How Much Are College Book Stores Making On Textbooks?

For new textbooks, college stores typically obtain the books they sell directly from publishers. Publishers establish the amount they charge college stores for each title. College stores then establish a retail price (the amount a student pays for the textbook). The difference between what the college store paid for the textbook and the amount they charge the student is called the gross margin. This gross margin is used to cover the personnel costs, the cost of freight, and other costs related to operating the store (utilities, insurance, etc.). The average gross margin on new textbooks is currently 22.5% according to NACS’ 2005 College Store Industry Financial Report.

In the case of used textbooks, the gross margin is higher (34.9%), but used textbooks require more handling, and incur more operating expenses. For instance, the store has the additional costs of cleaning and re-shelving these books. They also present a higher risk to the store. Unlike new textbooks, used textbooks can’t be returned if they’re not sold. There’s also a chance that a new edition of the textbook may make them obsolete.

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What is the average price for a textbook?

The average price of a new textbook is $52.36, and the average price of a used textbook is $40.01 according to the 2006 College Store Industry Financial Report by the National Association of College Stores [NACS]. The College Board has reported that the cost of books and supplies for the 2005-06 academic year ranged from $770 to $870 depending upon the type of institution a student attended.

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Will College Textbooks Catch On in eBook Format?

Will college textbooks ever be converted into ebooks in order for student to save cash? School are starting to, but will student catch on? Watch this video for more information.

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Why are College Textbook Prices so High?

Developing a new textbook and accompanying learning tools can cost more than $1 million. The largest portion of this cost is the time and work of authors, experts, editors, researchers, reviewers and designers. Other factors also contribute to the final retail price of textbooks, including:

- inflation, which is running at an annual rate of 4.8 percent for 2006 (according to the U.S. Department of Laborís Bureau of Labor Statistics), accounts for more than 77 percent of the increase in textbook prices
- book store mark-ups, which are determined by the bookstore and affected by a number of factors, such as staff and operations costs, which vary from store to store;
- paper, which is driven by the cost of raw materials;
- layout, typesetting and printing, which are driven by labor costs;
- freight and transportation, which are driven by fuel costs;
- federal, state and local taxes

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Free College Textbooks?

This video features tips and tricks in order to download college textbooks for free. This method is not endorsed by us, but it is really interesting how file sharing is still rampant on the internet.Check out cheap college textbooks at DavesCampus.com.