College Bookstores and beau coups Bucks

I remember distinctly spending a lot of money on textbooks in 1980s when I first went to college, I got my terminal degree in 2011 and realized the price of textbooks kept going up. The textbook industry in my opinion takes advantage of students; they sell high and buy back low, plus they force students to get “new” editions of textbooks all the time even though there are no significant changes in the book.

Anyway, I found the article I am about to share interesting because it comes down to what is in the best interest of the students, and I am sure saving money helps students.

“Rise of Online Booksellers Brings Complaints From Campus Bookstores”

“When the orange Chegg bus rolls onto a campus, one person is unlikely to be excited about its free swag and energy drinks: the college-bookstore manager.”

“The rise of online textbook retailers such as Chegg, Amazon, and Half.com, has put official college and university bookstores on the defensive. Once the default source of course materials, campus bookstores run by Barnes & Noble and Follett are responding to the pressure by cracking down on competitors’ on-campus advertising, which bookstores contend violates their exclusivity contracts with colleges.”

“Chegg is a nine-year-old company that offers textbook rentals and sales, along with tutoring and career services. It has irked campus officials and bookstore managers with its marketing techniques, which include recruiting students as brand ambassadors, slipping free Red Bull and Starbucks products into book-delivery packages, and buying back books on the campus, often for more money than the bookstore offers.”

“The company has received dozens of cease-and-desist letters, according to its president, Dan Rosensweig, but it has no plans to scale back its efforts.”

Read the rest here: http://chronicle.com/article/Rise-of-Online-Booksellers/148653/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

This should be interesting to watch as it unfolds…

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam