A Report on the Feasibility of Textbook Rental - IBHE

“But now let’s assume the first semester students sell their textbooks back to the bookstore at theend of the semester. The bookstore may buy them for $20 and sell them as used books for $70each. The textbook publisher sells only 250 copies of the text, but still has the fixed costs of$50,000. It must now spread this $50,000 over only 250 texts. Thus, just the fixed cost price ofthe text has jumped to $200. Even selling it at cost to the bookstore means the bookstore will sellit to the student at $267. This assumes a conservative 25% markup by the bookstore.“Now we can see what is happening. The expansion of the used textbook market has contributedsignificantly to the increase in the price of new textbooks. While students think they are “saving”money by selling their texts and/or buying used texts they are, in fact, making the problemworse.”This is not a matter of pointing fingers but of perspective. Follett is a used book dealer and makes greaterprofits on used books than on new books and, as would be expected, supports practices that increase thesale of used books. Publishers have fixed costs that can be recovered solely through the sale of newcourse materials so, of course, they are supportive of the sale of their new products.LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES ON TEXTBOOK COSTSConnecticut• Page 19, para. 1 – The recap of the Connecticut law is incorrect. House Bill 5527 requirespublishers to make the wholesale price of products available to faculty. Publishers cannotprovide the price of course materials at the bookstore, as bookstores markup publisher productsdifferently.Virginia• Page 20, para. 1 – The law does not say “employees…may not benefit financially from theselection of required textbooks.” It stipulates that “No employee at a Virginia public college oruniversity shall demand or receive any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money,services or anything, present or promised, as an inducement for requiring students to purchase aspecific textbook required for coursework or instruction; with the exception that the employeemay receive (i) sample copies, instructor's copies, or instructional material, not to be sold; and(ii) royalties or other compensation from sales of textbooks that include such instructor's ownwriting or work. Please note the stipulation that sample texts are not to be sold. The sale ofsamples is an insidious process that increases the price of textbooks.• Page 20, #2, – The law does not say that textbooks must be made available separately from othermaterials. The Virginia guidelines state, “If the faculty member does not intend to use each itemin the bundled package, he shall notify the bookstore, and the bookstore shall order theindividualized items when their procurement is cost effective for both institutions and studentsand such items are made available by the publisher.”• Page 20, #5 – House Bill 1478 does not require sample copies be available. Rather, it states,“provisions for the availability of required textbooks to students otherwise unable to afford thecost.”Washington• Page 20, para 1 – “The five primary provisions…are.” -- For clarity, we suggest you change thisto read: “The five primary provisions, which apply only to bookstores, are:”• Page 20, #2 – This requirement is obsolete because differences between editions are already listedin the foreword of textbooks.-78-