AP Photo Archive
Mary Fletcher holds a copy of Ripoff 101 during a news conference about textbook gouging on the campus of Portland State University in Oregon. According to a GAO study, average students spend $900 a year on textbooks.

Textbook prices soar past inflation rates

Amanda Keisel KEI02004@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Textbook publishers engage in practices that artificially inflate textbook costs, according to a February 2005 study by the Student State Public Interest Research Groups.

The study is called “Ripoff 101: How the Publishing Industry’s Practices Needlessly Drive Up Textbook Costs.”

The State PIRGs conducted an expanded survey of the most widely purchased textbooks at 59 colleges and universities across the country, according to their Web site, www.maketextbooksaffordable.com.

“Overall, the expanded survey uncovered more evidence that textbook prices are a significant part of college costs, that textbook prices are rising at a fast pace, and that publishers use a variety of tactics to inflate the cost of textbooks,” according to the Web site.

These tactics include bundling: charging Americans more than students in other countries and putting out needless new editions.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released their investigative report prompted by the PIRG’s study about a month ago.  It confirmed the PIRG’s findings.

The average American student spends $900 a year on textbooks. “Textbooks and supplies as a percentage of tuition and fees is 26 percent for a full-time student attending a four-year public institution, 72 percent for a full-time student attending a two-year public institution and eight percent at a four-year private institution,” according to the GAO report.

Textbook prices are increasing at more than four times the inflation rate for all finished goods, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index.

“The wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994, while prices charged for all finished goods increased only 14 percent,” according to the Web site.

According to the study, half of the textbooks surveyed were bundled or shrink-wrapped with extra materials like CD-ROMs and workbooks, a practice that happens frequently at BYU-Idaho.

Bundling drives the cost of text books up by an average of 10 percent, and in some cases, up to 47 percent.

“Publishers say they have increased investments in developing supplements in response to demand from instructors,” according to the report by the GAO.

However, according to the PIRG’s study, two-thirds of faculty surveyed rarely or never use the bundled items.

The logical solution would be to buy the books unbundled. Unfortunately that’s not an option with more than half of the textbooks.

“Fifty-five percent were not available for students to purchase a la carte, in which the textbook is available without the add-on materials,” according to the Web site.

The average surveyed book puts out a new edition every three years. New editions cost 45 percent more than the used, older version costs, on average, according to the study, and make used textbooks less available. 

On top of all of the price raising, 76 percent of faculty surveyed said that the new editions are justified only halfthe time or less.

The study also found that students in the United States pay, on average, 20 percent more for the books surveyed than students in the United Kingdom. 

Thomson Learning’s Web site, www.thomson.com/learning, lists its prices for books in the United States, as well as overseas. 

For the books in our survey, Thomson Learning charges U.S. students 72 percent more, on average, than it does students in the U.K., Africa and Middle East,” the State PIRG said.

“The price of a U.S. textbook may differ when the book is sold in other countries primarily because publishers price their textbooks in order to compete in local markets,” according to the GAO report.

According to the study, textbook prices are less a bookstore’s fault, and more the publisher’s fault. However, the universities can help.

“Universities should help make used books available by sponsoring on-campus and online book swaps, campus rental programs and other means,” the Web site said.

Students can access links on the Web site to e-mail the Association of American Publishers or submit letters to the editor to large newspapers throughout the country.

In response to the report, the Association of American Publishers wrote a letter to the GAO detailing their concerns about the report.

“While we found some aspects of the report to be insightful, we are seriously concerned about the accuracy and overall tone and balance of the draft report,” said the association. “We believe the editorial style of the draft report suggests GAO advocacy for used books and used booksellers rather than providing a factual analysis of the industries.”

The report is available online at www.maketextbooksmoreaffordable.com.