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Old 11-18-2011, 12:37 AM   #13
BWinmill
Nameless Being
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by teh603 View Post
Print publishers realizing any kind of responsibility?
That depends upon the publisher. But since we're talking about textbook publishers, I will wholeheartedly agree.

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"On Lease" simply means they get to re- sell it every semester at full price if a student ever needs to refer back to it. $100 now, and $100 every four months.
From what I've heard, electronic textbooks are somewhat cheaper than their print version but the student gets to resell the print one (or keep it). I remember buying used textbooks for about 30% of what they cost new, electronic textbooks will never approach that price point. I have also sold textbooks for 70% of what they cost new. Even with electronic textbooks costing less, the resale value means that they are still ahead with print textbooks. That, and reselling textbooks helps out other businesses. (In my school's case, it was the student's union. That kept their dues lower, saving student's even more money.)


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And yes, the kids will have to buy it; what's to stop the textbook companies from providing a list of who *hasn't* bought it to the prof for harassment?
Believe it or not, most profs hate textbook publishers and many will go out of their way to ensure that textbooks will be useful across courses while accommodating for differences in old editions. A few will even suggest alternative books if the student wants something more advanced or if a group of students wish to pool a collection of different titles to share (i.e. there is no expectation that you will buy what is on the course outline). The only exception to that rule was a prof who wrote the textbook that he was using and demanded that everyone has their own copy. Then again, I had another prof who wrote the course textbook and gave students permission to photocopy it.

So yeah, I think that electronic textbooks will end up being a bad option for students. But I don't think that profs are as evil as you were implying.

Last edited by BWinmill; 11-18-2011 at 12:37 AM. Reason: Fixed markup.
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