Ordering books online can lower student spending

Pitt students are not alone in feeling the stress of unloading an entire paycheck on textbooks at the beginning of each semester.

Over the last decade, prices of textbooks have outpaced inflation in the U.S.

According to a June report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, prices of new, print textbooks increased about 82 percent between 2002 and 2012. Overall, consumer prices rose about 28 percent during the same time period.

The report pointed out that students could also use alternatives to new books — including used books, e-books or rentals — which tend to cost less than new printed books. 

“However, the price of new print books often drives the prices of other items,” the report states.

Andi Sporkin, a spokeswoman for the Association of American Publishers, declined to comment on patterns in the prices of textbooks because she did not have access to information on what individual publishers charge.

For students, weighing the available options for textbook purchases can be difficult. Bigwords.com, which was launched in 2001, is one price-comparison site for textbooks. 

“What we do is scrape the inventory of about 40 different retailers and renters out there,” said Bigwords CEO Jeff Sherwood. “We calculate the cheapest combo. We show students where to buy their books; we don’t actually sell any.” 

After working in the textbook industry for more than a decade, Sherwood pinpointed a few reasons why college textbooks are significantly more expensive than most fiction and non-fiction books available in stores.

“There is a captured market,” Sherwood said. “Once the professor decides that they are going to require the book, the students are required to purchase that book.  [University bookstores] don’t deal with as much volume as the online stores do. They have to maintain a higher margin.”

Overhead costs for university bookstores include rent, which can be expensive, he added. Bookstores also tend to have a lot of employees, whom they have to pay.

“Ninety-five percent of the time, it was better for students to get a good deal on a used textbook and then sell it back at the end of the year,” Sherwood said.

He also said he would recommend that students purchase books online rather than the bookstore, regardless of whether they use a price-comparison site like his own. 

The University Store on Fifth was not able to comment. University officials and representatives from the bookstore could not compile responses to The Pitt News’ questions prior to deadline.

Sporkin said publishers have moved beyond the “10-pound, $200, one-size-fits-all textbook” in favor of customized and digital materials to improve students’ chances of success.

Some publishers within the Association of American Publishers offer bundle packages that include access to the textbook, as well as online software that allows students to get help and work through exercises at their own pace while receiving individualized feedback. 

According to the June report, some instructors are also posting their own materials online in order to reduce the costs students must pay for books. 

One instructor cited in the Government Accountability Office’s report said that he posted his own lab manual online for his students. Instead of paying $50 or $60 for the manual, his students had to pay only about $10 in printing fees.

While search engines and price-comparison sites exist for students who need to compare prices for assigned textbooks, Sporkin said instructors don’t have any such resources to aid their search in deciding which materials best suit their courses.

She said she was not in a position to answer questions on what such a resource would look like.

“The missing piece of the puzzle across the board in higher education is there’s no single way to find what you’re looking for,” Sporkin said. 

News Editor Gideon Bradshaw contributed to this report.