So sad....

BaggedLancer
BaggedLancer Posts: 6,371
edited January 2008 in The Clubhouse
is the price of college textbooks.

I'm in the process of ordering my books for the last semester of school and it is definately pushing over $700 and should clear $800 by the time my last syllabus is published. Thank god this is the last semester for a long while....I'm ready to work...permanately.

YAY for American Express credit cards with 0% for a year! :D
Post edited by BaggedLancer on
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  • fatchowmein
    fatchowmein Posts: 2,637
    edited January 2008
    I hate the fact that the professors keep insisting on the latest edition so you can never buy the USED copy from the previous semester.

    Good luck! Hopefully, you can get half of that back at the end of the semester.
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  • BaggedLancer
    BaggedLancer Posts: 6,371
    edited January 2008
    fatchowmein wrote: »
    I hate the fact that the professors keep insisting on the latest edition so you can never buy the USED copy from the previous semester.

    Good luck! Hopefully, you can get half of that back at the end of the semester.

    I won't even get a 1/4 back. Most of them are specially prepared "custom" textbooks for the class by the professor and cannot be reused.
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited January 2008
    That's ridiculous!

    When I was in college, to reduce the cost of textbooks, sometimes I either shared a book (with a cute coed, of course), bought it used, bought the previous edition, or didn't buy one at all. (Before you ask, my mediocre grades had nothing to do with it. :)) This was pre-Internet, so today professors should make all of their reading assignments available on-line.
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  • bobman1235
    bobman1235 Posts: 10,822
    edited January 2008
    Yeah I usually waited a couple weeks into the semester to see how much I really "needed" the book. Then again, I'm not exaclty a role model for good study techniques.
    If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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  • fatchowmein
    fatchowmein Posts: 2,637
    edited January 2008
    Kinda makes the Amazon Kindle at $400 a device and $10 a book look attractive although I'd hate to see what the Periodic Table or Grey's Anatomy looks like on that screen.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited January 2008
    I feel your pain. It's the same with my textbooks too.
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  • Gaara
    Gaara Posts: 2,415
    edited January 2008
    Make sure to talk to your professors about the book, sometimes you will be surprised. Last semester I needed 3 of my books to be the latest editions. I emailed the professors and one said the last edition was fine, another said two editions ago. I paid ~$50 for one book instead of $130, and <$5 for on instead of $125.
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  • Mike682
    Mike682 Posts: 2,074
    edited January 2008
    fatchowmein wrote: »
    I hate the fact that the professors keep insisting on the latest edition so you can never buy the USED copy from the previous semester.

    1) Textbook authors make the most amount of money on sales of the new editions. If your professor wrote the book or knows the author, then most of the time you can count on him/her wanting you to buy the newest edition.

    I had some professors that were ok with older editions and I had some who wanted the most current edition.

    2) Of course, some newer editions are really much improved over older ones

    Regardless, text prices are crazy these days
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,516
    edited January 2008
    Amazing, and a big joke. I remember back in the day, years and years ago my books would run $300+, back in the 80's and early 90's.
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
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  • venomclan
    venomclan Posts: 2,467
    edited January 2008
    Here is what a friend of mine did back in college:

    At the beginning of all her classes she received a syllabus detailing which chapters would be covered in her classes. She then bought the books, made photocopies of those chapters, and returned the books the next day. $300-400 in books cost her less than $25 in copies. She then schreded the copies after the classes.

    While I can see the lagality issues of this, I also do not understand the absolute raping the book companies new editions are costing students, especialy when they usually only add another author's name or useless reference to the new edition. Somewhere it has to stop.
    Venom
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  • BaggedLancer
    BaggedLancer Posts: 6,371
    edited January 2008
    venomclan wrote: »
    Here is what a friend of mine did back in college:

    At the beginning of all her classes she received a syllabus detailing which chapters would be covered in her classes. She then bought the books, made photocopies of those chapters, and returned the books the next day. $300-400 in books cost her less than $25 in copies. She then schreded the copies after the classes.

    While I can see the lagality issues of this, I also do not understand the absolute raping the book companies new editions are costing students, especialy when they usually only add another author's name or useless reference to the new edition. Somewhere it has to stop.
    Venom
    That's great but my school eliminates that in 2 ways.

    First, professors put "Assigned Reading Given in Class" in their syllabus instead of "Read Chapters 1-2".

    Second, my school has been shrink wrapping most books, both new and used, a book can only be returned if the shrink wrap is still on it.

    Unfortunately they have this game really figured out.
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  • bobman1235
    bobman1235 Posts: 10,822
    edited January 2008
    You could make a nice side business if you bought a shrink-wrap machine :)
    If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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  • venomclan
    venomclan Posts: 2,467
    edited January 2008
    Whoops doublepost.
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  • sophie
    sophie Posts: 511
    edited January 2008
    http://cgi.ebay.com/Shrink-wrap-machine_W0QQitemZ330199952628QQihZ014QQcategoryZ50955QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem:D
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  • BaggedLancer
    BaggedLancer Posts: 6,371
    edited January 2008
    I saw that....stop giving me ideas. :D
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2008
    Think of all the beer and pizza you could buy instead.
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  • BaggedLancer
    BaggedLancer Posts: 6,371
    edited January 2008
    RuSsMaN wrote: »
    Think of all the beer and pizza you could buy instead.

    That's enough pizza and beer for atleast a semester. :o I just wish we could drink in class, sometimes I need it.
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  • bobman1235
    bobman1235 Posts: 10,822
    edited January 2008
    BaggedLancer wrote: »
    That's enough pizza and beer for atleast a semester. :o I just wish we could drink in class, sometimes I need it.

    Jesus, you buy all your textbooks AND you don't drink in class? What are you, a Boy Scout?
    If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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  • BaggedLancer
    BaggedLancer Posts: 6,371
    edited January 2008
    Oooo it's OK to drink in class bobman? I'm bringing a flask from now on.
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  • John in MA
    John in MA Posts: 1,010
    edited January 2008
    The reason those text books cost so much is because you can hollow them out for bottles of tasty beverages.
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  • BaggedLancer
    BaggedLancer Posts: 6,371
    edited January 2008
    I'm waiting for a professor to tell me no coffee allowed in class....then I'm gonna flip. :D
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  • bobman1235
    bobman1235 Posts: 10,822
    edited January 2008
    BaggedLancer wrote: »
    Oooo it's OK to drink in class bobman? I'm bringing a flask from now on.

    Depends on what your definition of OK is.

    I definitely had a few classes where my bottle of Coke had a little something extra in it.

    What are they going to do, kick you out?
    If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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  • Bamadude
    Bamadude Posts: 245
    edited January 2008
    I just love how books were provided by our school system before college and they somehow lasted for 5 decades before getting updated. Then, all of a sudden in college when we're paying for them they won't last two semesters. What a freakin crock!
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  • Bill Ayotte
    Bill Ayotte Posts: 1,860
    edited January 2008
    Bamadude wrote: »
    I just love how books were provided by our school system before college and they somehow lasted for 5 decades before getting updated. Then, all of a sudden in college when we're paying for them they won't last two semesters. What a freakin crock!

    I was thinking the same thing. Last semester I paid $95 for a USED book that some asshat's dog ate the corner off of, then they told me they wouldn't take it back because it was "damaged".....They can all eat something obscene and die.
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  • nms
    nms Posts: 671
    edited January 2008
    I just wince and move on. Spent over $500 on books today... Doubt I'll get 10% of that back at the end of the semester.... F*ck :(
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