 10 percent above to 10 percent below Bookstore prices while offering free shipping with purchases over $100.
The cost of RPI Bookstore textbook purchases is the cost to the Bookstore plus an 18 percent operating expense charge. Unlike past years when the RPI Bookstore was a major source of income for the Rensselaer Union, textbook sales currently generate no profit.
The reason behind high textbook costs is due primarily to textbook publishers. According to the National Association of College Stores, a research organization of national college bookstores, 76 percent of a textbook’s costs is attributable to the publisher. Of the 76 percent, 32 percent goes to paper and printing costs, 15.3 percent to marketing, 11.5 percent to pay the author, 10 percent to cover operating expenses, and 7.5 percent as profit.
The NACS research estimates that the top nine textbook publishers control 80 percent of the textbook market and since 1997 the annual average textbook publishers’ price increases have exceeded the entire book publishing industry’s average price increases. Since last Spring NACS figures reveal that the average cost of a textbook rose $4.55 from $63.70 to $68.15.
When considering the small savings and shipping issues tied to ordering online, textbook prices found in the RPI Bookstore are very competitive and sometimes represent a discount for buyers.
